[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7779]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 1, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

45 CFR Part 1180

 

Institute of Museum Services: Technical Assistance Grants

AGENCY: Institute of Museum Services, NFAH.

ACTION: Final regulations.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Institute of Museum Services issues final regulations 
relating to a program of Federal financial assistance for technical 
assistance grants to support training and implementation in museums. 
The regulations implement the Museum Services Act. They state 
eligibility, conditions and other terms for the administration of the 
Technical Assistance Grants.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rebecca Danvers, Telephone: (202) 606-8539.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background

    The Museum Services Act (``the Act'' which is Title II of the Arts, 
Humanities and Cultural Affairs Act of 1976, was enacted on October 8, 
1976 and amended in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, and 1990). The purpose of 
the Act is stated in section 202 as follows:

    It is the purpose of the Museum Services Act to encourage and 
assist museums in their educational role in conjunction with formal 
systems of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education and 
with programs of non-formal education for all age groups: to assist 
museums in modernizing their methods and facilities so that they may 
be better able to conserve our cultural, historic, and scientific 
heritage and to ease the financial burden borne by museums as a 
result of their increasing use by the public.
    The Act establishes an Institute of Museum Services (IMS) 
consisting of a National Museums Services Board and Director.
    The Act provides that the National Museum Services Board shall 
consist of fifteen members appointed for fixed terms by the 
President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Chairman of 
the Board is designated by the President from the appointed members. 
Members are broadly representative of various museum disciplines, 
including those relating to science, history, technology, art, zoos, 
and botanical gardens; of the curatorial, educational, and cultural 
resources of the United States; and of the general public. The Board 
has the responsibility for establishing the general policies of the 
Institute. The Director is authorized, subject to the policy 
direction of the Board, to make grants under the Act to museums. IMS 
is an independent agency placed in the National Foundation on the 
Arts and the Humanities (National Foundation). Public Law 101-512, 
Nov. 5, 1990. The Act lists a number of illustrative activities for 
which grants may be made, including assisting museums to improve 
their operations. Training and implementation provided by the 
Technical Assistance Grants are intended to help museums improve 
their operations.

Subpart F--Technical Training and Implementation Grants to Museums

Response to Comments

    IMS published proposed regulations on September 17, 1993. IMS 
received two letters of comment. One letter regards clarification on 
the eligibility requirement for staff and acceptable training 
opportunities. IMS has added language that clarifies that a museum is 
considered eligible for Technical Assistance Grants if it has full-time 
or part-time staff. IMS has added language that clarifies under what 
conditions sessions offered as part of program at an annual meeting of 
a professional museum association would be considered as a training 
activity.
    One commenter believed that funding should be available for 
assisting a museum to begin operation. IMS believes that it is 
appropriate that the limited federal funds available to museums through 
IMS programs be offered to museums that have a record of public 
service. IMS recognizes the value of newly opened museums by including 
them in the eligibility for two other IMS programs of assistance (CAP 
and MAP).
    One commenter believed Technical Assistance Grant funds should be 
available to professional associations. It is the intent of the 
Technical Assistance Program to reach unserved museums and thereby 
increase our services to museums. IMS recognizes the valuable services 
of professional associations and currently has two programs of 
assistance open to professional associations (PSP and MLI).

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1180

    Grant programs--education, Museums, Nonprofit organizations.

    Therefore, as set forth in the preamble, part 1180 of title 45 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 1180--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 1180 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 961 et seq., unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 1180.78 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1180.78   Technical training and implementation grants to museums.

