02 - 030ADV26R0021 - BAA-FAQ-2024.pdf

BAA #030ADV26R0021

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BROAD AGENCY ANNOUCEMENT (BAA) - PENDING BAA # FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

(FAQ)

The full FAQ will be posted publicly on the LC Labs website and the BAA page on Sam.gov.

The Library of Congress has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to fund an individual to do research with Library of Congress collections, produce a creative and transformative digital work for the American people, and serve as an ambassador for the Library. The residency is anticipated to be mostly remote, with some in-person research and event requirements, beginning in September

2026. The residency will be no less than 12 months and no more than 24 months. Applicants will propose their own schedule for the residency as part of the application process. The second year of the residency is optional, pending Library approval and available funding.

What is it?

The Library of Congress (Library) established an Innovator in Residence Program (IIR) in 2017 to invite creative people with diverse perspectives and expertise to enable transformational experiences that connect the Library’s digital collections with the American people. The residency is hosted by LC Labs as part of their efforts to demonstrate possibilities of how the Library relates to and enriches the work, life and imagination of the American people.

Residents are required to do research with Library collections, create a unique digital work that may be hosted on the LC Labs website, host a public program, and serve as an ambassador for the

Library during their tenure. The Labs team seeks proposals for research and work that connects

Library collections to new audiences by promoting insight and inspiration, discovery of Library items, and/or creative remixing and reuse. The selected resident will have access to both publicly available and on-site only Library collections and will be given program and research support. The work(s) will be displayed on the Library’s websites and/or in public spaces at the discretion of the Library.

How much money is it?

Proposed budgets should not exceed $90,000 for the first year and $90,000 for the optional second year. The Innovator in Residence will be issued a contract and is not a Library employee, as such the budget should be all-inclusive, such as resourcing, if needed, for sub-contracted labor, materials, taxes, and travel.

What other resources will be available?

Any material held by the Library of Congress, as allowable by copyright law, can be considered for research and production. Final approval for the inclusion of Library material in a public work will be made by curators, the Office of General Counsel, and other Library staff.

The Library will provide administrative and research support for the resident. The resident may receive a Library of Congress email address, laptop, and access to select staff-only platforms if required for their project. A workspace will be made available when the resident is on-site.

How does the residency work?

Residents are expected to do research with Library collections, create a digital work, host a public program, and serve as an ambassador to the Library during their tenure. The Labs team seeks concepts for research and work that promote insight and inspiration, discovery of Library items, and/or facilitate creative remixing and reuse. Further descriptions of the program areas can be found in Section 2 of the announcement. The Resident will have access to both publicly available https://labs.loc.gov/about/opportunities/innovator-in-residence-program https://labs.loc.gov/

12/18/2023 2 and on-site only Library collections during their tenure and will be given program and research support. The majority of this residency is remote, with some requirements for on-site research at the Library’s main campus in Washington, DC.

Can the award be given to teams, or only individuals?

The Library will not accept concepts or proposals from organizations or for teaming arrangements.

Applicants can sub-contract part of the services to be provided. The Library will not have approval over the sub-contracting arrangements.

Can the award be granted to individuals outside of the United States?

This announcement is limited to individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of the United

States.

Can the award be granted to current federal employees?

Current federal employees are ineligible.

Who maintains the intellectual property for the resulting work?

The Library’s intention in this solicitation is that the works created are of maximum benefit to the

American people. To that end, the products created as a result of this announcement (to include the creative work, public event recordings, blog posts and other project documentation) must be made available on loc.gov properties (at the Library’s discretion) and published under a CC0 1.0 universal license. The applicant grants the Library and the public an irrevocable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, non-exclusive worldwide license to reproduce, distribute, copy, display, create derivative works, and publicly post, link to, and share, the work(s) or parts thereof, for the purpose of promoting the residency, making it accessible to the American people and for any other purpose.

How do I apply?

First, submit a 3-page (including cover page) concept paper by 5 PM Eastern Time on 03/13/2026.

