BAA- Questions Answers.pdf

030DV26R0034 – BAA – Archie Green Cultural Documentation Program

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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1. What kinds of projects can be supported by the Archie Green Cultural Documentation Program?

Please see Section 2 of the Broad Agency Announcement for examples of project ideas.

As this program builds on the previous AFC programs, the Archie Green Fellowships and Community Collection Grants, inspiration may be drawn from checking out projects that were funded through them.

See previous awardee projects from the Archie Green Fellowships here. In addition, the following links take you to completed Community Collection Grant projects that are now online archival collections:

o Specialty Coffee Farmers in Puerto Rico o Celebrating CHamoru Nobenas o Tenth Street Historic District and The Bottom in Dallas's Oak Cliff Freedmen's Town o Continuing Comanche Culture: Culture as Making, Craft as Shared Story o Follow the Music: Exploring Multi-Linear Legacies of House Culture o Lao Buddhist New Year Festival in Southern Louisiana o Trinidad and Tobago J'ouvert in Brooklyn o Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala o Neah Bay's Path to Wellness o Sonidos de Houston: Documenting the City's Chicano Music Scene o United Houma Nation Culture Bearers in Coastal Communities of Louisiana o Warp and Weft of Yap's Outer Islands: Backstrap Weaving in Micronesia

2. What types of projects would not qualify for funding through this program?

Please see Section 2 of the Broad Agency Announcement for examples of program ideas that would not qualify for funding.

3. The BAA includes the statement: “government employees are not eligible”. Does this apply to state and local government employees, or just employees of the federal government?

State and local government employees are eligible to apply. However, federal government employees are not eligible.

4. Can an individual applicant successfully lead a project without being affiliated with a 501(c)(3), and what factors strengthen individual applications?

Individuals can apply as stated in the BAA. Affiliation with a 501(c)(3) is not required. Applications will be evaluated as stated in the BAA.

5. If an applicant does not yet have permanent residency (it’s pending), can they apply through a fiscal sponsor or partner organization?

As stated in the BAA Individual applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Organizations must be U.S.-based; for clarification, organizational eligibility encompasses all 50 U.S. states, U.S. protectorates, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

6. Would one individual be able to submit two separate proposals?

Yes, there is no limit to the number of concept papers an individual can submit. Each application will be evaluated on its own merits.

https://guides.loc.gov/american-folklife-center-fellowships-internships/green-previous-awardees https://www.loc.gov/collections/specialty-coffee-farmers-in-puerto-rico/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/celebrating-chamoru-nobenas/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/dallas-oak-cliff-freedmens-town/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/continuing-comanche-culture/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/exploring-multi-linear-legacies-of-house-culture/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/lao-buddhist-new-year-festival-in-southern-louisiana/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/trinidad-and-tobago-jouvert-in-brooklyn/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/unearthing-the-lost-songs-of-kohala/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/neah-bays-path-to-wellness/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/sonidos-de-houston-documenting-the-citys-chicano-music-scene/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-houma-nation-culture-bearers-in-coastal-communities-of-louisiana/about-this-collection/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/backstrap-weaving-in-micronesia/about-this-collection/

030ADV26R0034

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7. If you were a part of an organization who is submitting an application for the documentation project, would you also be allowed to submit your own separate application as an individual for a completely separate project?

Yes, applicants can submit applications as individuals, as well as an organization. Each application will be evaluated on its own merits.

8. Can staff read concept papers and offer feedback?

Feedback will be provided to applicants invited to submit proposals.

9. When doing transcriptions is audio needed? Field Notes?

Audio and/or video should be provided for any planned recordings, alongside a transcript. Descriptive information about each file will be required in the metadata form that program awardees will use.

10. How do you define ‘community’ in cases where participants are geographically dispersed but share a common migration experience?

It can certainly be possible that people with common migration experiences consider themselves a community despite being based in various geographical locations. Applicants should make it clear in their concept papers who the proposed project participants are; that is, those whose cultural traditions, practices, activities, and/or experiences will be documented. As stated in the BAA, the relationship between the applicant and those whose cultural activities and/or experiences are proposed to be documented should also be discussed and made clear.

11. Can concept papers include hyperlinks to content or use URLs to offer samples of work?

No, we do not allow hyperlinks to be included in the proposals.

12. I’m curious about partnerships with community institutions (unions, professional associations, etc.)

as regards proposals; if we have worked/are currently working with a particular group, is this seen as beneficial or does LoC prefer independent scholarship for this project?

The Library of Congress is interested in applicants that can demonstrate collaboration and prior experience with the communities they seek to serve. Partnerships with community institutions will be viewed favorably if they support the goals of the project and reflect partnership and a shared commitment to the project outcomes.

13. For the verbiage of three pages (including cover page), does that mean that the actual content of the brief concept paper is limited to two pages?

