Dianne Dahlitz, Coordinator of Community Heritage Grants, National Library of Australia, outlines the CHG and presents case studies from previous applicants.
Hello all…and thank you for attending. Today I would like to tell you a bit about the Community Heritage Grants, who can apply and for what type of projects…and give you some tips towards submitting a strong, and hopefully successful application.
The Community Heritage Grants program aims to identify Australian cultural heritage collections which are publicly accessible, locally held and nationally significant. Cash grants of up to $15,000 are provided to assist in the preservation and access to these collections. Organisations may apply for more than one project provided the combined value is no more than $15,000 and all projects can be completed within one year. CLICK
The Community Heritage Grants program aims to identify Australian cultural heritage collections which are publicly accessible, locally held and nationally significant. Cash grants of up to $15,000 are provided to assist in the preservation and access to these collections. Organisations may apply for more than one project provided the combined value is no more than $15,000 and all projects can be completed within one year. CLICK
There are 2 types of projects that are supported: 1 Collection Preservation and Training. Collection Preservation actually encompasses 3 types of activity…CLICK
The assessors encourage organisations to take a 3 step, phased approach to applying for funding for Collection Preservation projects. The 3 steps are 1. Significance Assessments, when you have had this done, you can then apply for 2. Preservation Needs Assessments, and the recommendations from this will support your application for 3. Conservation Activities & Collection Management, for example, preservation work, environmental control/monitoring equipment, shelving and housing materials, the purchase of cataloguing or collection management software, and digitisation of collection items. …CLICK
You should apply for a significance assessment first. A significance assessment helps explain the meaning and value of a collection and provides further information for its management and interpretation. Your collection must be assessed as being of national significance if you wish to apply for further funding. A significance assessment of your collection involves a consultant historian, archivist, curator or appropriate consultant examining your collection as a whole, researching the history of the collection, identifying the main themes and scope of the collection, comparing your collection to other similar collections and assessing the significance of the collection against the significance criteria. They will then make a number of prioritised recommendations about collection management and interpretation. …CLICK
The first criteria is historic significance. Does your collection have an association with significant people, places or events? Most collections will have items of historic significance. The important thing to remember when thinking about historic significance is to make links between your collection and it’s history. For example, it’s not good just telling us that you have a collection of historic significance. You have to tell us WHY. The next criteria is aesthetic significance. Does your collection include objects which may be important for their outstanding craftsmanship, style, technical excellence or quality of design? with this one. Scientific or Research significance. Does your collection have the potential for further examination or study, or could it influence existing research? Scientific significance is quite rare in CHG applicants and would probably be most suited to collections of biological specimens, zoological collections or any other collections of natural history. Social or spirtual Does your collection contain objects that are highly regarded in your community for their social, spiritual or cultural connections? Comparitive In addition to looking at how your collection might fit within the significance criteria, assessors also make compare your collection to other collections that may hold similar collection items. To do this, they look at The provenance of your collection – where it has come from and who owned it in the past Representativeness – you may hold collection items that represent a particular category of object or historic theme. An example provided in the significance book is a Centenary Plate from 1888, which is considered to be a representative example of the kinds of souvenirs that were mass produced at the time of the 1888 Centenary of British settlement in Australia. Rarity – do you have any collection items that are very rare or unusual? Condition – is your collection in good condition? Is it unusually complete, or in original condition?
Write only about the collection you are applying for funding for…you will be asked about the whole collection in Section 5….here the assessors only want specific information about the collection that will be affected by the funding. If you are applying for the whole collection, tell us about its significance, by detailing any rare items, any items relating to significant Australians…e.g. drawings done by Kevin Rudd as a boy!
A preservation needs assessment of a collection is usually the second stage of the process. After you have had a significance assessment conducted you are then encouraged to apply for a preservation needs assessment. This assessment looks at the physical condition of your collection and the suitability of current housing and storage facilities. Recommendations made in the PNA will form a basis for development of a prioritised conservation program, and provide information to base your next application for treatments and housing funding.
Recommendations from your PNA will be the focus for applications for funding for Conservation Activities & Collection Management, the third step in the process. Recommendations might be for overall management and preservation of the whole collection, or at risk or significant items may be identified for urgent action. Some of the activities funded are: rehousing collections (including purchase of shelving, archival quality storage, display cases and special cabinets such as map or plan for large paper based materials, reformatting including digitisation of archives and photographs, and the purchase of cataloguing or collection management software.