Directions for what to include in the concept paper are described in Sections 4.1 of the announcement. Concept papers will be evaluated by the process described in Section 5.1 of the announcement.

Then, a subset of applicants who submitted concept papers may be invited to create full proposals.

Those selected will receive an email invitation from Loc-BAA@loc.gov. Directions for creating full proposals are in Section 4.2 of the announcement.

Selections for award will be made by the process described in Section 5.2. The Library reserves the right to not select any of the proposals received. We estimate we will select the Innovator in August

2026 and they will begin in September 2026.

Do I need to be registered in SAM.gov to be eligible?

Yes. To be eligible for award of a contract resulting from this announcement, you must be registered in the government’s System for Award Management. This process can take several weeks, so if you are not already registered, you should start that process immediately upon receiving an invitation to submit a full proposal. It is a free process and is necessary for any individual or organization that wants to receive any kind of federal grant or contract. You must provide confirmation of registration to be eligible for and prior to an award.

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Can I see an example proposal?

Yes! You will find an awarded concept paper, and proposal and budget from 2025 Innovator in

Residence Vivian Li as attachments hosted with this announcement. Keep in mind that there have been some iterative improvements to the announcement since that time, but the proposal artifacts are still excellent examples of a competitive concept paper and full proposal.

Where can I find more information or ask for help?

Email your questions to Moji Adejuwon at Loc-BAA@loc.gov. The email shall include this BAA number (PENDING) and “BAA Innovator in Residence” in the subject line. Questions received after

02/13/2026 may not be answered.

The Library will provide answers to questions periodically by issuing amendments to the announcement on sam.gov and will keep a running list of questions and answers at https://labs.loc.gov/about/opportunities/innovator-in-residence-program (LC Labs Website). All questions and answers addressed both in email and during webinar sessions will be issued as amendments in the announcement and listed on the LC Labs website.

The Library will host two online informational webinars to share information about the announcement and answer questions. The webinars will be held on PENDING from TBD Eastern

Time and PENDING from TBD Eastern Time. Please register for one of the webinars on the LC Labs website.

Historic questions received and answered that apply to current announcement:

1) Can a non-US resident apply if this is a mix of virtual/physical residency?

The BAA is limited to individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States who can meet the residency requirements stated in the Broad Agency Announcement.

2) Can an existing project be proposed to have an iteration that is with the Library of

Congress?

Yes, but it must meet the requirements of the BAA.

3) Are innovators required to reside in DC during the program or are there opportunities to work remotely and travel periodically to DC?

No. Innovators are not required to live in DC. In the first year, applicants must spend at least 80 cumulative hours on-site at the Library’s campus in Washington, DC.

4) Do the 80 hours on-site need to be consecutive or is it just in total over the residency?

The Innovator’s 80 hours are cumulative within the first year.

5) I have an LLC to organize and distribute funds to contractors, collaborators, and myself.

Can I receive Library funds through my LLC?

https://labs.loc.gov/about/opportunities/innovator-in-residence-program

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The contract that will be issued under this BAA will be issued to an individual or an individual who has incorporated as sole proprietorship. Teaming arrangements are not allowed under this BAA and a contract cannot be issued to a company or firm. An applicant has the option of sub-contracting services, however, there will be no contractual relationship between the Library and the subcontractors, and the applicant is responsible for providing all services required under the contract.

6) Is it appropriate to add the estimated taxes due on $90,000 as an independent contractor into our budget for the proposal?

As stated in the BAA the award amount will not exceed $90,000. However, applicants can use full burdened labor rates that includes all applicable taxes for the calculation of fees in the proposed budget.

7) Have past residents held full-time work concurrently?

Yes. When submitting a project plan, applicants should estimate a scope of work that is feasible to execute successfully amongst their other commitments.

8) Does the Library consider this a full-time position— in other words, if an applicant has a job

(ex: I’m a professor), should they take a leave of absence to commit to the project?

