Dear all
I am delighted to be able to enclose details of the DCMS IT Challenge
Fund, announced by Alan Howarth last Thursday at the Museum of London. A
fuller version, and a sample application will be appearing on the MGC
website in due course.
For those in museums outside England, MGC has written to ask that
similar funding initiatives be considered in the other countries, as the
geographical remit of DCMS is England only.
I hope to be organising some seminars in September that will enable
people developing bids to the Challenge Fund to develop a clearer idea
of how to develop applications, and to discuss details of projects.
I would be grateful not to have too many phone calls about the scheme as
I am trying to complete a number of activities before going on leave
during next week - so please be patient if you are trying to get hold of
me.
I look forward to seeing lots of high quality applications!
David
* * * * * *
DCMS IT Challenge Fund
The DCMS IT Challenge Fund
The Museums & Galleries Commission invites applications for the DCMS IT
Challenge Fund. DCMS has committed £500,000 to the Fund in the period
1999-2001. The Fund will enable museums to work together in developing
projects that will show how Information Communication Technology (ICT)
can contribute to access, education and innovation in museums. The Fund
will allow museums to participate in the vision outlined in the recently
published report - A Netful of Jewels: New Museums in the Learning Age,
commissioned by the National Museum Director's Conference, in
association with MGC and mda.
The aims of the Fund
To promote excellence
* Projects will make a significant difference to the ways in which
museums communicate with their public and deliver their services. Both
the process and the product will be evaluated so that good practice can
be identified and promoted.
To raise standards through ICT
Projects will demonstrate how museums can use ICT to raise standards in
areas such as:
* access to museums and their collections
* developing new audiences
* community involvement
* tackling social exclusion
* developing resources for life-long learning and education
To facilitate partnerships
* Each project must have at least three museum partners.
Partnerships will enable the sharing of expertise and knowledge about
collections between museums, and with other organisations such as
colleges, universities, community groups or specialist societies.
To encourage investment.
* Projects must have a minimum financial contribution of 12.5% in
partnership funding, and a minimum of 12.5% of partnership funding in
kind. A minimum total for partnership funding is 25%, but some projects
will be able to achieve 50% of the total cost of the project.
The key themes for the Fund
Applications may be made for funding of projects that demonstrate
innovation and partnership under four main themes.
Theme 1 Support for life-long learning
Museums will look at ways to apply successful existing museum education
techniques and materials to the new media. Projects might involve
re-engineering of resources for the learning networks, or developing new
approaches to museum education which are designed specifically for new
media.
Theme 2 Support for collaborative working
Projects will be supported which develop collaborative working between
museums in a geographic region, or between those working with a similar
range of users, or those with strong links through the nature of their
collections. The active use of e-mail, video-conferencing and other
electronic links will be encouraged. The issues that projects will
address include raising awareness of the potential uses of ICT,
understanding what users want from museums, and evaluating whether
projects meet those needs.
Theme 3 Development of interactive and participatory services
Museums and their communities will look at new forms of participation
using ICT. This might involve developing electronic resources to attract
new audiences. Projects could also develop contextual information for
collections, provide new approaches to the delivery of collections
information in study areas or galleries, and evaluate its effectiveness
before disseminating it through the Internet.
Theme 4 Creation of innovative applications for new technologies
Museums are increasingly discovering applications for new technologies.
This theme will help museums to apply new technology in areas such as
marketing, visitor services or managing the museum environment.
Guidelines for applicants
Eligible museums
* Only fully or provisionally Registered museums or museum support
organisations in England are eligible for support, in accordance with
the geographical remit of DCMS.
* Government-funded national museums and Designated museums are
not eligible for financial support, though they are warmly encouraged to
play an active role in projects.
* Where a service is responsible for more than one museum, then
the service as a whole is counted as a single partner.
* Individual museums are unlikely to receive funding as partners
in more than one project.
Project partnerships
Projects must include at least 3 museum partners, of which a minimum of
two should be eligible museums - the third museum could be a National or
Designated Museum that is not eligible for funding under the scheme.
However wider partnerships are encouraged, and might include links with
museums and other organisations in the UK or abroad, such as with groups
of enthusiasts, universities, libraries, archives or community groups.
Grant sums
Projects will be funded up to a maximum of 75% of the total costs.
Grants will be in the range of £40,000-60,000 per project. It is hoped
to be able to be able to support up to 10 projects.
Matching funding
Museums will be expected to contribute at least 25% of the costs of the
project, at least 12.5% of which must be a financial contribution. The
remaining matching resources, a minimum of 12.5% of the costs of the
project, can be made by contributions in kind. The contribution in kind
can include items such as staff costs or the value of the licence for
the use of a digital asset, provided that they can be shown to relate
directly to the successful completion of the project.
