The United States Embassy in Uzbekistan Announces the Competition for the 2023 Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)

The deadline to submit concept notes is December 20, 2022

The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation provides grants to preserve historic sites, artifacts, manuscripts and museum collections, as well as traditional forms of expression, such as music, dance, and language. The AFCP has already provided nearly $900,000 to support fourteen preservation projects in Uzbekistan.

Cultural Preservation awards are based on the importance of the site, object, or traditional form of expression to be preserved as well as the urgency of its preservation need. Government agencies, cultural organizations, educational institutions, NGOs, and museums can submit proposals. For further information, please visit http://exchanges.state.gov/heritage/afcp.html

AFCP supports projects to preserve cultural heritage in the following three areas:

1. Cultural sites, including but not limited to ancient or historic buildings and archaeological sites;
2. Cultural objects and collections from a museum, site, or similar; Institution, such as archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and general museum conservation needs; and,
3. Forms of traditional cultural expression, such as traditional music, indigenous languages, and crafts.

Projects that meet one or more of the following criteria will be considered:

• Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations.
• Directly support U.S. policies, strategies and objectives in a country as stated in the Integrated Country Strategy or other U.S. government planning documents.
• Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas, or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery.
• Partner, connect with, or feed into other ECA or public diplomacy programs.

The application process involves two rounds: In Round 1, the Embassy will collect project ideas from interested parties in the form of concept notes, due December 20, 2022; and in Round 2, the Embassy will invite selected concept note authors with promising ideas to submit full project applications.

Round 1 – Concept Note Requirements:

• Project Basics, including a working title, anticipated project length (Note: applicants may propose project periods of up to 60 months), location/site, and project cost estimate (amount requested from AFCP; in U.S. dollars);
• Project Implementer;
• Project Scope of Work summarizing the preservation goals and any broader host country or community goals (i.e., what they hope to gain from the project beyond the preserved heritage and how they plan to get there; 3,000 characters maximum);
• Rationale for AFCP Support, explaining why it’s in the interests of the U.S. government to fund the project, specifically:

1. 1. how the project relates to specific Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) goals, existing bilateral agreements, or other U.S. foreign policy objectives (1,000 characters maximum).
   2. the projected public diplomacy benefits and impacts of the project (1,000 characters maximum).

• Concept notes should be no more than 2 pages long.

Round 2 – Proposals requirements:

• Project title, desired start and end dates, and location;
• Applicant information, including name and contact information;
• Proof of official permission to undertake the project from proper authority;
• Description, rationale, and desired outcome for the project;
• Description of project activities that presents the project tasks in chronological order;
• Project schedule with major project phases and milestones with target dates for achieving them (projects must begin before September 30, 2023, and be completed no later than September 30, 2028);
• Project participant information, including résumés or CVs of the proposed project director and other primary project participants;
• Statement of importance highlighting the historic, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the site, collection, or form of traditional expression
• Statement of urgency indicating the severity of the situation and explaining why the project must take place now;
• Statement of sustainability outlining the steps or measures that will be taken to maintain the site, object, or collection in good condition after the AFCP-supported project is complete;
• Detailed project budget by year listing all costs in separate categories (Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other Direct Costs, Indirect Costs);
• Budget narrative explaining how the costs were estimated (quantity x unit cost, annual salary x percentage of time spent on project, etc.) and any large budget line items; and,
• Attachments and supporting documents including a required minimum of five (5) high-quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, object, or form of expression and, in the case of a site or object, demonstrate the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, water damage, worn fabric, broken handle, etc.), any historic structure reports, conservation needs assessments, and other planning documents compiled in preparation for the proposed project.
• Five (5) high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audio-visual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, collection, or tradition and show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, water damage, etc.).

Please note that the following types of projects are not eligible:

• Preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects, collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process, but not complete at the time of application.
• Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.) unless the natural heritage has a cultural heritage connection or dimension.
• Preservation of hominid or human remains.
• Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.).
• Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.).
• Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use.
• Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes.
• Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
• Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums;
• Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example);
• Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;
• Creation of new or modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;
• Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;
• Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;
• Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;
• Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation, or public diplomacy effort.
• Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;
• Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund);
• Costs of fund-raising campaigns;
• Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees;
• Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award;
• International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project or to provide project leaders with learning and exchange opportunities with cultural heritage experts;
• Individual projects costing less than $10,000 or more than $500,000;
• Independent U.S. projects overseas.

Questions regarding the application process can be addressed to Tashkent-program@state.gov (marked as “AFCP question” in the subject line).

Please submit concept notes in English as a Microsoft Word attachment to Tashkent-program@state.gov no later than 23:59 Tashkent time, December 20, 2022. The subject line should read “AFCP Concept Note – [Organization Name].”