Call for Applications: Endangered Archives ProgrammeLocation: Location: International | Workplace: On site
The Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library is accepting grant applications for the next round of funding from September 13 2024.
The Endangered Archives Programme helps to preserve cultural heritage and make it available to as wide an audience as possible. We fund surveys and digitisation projects to record the content of archives, which can include rare printed sources, manuscripts, visual materials, or audio recordings. We welcome applications for funding on an annual basis. The current deadline for preliminary applications is 8 November 2024. Application forms and guidelines can be found at eap.bl.uk. The Endangered Archives Programme is administered by the British Library and supported by Arcadia.
APPLYING FOR A GRANT
The call for applications for Round 20 (2024/25) opens on 13 September 2024. The application process has two stages:
- Preliminary applications give an outline of the proposed project and description of the endangered material. These are reviewed by the EAP team and a subset of applications are invited in December to the second application stage.
- Detailed applications provide a full description of the project including content to be digitised, the project team, project plan and the budget. It is especially important to provide clear evidence of rights and permissions to digitise and make the digitised content available. The detailed applications are reviewed by an extended expert team.
All applications must be submitted via the online portal: https://webportalapp.com/sp/login/eap-grants which goes live when the call goes out.
Past experience has shown that around a half of the preliminary applications go through to the detailed stage, and of those around 30 offers are made. Applicants are advised to contact the EAP team with any questions that they might have in order to improve the quality of their proposal and ultimately ensure their project is successful. We hold webinars for applicants and the dates for these are advertised on our website.
ANNUAL SCHEDULE FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS
(Check precise dates for each round)
September: call for applications opens
November: closing date for submissions
December: successful applicants will be notified and invited to submit a detailed application
February: deadline for detailed applications
April: notification of Panel decision
Summer: new projects start (no earlier than July and no later than the following February)
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING APPLICATIONS
Applications are evaluated against three broad criteria:
I. Content of archive
The case for the material to be digitised must cover the following areas:
- Endangerment. Applicants must demonstrate that the material is vulnerable, due to neglect and/or environmental threats; and that there is an urgent need to safeguard the material.
- Research value. Applications must demonstrate the extent to which the archive is rare or unique, its cultural importance and its potential value as a resource for research.
- Age of material. Applicants must show that the material dates from before the middle of the twentieth century.
- Legal and ethical rights to digitise the material and make it available online for research. Applicants must have the permission of the collection’s owners to digitise the materials and make them available. Applicants must also understand the copyright status of the archival material in the country in which it resides and whether there are any data protection issues associated with them.
II. Project team
Applications must include the following information about the proposed team:
- Track record of Principal Applicant. Applicants must show that they have the experience necessary to manage and complete the project successfully. Applications at the detailed stage may include up to three co-applicants who can provide the skills or experience that the Principal Applicant lacks.
- Skills within the project team. Applicants must identify the skills the project will require, such as: language skills; project-management and financial skills; digitising and cataloguing skills; technical skills for handling equipment and vulnerable material. Applicants must demonstrate how they will ensure that the team is composed of people who meet these requirements.
- Knowledge within the team. There must be evidence that the Principal Applicant and proposed team understand the material, its condition and its research and cultural value. Indicate knowledge of the relevant languages and scripts of the materials in the archive.
III. Project plan
The proposal must contain an outline of an effective plan showing how the following questions have been addressed:
- Feasibility. Applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the practicalities and logistics of the project: Is the time frame reasonable? Are the team available at the time specified? Has a risk assessment been done? Have all costs been taken into account? Who will oversee the finances?
- Local capacity building. Wherever possible, the project should create the opportunity for future archival and digitisation work to be carried out in the region where the archive is located. Applications should include a plan for the period after the project is completed, outlining what will happen to the equipment and how the training and experience of the team will be put to further use.
- Budget. The budget must be within the limit for the type of project. Applicants must provide justification for the cost of all equipment, salaries, and travel, and demonstrate that the budget represents good value for money. Host Institutions should make appropriate financial contributions to these costs.
APPLICATION DOCUMENTATION
The documents below are provided to help with preparation of the application. All applications must be submitted via the online portal. The link to this is made live when the call is made and applicants have around around two months to complete the online form. All fields on the Word form are replicated in the online portal. The Guide for Applicants has seven appendices, of which is the last one is the text of the standard Grant Agreement.
Guide for Applicants
- Guide for Applicants (2024 version)
The Guide is nine pages long and the remaining pages of the document are the Appendices. Below are the links to the Appendices provided as separate documents, for reference by applicants together with their teams and collaborators. If you require them in other formats (such as Word) please get in touch, but note that we do not currently have this material in any languages other than English.
1. Preliminary application form
This is provided as a reference to help applicants prepare their preliminary applications via the portal. Please do not submit this form.
2. Detailed application form and related documentation
This form is provided for reference so that applicants who are invited to submit a detailed application in December can discuss aspects of the proposal with colleagues.
- Round 20 detailed application form in PDF format (for reference only)
3. Permission and copyright forms
These should be submitted along with the detailed application and uploaded to the portal. Applications must discuss with archive owners to ensure access to the material will be granted, and where copyright exists in the material, that this is cleared in advance of the project starting.
4. Referee report form
These must be submitted with the detailed applications via the portal. They are provided here for practice purposes.
5. Host Institution, Archival Partner and Co-Applicants
This document shows the information that must be submitted at detailed application stage by other collaborators in the proposed project.
6. Post-offer Risk Assessment, conditions and clarifications
All offers made in April/May are subject to a satisfactory up-to-date risk assessment. There may be additional conditions or clarifications.
7. Grant Agreement
Note that all grants are awarded on the basis of our standard terms and conditions. The current version of the Grant Agreement text is provided for reference, and it applies to all grants with no amendments possible. Applicants should be aware of the content of the detail of the Grant Agreement from the start of the application process and should discuss their plans with their Host Institution, in order to avoid delays at the contract stage.
EAP Grant Agreement text in PDF format FOR REFERENCE ONLY. This is the text of the current (2024) version. The agreement is created for each new grant and must be signed without alteration by the host institution.