Prepare and Preserve Museum Collections for Exhibit and Research | P18AS00310

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00310

The Department of the Interior, National Park Service announced a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Prepare and Preserve Museum Collections for Exhibit and Research" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00310). The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the project would be carried out in close coordination with the National Park Service rather than as a fully independent grant. It falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.945) and was created on June 11, 2018, with an original closing date of June 20, 2018. The program anticipated making a single award, with a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $210,887. Eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, positioning universities and similar public colleges as the intended applicants and project hosts.

The overall purpose of the project is practical conservation support for museum collections so they can be safely exhibited to the public and made more accessible for research use. A central feature of the opportunity is the emphasis on workforce development: the project is designed to provide educational, hands-on work experience for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in art and artifact conservation. In other words, the program is not only about stabilizing and preparing objects for exhibits; it is also about training emerging conservation professionals through direct participation in real collections care activities.

The stated objectives lay out a clear set of deliverables tied to collections movement, treatment, documentation, storage/exhibit readiness, staff training, and applied research. First, the project includes packing and transporting museum collections to a conservation lab, which implies planning for safe handling, documentation, and controlled movement of objects to an appropriate treatment environment. Second, it calls for conservation treatment of more than 750 objects specifically to prepare them for park exhibits, signaling a substantial volume of hands-on stabilization and preparation work aimed at near-term public interpretation needs. Third, the project includes surveying roughly 3,000 items to document their condition and stability and to produce reporting on conservation needs, which supports broader collections management decisions by identifying priorities, risks, and resource requirements. Fourth, the project requires the design and construction of storage and exhibit supports for 1,720 items, reflecting the practical reality that long-term preservation and safe display often depend on custom mounts, housings, and supports tailored to an objects material and vulnerabilities.

In addition to object-focused work, the opportunity includes capacity-building for park personnel. The project would develop training materials and implement a workshop for park staff, helping institutionalize good practices and extend the benefits beyond the immediate treatment activities. Finally, it includes a research component aimed at improving conservation treatment methods for paleontology collections, indicating an applied, problem-solving focus where lessons learned could refine or update approaches used on fossil or related paleontological materials. Taken together, the opportunity combines direct conservation action with documentation, preventive conservation infrastructure, training, and targeted methods research, all delivered through a structured partnership between the National Park Service and an eligible public higher-education institution.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Prepare and Preserve Museum Collections for Exhibit and Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 11, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $210,887.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P18AS00310

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