CHG received many applications from organisations keen to digitise their collections, in particular photos. This is commendable and CHG is keen to assist with these projects. However, we also want you to think about what this actually means, think about what will happen to both the original and the digital material, how you will manage both into the future. Many organisations that have strong volunteer communities are keen to undertake digitisation in-house. We recommend you research outsourcing, as this can often be more cost-effective and ensure completion of the project within the time-frame. Similarly we encourage applications for the purchase of cataloguing or collection management software…but would like you to have a look at several options, before choosing one suitable for your collection, and the organisation’s long-term ability to manage the software.
Be mindful that in-house digitisation can be very time consuming, especially with fragile material that will need to be preserved beforehand and handled appropriately during the digitisation process.
Applications for funding to run training programs are encouraged. The training programs can include collection care and handling, cataloguing (and the use of software), disaster preparedness and assessing significance. Indeed if you are applying for a significance assessment, we encourage you to talk to your potential assessor about running a session to train staff and volunteers on assessing the significance of the collection. Applicants submitted in partnership with several organisations are looked on favourably. If the training can reach a large group, or area many benefit. Applications from professional bodies, such as M&G NSW are encouraged to apply to run training programs that benefit a range of organisations. For example, training course for staff and volunteers of local galleries and museums in disaster preparedness.
What are the assessors looking for: Evidence of national significance A clear description of the collection, who owns it and how it is used A project that is feasible & good value for money with a well supported budget Projects that will enhance access to collections Training projects that will reach many people and collections
As well as a grant of up to $15,000 first time winners will be invited to attend a 3 day (all expenses paid – travel and accommodation) intensive preservation workshop…where historians, conservators and preservation staff from the partner institutions will conduct workshops, give behind the scenes tours of works areas and provide advice and suggestions on how to successfully complete the project you have been funded for.
Applications are now being called for. I have hard copy of the Guideline and forms with me today, or you can download copies or apply online from our website www.nla.gov.au/chg
In 2009 218 applications were received, and 75 grants were given. In 2008 265 applications were received and 70 grants given. Successful applicants from 2009 included Miles & District Historical Society, and 2008 Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society.
Miles & District Historical Society applied for a CHG for SA and PNA for the first time in 2009 and were granted funding for a significance assessment of the Miles Historical Village. This museum comprises over 34 buildings each with its own collection. So, this is a large collection. Their application included a quote from a professional. The quote was quite clear on what the assessor would do, how long they would spend assessing (3 days) and a commitment to train volunteer staff – who in turn would contribute to the initial assessment process by undertaking research. After a further 2 days at the museum the assessor would produce a written report on the significance of the whole collection. This was very useful to the Assessment panel, as the could see that the museum would benefit from not only the SA, but the training for the volunteers. Their application also include large colour shots of some of the museum and collection, and a published pamphlet on one particular part..the Norman Donpon Lapidary collection. Another very useful attachment was their draft Collections, Conservation and Preservation Policy. Ann Croft attended the 3 day workshop in Canberra, and I believe she found this to be very useful and gave her lots of information about the project she was to undertake. We hope that they are applying again in 2010, so that hopefully they will be able to undertake a PNA and complete stage 2.
The Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society’s application for funding of $3,900 to conduct a Collection Management training workshop for Society members and volunteers from nearby heritage organisations was successful. Training projects that benefits several organisations are always looked on favourably by the Assessment Panel. In saying this, the application was also supported by clear and comprehensive information about the proposed training course…who would conduct it, where it would be held, who would be attending and what the benefits would be also help with the success of the application. In addition a clear budget was also evident. Attachments to the application included the quote and course outline and the CV of the trainer. This always assists the Panel to assess the value of the training to the organisation. The Society followed up their success by holding the workshops and reporting progress in both a Progress report and a sound Final Report, which included details of the workshop (including photos), the invoices paid, and evaluation of the workshops. The workshops were conducted by Lisa Jones over 4 Saturdays in May and June 2009. On each of these days around 19 people attended the workshop with most attending the four days. Organisations that were invited to the workshops were: Beaudesert Historical Museum, Gold Coast Hinterland Heritage Museum (Mudgeeraba), Griffith University History Students (part of a pilot Social Enterprise project), Logan City Council, Museum of Australian Military Intelligence (Canungra), Rathdowney Historical Society, Upper Clarence Historical Society, Urbenville, and the Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society. The workshops were also supported by Museum & Gallery Services Queensland and attended by Ann Baillie.