The relationship between the Library and successful applicant will be a non-exclusive contractual relationship and the independent contractor is free to offer services to the general public. However, the contractor must provide all services as stated in the contract during the contract’s period of performance.

9) Do intellectual property considerations need to be included in the concept paper? Can this be revisited and revised in the project proposal?

Yes. Any IP considerations must be included on the cover page as stated in section 4.1.1 of the BAA.

Yes, IP considerations can be revised in the full proposal. However, the IP rights are as stated in the

BAA.

10) Are we free to use any work in the Library, or do copyright issues (I’m thinking specifically about the moving image archives) need to be considered on a work-by-work basis?

You are free to research with any items in the Library. If you are including Library items in your digital work, those items must be free to use for the work to meet the requirements of the BAA in section 3.2.3. Library staff can help the Innovator determine which materials are free to use and which may be bound by copyright restrictions.

11) If part of the project is ‘non-digital’ but derived from the Library’s archives, do the IP provisions in the agreement mean that this non-digital work would be owned by the Library at completion of the project?

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If you are submitting those items as a deliverable to the Library, then yes, you are granting the

Library and the public a royalty-free license as described in section 3.2.3 of the BAA.

12) Is this program for artists only or creative professionals/researchers as well?

It is for creative professionals and researchers as well.

13) When we create our budget, do we need to include living expenses for when we’re onsite?

Yes.

14) When it comes to budget/scope of our proposed projects, is there a preference for a smaller project that might only cost $30k vs. a bigger one that would cost $90k?

No. We will evaluate the extent to which the price is reasonable for the project proposed.

15) What does “may be hosted” entail? (Section 1.1 paragraph 4)

The Library reserves the right to not host your work on its websites.

16) What do you mean by “state of the art IT development” in section 2.4 (on page 6 of the

BAA)?

A “state of the art IT development” refers to a work which could contribute to the advancement of modern information technology. Please see further definitions in the Federal Acquisition

Regulations (FAR) section 2.101 and the general description of a Broad Agency Announcement in section 35.016(a).

17) How much research and admin support should we expect, and in what forms?

The Library can support the Innovator’s research with the collections by connecting you to the appropriate subject matter experts and services at the Library and providing a space for them to work while on-site. The Library will also support administrative tasks such as invoicing, access to

Library-approved software, badging, and email, as appropriate.

18) Can you describe a bit more about the admin and support services provided? For example, is there an hour cap on a research assistant support, or are translation services available?

There is no hour “cap”, but work must be done in coordination with Library staff and is subject to their commitments and schedules. The Library does not offer translation services, so that would need to be sub-contracted labor accounted for in an applicant’s budget and project plan.

19) Will we get feedback on our initial concept if we are chosen to submit a full proposal?

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20) Can I collaborate with an external programmer (and include it in the budget) if I am not a coder and in case I need that?

Yes. You can sub-contract for labor. Please include that in the scope of your project plan and budget.

21) Can an applicant contract with a 3rd party entity to implement their project?

Yes. See question 20.

22) Could you clarify the 12 and 24-month options? I see that we have to say in the concept paper that we’re interested in 24 months for it to be an option, but our proposal cannot depend on the second year. I’m not clear how explicit we should be about what happens in the second year (budget and scope of work).

The Innovator’s digital work must be delivered in the first year (12 months). If approved by the

Library, the second year should be spent promoting and connecting the resident’s work and Library resources with communities, continuing research and refinements, additions, or variations on the original concept or work, and creating scaffolding materials for their work. Further details are in

Section 4.2.2.2 of the BAA.

23) Can a concept be a combination of more than one Program Area?

24) Is it possible to form cross-collaborations between the Library and other institutions through this project? If, for example, the Library has a particular collection and an applicant works with/has a relationship with an institution that holds objects that relate to the

Library’s collection, could this project unify the material through a cross-referential digital experience?

