Preservation and Documentation of NPS Museum Collections | P18AS00707

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00707

The grant opportunity titled "Preservation and Documentation of NPS Museum Collections" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00707) is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary funding action under the Department of the Interior. It uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument and falls within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 15.945). The notice was created on September 18, 2018, with an original closing date of September 28, 2018, but it is explicitly issued as a Notice of Intent to Award rather than an open solicitation. That means it is not seeking proposals from the public, and no applications are accepted under this announcement. Instead, it serves to publicly document NPS's intention to fund a specific project without competition as a modification to an existing task agreement under an existing cooperative agreement with George Washington University.

The project focuses on strengthening preservation, accountability, and access for museum collections managed by the National Park Service in the National Capital Region. The core purpose is to complete or advance NPS Baseline Documentation requirements for the National Capital Region Museum Management Program, working directly with Museum Resource Center staff and park personnel. Baseline Documentation is the foundational set of museum management documents and records that establish what a collection contains, why it is held, how it should be cared for, and how it is tracked over time. In practical terms, the work supports compliance, risk reduction, and long-term stewardship by ensuring collections are properly documented, housed, and managed according to NPS standards.

A major share of the tasks involves producing or updating key planning and management documents. This includes preparing Scopes of Collection Statements, which define what types of objects a park or program should collect and retain in order to support its mission and interpretive goals. It also includes creating Museum Housekeeping Plans, which lay out routine care procedures such as cleaning methods, handling rules, monitoring schedules, and storage practices aimed at preventing damage from dust, pollutants, light, and physical wear. Another required deliverable is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan, which provides a structured approach to preventing and responding to pests that can harm organic and composite materials, typically emphasizing monitoring, prevention, and least-toxic mitigation strategies appropriate for museum environments.

Beyond written plans, the project places strong emphasis on collections documentation in NPS systems. The university team is expected to create complete catalog records for museum objects and enter those records into the Interior Collections Management System (ICMS), the Department of the Interior's collections database used to track objects, their provenance, condition, location, and associated documentation. This element of the work supports accurate accountability and helps ensure that objects can be found, assessed, and managed efficiently, which is especially important for large, distributed collections across multiple parks.

The opportunity also includes hands-on museum management support carried out by students or recent graduates, indicating a workforce development component alongside the collections work. These participants will assist with core registration and collections care activities such as inventorying museum objects (verifying what is present and where it is stored), registering incoming objects (documenting acquisitions and ensuring they enter the system properly), and sorting, identifying, tagging, and rehousing items to improve long-term storage. Rehousing typically involves placing objects in stable, archival-quality enclosures and organizing them in ways that reduce handling, prevent physical stress, and improve environmental buffering. The scope also includes assistance with deaccessioning objects deemed inappropriate to the collection, meaning items that do not fit the scope of collection or stewardship responsibilities and may be removed following NPS policy and required documentation. In addition, the team will support park curators and other park-based staff with comparable duties across National Capital Region parks, extending the impact beyond a single facility and helping address backlogs or unmet requirements across multiple sites.

Funding for the action is capped at $75,000 with one expected award. Although the eligibility field lists nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations other than institutions of higher education, the specific intent of this notice is to fund the work noncompetitively through an existing relationship with George Washington University, which is why the announcement is informational rather than competitive. Overall, the project is best understood as a targeted, operational museum collections initiative designed to bring NPS collections documentation and preventive care planning up to baseline standards while simultaneously providing practical training opportunities for emerging museum professionals.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Preservation and Documentation of NPS Museum Collections" 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 Sep 18, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 28, 2018 This is a Notice of Intent to Award, not a request for applications and no applications will be accepted under this announcement. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Serviceaposs intention to fund this project without competition as a modification to an existing task agreement under an existing cooperative agreement with George Washington University .. (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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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