MAJOR COLLABORATIVE ARCHIVAL INITIATIVES

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission seeks projects that will significantly improve public discovery and use of historical records collections.
All types of historical records are eligible, including documents, photographs, born-digital records, and analog audio and moving images.
Projects may focus on broad movements in U.S. history, such as law, politics, social reform, business, military, the arts, and other aspects of the national experience, or on the papers of individual figure(s) in American history.
Collections that center the voices and document the history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are especially welcome.
With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, the Commission is especially interested in projects that promote discovery and access to collections that explore the ideals behind our nation’s founding and the continuous debate over those ideals to the present day.
Major Collaborative Archival Initiatives must be collaborations among multiple institutions that undertake either of these two eligible activities to:
• digitize and publish as a “virtual” collection online historical records housed at multiple repositories but center on a common theme, organization, or important historical figure(s); or
• create and test new tools and methods for the archival field to enhance public access, especially for born-digital records.
Projects that actively engage the public in the work of the project will be more competitive.
If you have a project that will process and/or digitize collections and will not require more than $150,000 in grant funds, you should consult the Archival Projects program.
A successful Major Collaborative Archival Initiative proposal will:
• demonstrate the value of the contents of the collections,
• outline a project that addresses best practices for the work,
• be appropriately staffed,
• propose a budget that accomplishes the project in a cost-effective manner, and
• outline activities that bring researchers to the collections included in the project as well as the rest of the repository’s holdings.
Award Information
A grant is for one to three years. Awards will be between $150,000 and $350,000. The NHPRC expects to make up to five grants in this category for a total of up to $1,000,000. Grants begin no earlier than January 1, 2025.
The Commission requires that grant recipients acknowledge NHPRC grant assistance in all publicity, publications, and other products that result from its support.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants:
• U.S. nonprofit organizations or institutions
• U.S. colleges, universities, and other academic institutions
• State or local government agencies
• Federally-acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups
Projects must be collaborations that include at least one of the eligible activities described for this program. Applications must include all required elements (SF424, Project Narrative, NHPRC Budget form, and Supplemental Materials). Applications that do not meet either of these criteria will not be considered.
In order to ensure eligibility, applicants should first review the rules and regulations governing NHPRC grants under the Administering an NHPRC Grant section.
Cost Sharing
The total costs of a project are shared between the NHPRC and the applicant organization.
Cost sharing is required. The applicant's financial contribution may include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. NHPRC grant recipients are not permitted to use grant funds for indirect costs (as indicated in 2 CFR 2600.101). Indirect costs must be listed under the applicant's cost sharing contribution if they are included in the budget.
The Commission provides no more than 50 percent of total project costs in the Major Collaborative Archival Initiatives program.
Other Requirements
Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting an application, maintain SAM registration throughout the application and award process, and include a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number in their application. Details on SAM registration and requesting a UEI number can be found at the System for Award Management website at https://sam.gov. Please refer to the User Guides section and the Grants Registrations PDF.
Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current. It may take up to one month to register or reactivate your registration with SAM.gov and Grants.gov. NHPRC will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.