*Please excuse any cross postings*

Announcement of Funding Opportunity 2010-2011
NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT - NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES 
Documentary Heritage Program Grants Announcement


Legislative Authority
The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) is a statewide program
established in 1988 under Education Law, ** 140, 207; L. 1988, ch. 679. 
The DHP is administered by the New York State Archives to ensure the
identification, sound administration and accessibility of New York*s
historical records.   

Purpose
One component of the DHP is the grants program.  DHP Grants are
designed to encourage more comprehensive documentation of New York
State*s history and culture by supporting projects that identify,
survey, collect, and make available important records relating to groups
and topics traditionally under-represented in the historical record. DHP
is administered by the New York State Archives, a unit of the New York
State Education Department (NYSED). 

Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include not-for-profit community organizations,
archives, libraries, historical societies, and similar institutions
within New York State and consortia or partnerships of such agencies.
Also eligible are service providers such as historical service agencies,
colleges and universities, professional associations, or other
not-for-profit institutions or systems that provide services to
historical records programs. 

Funding
A total of $92,000 is expected to be available for grants projects.
Grants will be available in amounts up to $25,000. Applicants may seek
support for personnel; purchased services, including qualified
consultants; supplies; materials and equipment costing less than $5,000;
and travel as required to directly support project activities and
outcomes.

Important Dates 
Grants in this cycle are for up to 12-month projects, from July 1, 2010
through June 30, 2011. Applications must be postmarked by Monday,
February 1, 2010. Tentative date for the announcement of grant awards is
June 30, 2010.

Grant Project Types 
Documentation - The purpose of a documentation project is to identify
and ensure the systematic preservation of papers and records not
currently in historical records repositories that provide information on
the people, groups, events or changing political, economic or social
conditions of New York State.  A documentation project typically
consists of three phases - planning, surveying, and collecting - and
usually takes at least two years to complete. Cost sharing of at least
20% is required for Documentation projects.

Arrangement & Description - Arrangement and description are the
processes used to obtain physical and intellectual control over
materials held in historic records repositories. Arrangement is the
process of organizing materials with respect to their provenance and
original order, to protect their context and to achieve physical and/or
intellectual control over the materials. Description is the creation of
an accurate representation of a unit of archival material by the process
of capturing, collating, analyzing, and organizing information that
serves to identify archival material and explain the context and records
system(s) that produced it. The objective of archival description is the
creation of access tools that assist users in discovering desired
records.
Cost sharing of at least 50% is required for Arrangement & Description
projects.

Archival Needs Assessment - Historical records repositories undertake
needs assessments to evaluate and plan for archival program development.
As a result, a comprehensive needs assessment, carried out by an
experienced archivist with the requisite expertise, will pinpoint
problems, recommend solutions, set priorities, and guide the development
of archival activity. Cost sharing of at least 50% is required for
Archival Needs Assessment projects.

Ineligible Projects 
Several types of historical records projects are not eligible for
funding under the DHP. These include:
*	Projects that do not have primary focus on New York State 
*	Digitization (projects to create digital records)
*	Item-level description and/or indexing
*	Oral history and/or video taping 
*	Newspapers (these are not considered to be historical records
under the DHP law)
*	Preservation (i.e., the physical work to conserve, restore, or
repair records, or reproduction for preservation purposes such as
microfilming)

Topical Priorities
In order to insure that the DHP addresses the New York State Historical
Records Advisory Board*s mandate to identify, survey, collect, and
make available historical records that relate to under-documented groups
or subjects, the State Archives has identified and given priority to
specific topical areas for DHP funding. These topics are listed in
Priority Levels One and Two below. Although applications for projects
that focus on any under-documented group or subject are eligible for
funding, they will receive fewer points during grants review than those
in Levels One and Two.

Priority Level One
*	Population groups in the 20th and 21st centuries
*	Economic change in the 20th and 21st centuries
*	World Trade Center disaster, September 11, 2001
*	Education policy

Priority Level Two
*	Environmental affairs
*	Mental health 

Priority Level Three
*	Other under-documented topics in New York State history


Application Process
Grant application forms and guidelines will be available in October
2009. 
They may be obtained by emailing the State Archives <[log in to unmask]> or
by visiting the State Archives Web site 
<http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/grants/grants_dhp.shtml >. 

For further information, please contact:
Pamela Cooley/Documentary Heritage Program 
New York State Archives
Room 9C71 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Telephone: 518-474-6926
Email: [log in to unmask] 


The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of
age, color, religion, creed, disability, martial status, veteran status,
national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status,
or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and
activities.  Portion of any publication designed for distribution can be
made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print
or audiotape, upon request.  Inquiries regarding this policy of
nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department*s Office for
Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY
12234.