The Library can’t commit to a formal partnership with another organization, only with the Innovator, who is an individual contractor. Any other materials used in the project must meet the intellectual property requirements of the BAA.

25) What happens if we have a very specific research target that the Library might not have a lot of resources on?

Residents are required to do research with Library collections. This could pose a risk to not meeting the requirements of the BAA.

26) If the project must have a digital component, does that mean the Innovator must create something digitally like a website or a new platform, or can we use technology that exists already, such as Instagram or another digital platform? For example, a past Innovator (Jer

Thorp) created a podcast and placed it on a 3rd party platform.

Yes, residents can use an existing platform. Keep in mind that what you deliver must adhere to the intellectual property rights described in Section 3.2.3 of the BAA, so if the work is dependent on

12/18/2023 7 proprietary software or hosting, that will pose a risk to meeting the requirements of the BAA. In the podcast example, Thorp delivered the podcasts to the Library as audio-files with appropriate CC0 licensing but used several accessible podcast platforms for online hosting and sharing.

27) What if you’re already working on a project engaging Library of Congress open access material (online). Would it be seen favorably or unfavorably to continue and expand on such a pre-existing project? And, would it be ok if current university students are included in the budget or project description. Would a proposal be docked points for having a research, academic or student led component?

If the project meets the requirements of the BAA, there is no issue. It is fine for an applicant to work with others, such as sub-contractors, however, the applicant is responsible for making sure all contractual requirements of the project are met, as the Library will have no contractual relationship with the subcontractors. Teaming arrangements will not be considered.

28) Is it important or helpful to name project collaborators in the concept paper or save that for the proposal stage?

Yes, if naming collaborators helps to prove your capability as an applicant to successfully complete the project.

29) Last year, how many people submitted concept papers, and how many were invited to submit a full proposal?

The Library is not releasing this information. Applications are not evaluated against each other, only against the evaluation factors described in section 5 of the BAA.

30) How many candidates will the Library invite to submit full proposals this year?

See question 29.

31) Where is the application?

The application is hosted on SAM.gov. Search for solicitation PENDING BA ##.

Click on “Contract Opportunities”

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In the search box type “PENDING BAA #”

32) Can we use a fiscal conduit to receive funds for the grant?

Not sure of what you mean by a conduit and a grant will not be issued. The contract has to be issued to an individual or an individual who has incorporated as a sole proprietorship. However, under a contract issued to an individual, the individual can elect to use a third party such as a university as a pay agent.

33) Does the awardee invoice the LOC during residency for expenses, travel, equipment and sub-contractors and does the Library make those payments directly to third parties?

No. The individual contracted will be paid based on deliverables, delivered and accepted by the

Library as stated in the contract.

34) My main concern is tax liability. Whether we are liable for the entire $90,000/year and we have to disperse the funds ourselves or if the Library of Congress pays us our artist fee as part of the budget and we only have to pay taxes on the amount we invoice for our artist fee for resident.

No. The Library will not pay artist fees or disburse funds on behalf of the contractor. The Library will make payments based the overall approved budget as stated in the contract for the deliverables provided.

35) What existing machine learning/automated sorting resources or software would be made available to the resident?

The only machine learning resources available to residents are Library collections data and machine-learning models and scripts from previous experiments, which can be found in the Library’s GitHub repository. Any needed software will be fiscal responsibility of the resident and should be included in the estimated budget.

36) What existing machine learning/automated sorting resources or software would be made available to the resident? For example, is there already a system in place that can search, identify and digitally clip images/illustrations from digitized books and prints, particularly older works (pre-1900)?

See answer to question 36.

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37) Are there any restrictions on clipping/remixing content from older, rare books? Meaning are there restrictions on any older groups of work that would circumvent the traditional copyright time expiration therefore preventing the content to be freely used?

If an item is in the public domain, there are no copyright restrictions on clipping or remixing.

38) What does it mean to be “an ambassador”? What are those expectations and responsibilities?