    (a) Purpose of Program. The Director of the Institute of Museum 
Services makes two-part grants under this subpart to assist those who 
work in museums (paid or volunteer) to obtain training in technical 
areas of museum operations and to implement the training to improve 
museum services to the public.
    (b) Eligibility. (1) To be eligible to apply for a grant under this 
subpart, a museum must:
    (i) be a public or private nonprofit institution that is organized 
on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes; 
and
    (ii) care for, and own or use tangible objects, whether animate or 
inanimate, and exhibit these objects to the public on a regular basis 
through facilities which it owns or operates, and
    (iii) have at least one staff member, whether paid or unpaid, full-
time or part-time, whose primary responsibility is the acquisition, 
care or exhibition to the public of objects owned or used by the 
museum; and
    (iv) be open and providing museum services to the general public on 
a regular basis; and
    (v) be located in one of the fifty States of the Union, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, or Palau 
(until its compact of free association is approved.)
    (2) A museum must have an operating budget for the fiscal year 
immediately preceding the deadline to which the museum applies of no 
more than $250,000 exclusive of non-cash support.
    (3) Museum includes (but is not limited to) the following 
institutions if they satisfy the provisions of this section:
    (i) aquariums and zoological parks;
    (ii) botanical gardens and arboretums;
    (iii) nature centers;
    (iv) museums relating to art, history (including historic buildings 
and sites);
    (v) natural history, science and technology, planetariums, and 
specialized subject.
    (4) A museum that receives a grant for training and implementation 
under this subpart for a fiscal year may not receive another grant 
under this subpart for the same or subsequent fiscal years.
    (5) Preference for funding will be given to a museum that has not 
received any grants from the Institute within two years of the deadline 
to which it applies over funding for a museum that has received a grant 
from the Institute within two years of application.
    (c) Applicability of other regulations The following sections in 
part 1180 do apply to grants for training and implementation under this 
subpart: Sections 1180.3(d), 1180.4, 1180.5(c)-(e), 1180.6, 1180.10, 
1180.11(a)-(b), 1180.16(b), 1180.30-34, 1180.36-37, 1180.39, 1180.42-
44, 1180.47-48, 1180.51-57, part 1183, part 1185.
    (d) Application requirements. (1) An applicant under this subpart 
must submit an application in such time and such manner, and containing 
such information, as requested by the Institute.
    (2) An applicant must submit with its application financial 
information for its most recently completed fiscal year for which 
satisfactory information is available and projected financial 
information for the fiscal year(s) that includes the time of the grant 
period.
    (e) Procedures and criteria for review of applications. (1) To 
evaluate applications and determine the amount of their awards, the 
Institute rates competitive applications under the criteria stated in 
paragraph (e)(2) of this section. Normally, these applications are 
evaluated by field reviewers, panels of experts, or both. The director 
may also use technical experts in the review of applications.
    (2) This paragraph sets forth the criteria the Institute uses in 
evaluating and reviewing applications for technical training and 
implementation grants under this subpart. Evaluators are instructed to 
use only these criteria in the evaluation of these applications.
    (i) Does the museum demonstrate its importance to the community it 
serves?
    (ii) Is the type of training requested appropriate to the purpose 
or mission of the museum?
    (iii) Are the costs requested to obtain the training reasonable and 
necessary?
    (iv) Is the training needed at the museum?
    (v) Is the staff member(s) (paid or volunteer) identified to 
receive the training the appropriate person(s) within the museum's 
organizational structure?
    (vi) Does the individual(s) identified for training demonstrate at 
least a two-year commitment to the museum field?
    (vii) Does the museum demonstrate a commitment to implement the 
training?
    (f) Allowable costs. (1) A museum may use a grant under this 
subpart for expenses to obtain training in areas of museum operations 
and for activities to implement the training.
    (2) Funds may be used to pay for registration or tuition fees for 
training courses or workshops. Individual(s) may use the grant funds to 
pay for a course that is part of a degree-granting program only for 
non-credit such as to audit the course.) Funds are generally not 
intended to support attendance at association annual meetings unless a 
specific training session or workshop is part of the meeting (or as a 
pre or post conference activity). A course of study that is identified 
by clearly and specifically named sessions that are part of an annual 
meeting program and that clearly and specifically address the area of 
training need will be considered.
    (3) Funds may be used for travel to and from training activities 
and expenses incurred during travel, such as housing and meals.
    (4) Funds may be used to purchase instructional materials.
    (5) Funds may not be used to pay the salary of the person(s) 
receiving the training. The time the staff member(s) expends to obtain 
the training and to implement the training is considered a matching, 
in-kind contribution to the grant activities.
    (6) Funds may not be used for consulting fees. (In special cases 
where training is not available otherwise, the Institute may consider 
an individually designed training agenda that includes the use of a 
consultant clearly serving as a trainer to the applicant in specific 
areas of museum operations.)
    (7) Funds may be used to purchase supplies, materials, and 
equipment for areas of museum operations for which training was 
received.
    (8) Funds may support additional travel as needed to implement 
training (eg. travel to libraries, archives, etc. to document 
collections).
    (g) Conditions of participation. Following the completion of the 
training activity the museum must submit an implementation plan to the 
Institute for review before implementation funds are released. The 
implementation plan must indicate the time frame for implementation 
activities, the personnel involved, the activities to be completed, 
where the activities will take place, and the costs for implementing 
the plan.
    (h) Form of assistance: limitation of amount. (1) The Director 
makes payments to a museum under this subpart in advance.
    (2) The amount of the grant to a museum will be determined by the 
Director, in accordance with the policy direction of the Board, 
regarding the maximum amount available for each part of the grant. The 
amount of the grant will be subject to the availability of funds.
    (i) Reporting requirements. The museum receiving a grant for 
training and implementation under this subpart must submit a final 
financial and narrative report that evaluates the success of the 
applicant in meeting the stated goals and any plans to continue 
activities in the area of training.
    (j) Limitation on number of applications. A museum may submit only 
one application for each deadline.
    (k) Duration of grant. (1) Grants made under this subpart generally 
permit the grantee to use the funds for a period of up to 24 months 
from the start of the grant period. The grantee may use grant funds 
during the period specified in the grant document unless the grant is 
suspended or terminated.
    (2) If the grantee needs additional time to complete the grant, the 
grantee may apply for an extension of the grant period without 
additional funds. The Director may approve this extension at his or her 
discretion.

    Dated: March 1, 1994.
Diane B. Frankel,
Director, Institute of Museum Services.
[FR Doc. 94-7779 Filed 3-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7036-01-M