The financial contribution, a minimum of 12.5% of the overall costs of
the project, can be from museum budgets or from public or private sector
partners. Central Government funding (including EU Funds) provided to
you directly for the purposes of the project may not be used as matched
funding. Funding derived from the National Lottery (such as HLF,
Millennium Commission, Millennium Festival and ACE) may not be used to
match the DCMS Challenge Fund. Government funding provided indirectly,
for example through local authority funding or Area Museum Council
grants may be used as matching funding.
To calculate the value of a licence for the use of a digital asset, the
Fund will use the method adopted by the Scottish Cultural Resources
Access Network (SCRAN). This uses a unit valuation based on the average
cost of digitising assets, such as an image, along with accompanying
interpretative material. The current valuation stands at £50.50 per
asset. When calculating their contribution to matched funding,
applicants will be able to count half of this amount (i.e. £25.25) in
compensation for giving the public networks a perpetual non-exclusive
licence to use the material for educational purposes.
Eligible costs
The project costs that are eligible for challenge funding are as
follows.
* Fixed-term additional staff costs, or the costs of contracted
services.
* Hardware and software.
* Web-hosting and Internet Service Provider costs for the duration
of the project.
* Interpretation and design work.
* Creating digital images and text.
* Training.
Additional considerations
Projects must show that they have considered the following.
* Relevant Standards and Guidelines, including SPECTRUM and the
emerging standards for the New Library Network and National Grid for
Learning.
* ICT initiatives such as the 24 Hour Museum and Cornucopia.
* Provision for training in the use of ICT for people involved in
the project.
* Project management.
* Sources of technical advice that will be available to the
project.
* Project evaluation, both during development and upon completion
* Dissemination of skills and information to other museums.
* Sustaining the project after completion
Assessment Criteria
Projects will be assessed for challenge funding according to the
following criteria.
* The project must meet the aims of the fund.
* The project must identify key aims and objectives.
* The project must help the partners to meet the aims and
objectives that are outlined in their most recent forward plans, ICT
strategies, education plans or similar documents.
* Projects must involve a minimum of three eligible museums or
museum-related organisations. If a project involves a National or
Designated Museum, then there must be a minimum of two eligible museums.
* Projects involving a partnership with a Designated or National
Museum are especially welcome.
* The benefits of the project for life-long learning, education,
access to museum collections, audience development, collections care or
collections research must be clearly shown.
* Projects of limited scope that simply enable museums to purchase
equipment, to create their own websites or put their collections on-line
are unlikely to be successful.
* Successful projects will be expected to demonstrate high
standards in promoting access, tackling social exclusion, providing
educational opportunities or demonstrating innovation.
The application process
How to apply
Applications must be submitted in writing, using the application form as
a cover sheet, and should be no longer than 8 sides of A4 in length. All
applications must also be accompanied by the following, each of which
must be on no more than a single page of A4:-
* budget estimate, detailing all items over £1000.
* cash flow by quarter, commencing in January 2000.
* project plan, commencing in January 2000.
The deadline for applications will be 18 October 1999 for signed
applications. Applications sent by Fax will not be accepted.
Assessment
Applications will be assessed initially by MGC staff in consultation
with the Area Museum Councils and mda. MGC will appoint a DCMS IT
Challenge Fund Panel to consider applications and prepare
recommendations for consideration by the Museums and Galleries
Commission and the Secretary of State.
Timetable
18 October 1999 Closing date for applications
January 2000 * Applicants to be informed of the result of their
application
1 February 2001 Projects to be completed
1 March 2001 Final date for submission of grant claims
* provisional date
Monitoring successful projects
All applicants will have identified the key objectives of their
project(s). They will also have explained how they believe these
objectives can be shown to have been achieved by measurable outcomes.
Once the details of a project have been agreed, MGC will confirm in a
contract letter the agreed project milestones, costings, monitoring,
evaluation and payment arrangements. Any subsequent variation of more
than 10% in these costs must be agreed in writing with MGC. Applicants
will be asked to complete progress reports every three months, and
provide a final evaluation report for publication.
Submitting applications
Applications should be sent by 18 October 1999 to:-
David Dawson
Museums New Technology Adviser
Museums & Galleries Commission
16 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AA
David
David Dawson
Museums New Technology Adviser, Museums and Galleries Commission
tel: 0171 233 4200, email [log in to unmask]
Visit our website at www.museums.gov.uk
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|