Innovators will be representing the Library in a public position and may be interviewed by media on behalf of the institution. Other examples of Library ambassadors include the Poet Laureate and the

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The Library may also look at an applicant’s public social media profiles to evaluate their fitness for the role, as described in Section 5 of the BAA.

39) Is there a budget maximum or minimum we need to stay within?

There is no minimum, but the per year maximum is $90,000.

40) What are your selection criteria?

See Section 5 of the BAA.

41) Is it okay to keep separate employment while being Resident (to maintain health insurance etc.)?

Yes, the successful applicant will be issued a contract as an independent contractor and will not be provided any benefits as there will not be an employer-employee relationship.

42) Is the Innovator role usually full-time? If not, how do innovators balance time on their

Library project with other projects?

It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. When submitting your project plan, estimate a scope of work that is feasible to execute successfully amongst your other commitments.

43) If we target a very specific audience that isn’t considered a “broad audience” will our project still be considered?

44) Are current Library of Congress employees eligible or ineligible for this?

Current Library of Congress employees are ineligible.

45) Is there a set number of Innovators selected each year?

No. The Library has the right to select none, one, or several Innovators.

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46) Are there any budget provisions for new digitization of visual materials in the Library of

Congress collections? Or, must visual materials already be available in a digital format to include them in a project?

The Library cannot guarantee that items will be digitized according to a Resident’s project schedule.

Analog materials will be available for research when the Resident is on-site.

47) Will you be notified if you are not invited to submit a full proposal?

48) I’m wondering to what degree the residency can be an educational experience for the

Innovator in Residence. For example: If I want to write a concept paper that includes writing/practicing python programming, will my lack of experience count against me? Or can you recommend a creative way to include a skill I want to practice within my proposal? (For example, I could write a proposal that includes the completion of a python program but includes a budget line item to hire a developer to complete the python program in case I’m not able to do so.)

This is a creative research residency, so the Library assumes it will be an educational experience for the Innovator. At the same time, applicants are evaluated on the extent to which they are capable of performing the work proposed. If an applicant does not have all of the skills required, they can consider sub-contracting for that expertise. If an Innovator plans to sub-contract, they should include that in their project plan and in their budget estimate.

49) Can digital works include digital environments? Like VR?

50) When the Library references digital works, can that include hardware aspects of a project? For example, a wearable device is digital, but it has hardware.

Yes, but a budget for materials must be included in the price proposal.

51) Why is it safer to use already digitized materials? Because of copyright issues? (Wondering what the parameters are).

Yes. The Library prioritizes digitizing free to use materials in its collections. Additionally, we cannot guarantee that items can be digitized on behalf of the Innovator.

52) Can a project involve engaging Library of Congress staff, and how would we handle a plan that may be contingent on staff buy-in?

We expect projects will engage with Library staff. In the full proposal process, evaluators can consult with Library staff on the feasibility of your proposal.

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53) Will there be an opportunity for the Library to match applicants with experts in certain areas (i.e., say we are interested in geography or scientific collections - can you make networking recommendations within the Library system?)

Yes. See question 17.

54) Is it okay if our budget changes a bit when we flesh out the full budget proposal?

55) Do we budget for artist fees?

56) Is there a reviewer response indicating why a proposal was rejected?

57) How many concept papers do you typically get?

The Library is not releasing this information. Applications are not evaluated against each other, only against the evaluation factors described in section 5 of the BAA.

58) Are we permitted to brainstorm a project idea with a Library of Congress staff member that we’d like to work with?

No. Applicants should submit a concept paper describing the idea.

59) Can funding go towards a project in progress?

60) Does the contract role provide any benefits? I’m specifically wondering about health insurance.

No. The successful applicant will be issued a contract as an independent contractor. There will not be an employer-employee relationship with the Library.

61) If my project in progress has multiple components that include a strong research element

- that I would be happy to make public and collaborative with the Library - would that be eligible for consideration?

Yes. Innovators are required to do research with Library collections.