Yes, the concept paper should be no more than three pages, with a cover page included.

14. Can two people apply as a "team" for the fellowship? We are not part of an organization but rather would like to collaborate.

This is not an application for a Fellowship. Contracts will be issued to the successful applicants. As stated in section 1.2 of the BAA the Library will not issue a single contract to teams of individuals or organizations.

15. In regard to having subjects sign releases, does the LOC have an official release that would be provided, with the specific language required? Or is the expectation that the Fellowship Recipient create/provide their own, standard release?

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/1c0a93c7cbe84b54a8a1c88fd7da62f3/view

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This is not an application for a Fellowship. Contracts will be issued to the successful applicants. The Library of Congress will provide a standard release form for awardees to use.

16. Are projects that document immigrant folklife in a regional US community eligible? Or do the projects need to be documenting specifically American cultural folklife?

Projects that document immigrant folklife may be eligible for the award provided they meet the requirements in the BAA. We suggest that applicants carefully review our guidelines around ethical collecting practices prior to submitting their concept paper.

17. Can you clarify who can apply? I’m working with a local LLC that would be the fiscal agent and also be involved in the administration of the project.

Please review the eligibility guidelines in the BAA for more details on who can apply.

18. As a co-founder of a non profit organization, do you recommend I apply as an individual or as an organization? Our project would consist stories from community members and documenting what we are doing to share our culture to the community as a whole, such as art, dance and festivals.

Please review the eligibility requirements on who can apply and send a concept paper that most closely allows you to align staffing, resources, and goals within a feasible and reasonable plan.

19. Is PII Personal Identification Information?

Yes, PII refers to “Personally Identifiable Information.” This can include contact information, credit card information, and other pieces of information that should not be shared.

20. For the timeline, do the projects have to start and end on September 10, 2026?

Projects cannot exceed 12 months from the start of the period of performance. As an example, if the project begins on 9/10/26, then the end date will be 9/9/27.

21. Is the Project Proposal single or double spaced?

Note that this is a two-step process. You need to first send a concept paper, and you can only submit a proposal if you are invited to submit a proposal.

22. We provide services to refugee and immigrant communities. Are we eligible to apply for this grant?

Yes, you can apply. However, please note that the resulting award is a contract not a grant.

23. Are images allowed to be inserted in the concept paper via the cover page or other pages? Or should it the concept paper be “text only”?

Yes, you can insert images into the concept paper.

24. If chosen to move forward to the full proposals, if you have more than one researcher, do both have to have a SAM registration, or is it one per proposal?

We can only accept applications from one primary individual or organization. However, work with consultants and/or sub-contractors is allowed as described in the BAA.

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/1c0a93c7cbe84b54a8a1c88fd7da62f3/view

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25. Do you have any suggestions on materials that speak to how to work with communities together to form a foundation for a community led project that puts them in a good space and is done with care?

We can recommend the American Folklife Center's accessible guidebook for undertaking cultural research and documentation projects, which touches on ethical principles and practice: Folklife & Fieldwork: An Introduction to Cultural Documentation

In general terms, fruitful community-led documentation projects are based on ethical and trustful relationships between project leaders and participants.

As noted in the BAA, applicants should discuss their relationship with the project participants whose cultural activities will be under focus and documented during proposed projects.

26. If the cultural practice involves the communal performance of music, does copyright law prohibit the documentation of performances for material beyond public domain? E.g. if someone sings a Woody Guthrie song, is that disqualified for inclusion in the materials?

Information regarding intellectual property can be found in Section 3.2.3 of the BAA. Applicants will need to obtain the rights described in the section.

27. Will you require documentation of 501c3 status?

501(c)(3) status is not a mandatory requirement. Eligibility requirements are as described in Section 1.2 of the

BAA.

28. The BAA notes that the Library will work with awardees to determine the most appropriate approach regarding access to sensitive documentation. My practice — Field Notes from the Work (and the Wild)

— is built on a consent-forward methodology in which subjects review and shape their own Field Notes before anything is published or archived. Some participants may want certain portions of their recorded conversation held rather than made fully public, even while agreeing to broader archival deposit. Could you share examples of how previous Community Collections Grant or Occupational Folklife Project awardees have navigated this — particularly when subjects wanted portions of their documentation restricted rather than fully accessible? I want to make sure my consent process is designed to align with AFC standards from the outset.

Please see Section 3.2.3. of the BAA for more details about the AFC’s policies with regards to the issues raised. In general, any limitations on access and use of collection materials should be described – with the understanding that the intent of the award is to support documentation projects that can be made freely available for a wide variety of audiences.

29. If chosen to move forward to the full proposals, if you have more than one researcher, do both have to have a SAM registration, or is it one per proposal?

As teaming is not allowed, a single applicant will be invited to submit a proposal. The applicant asked to submit a proposal will have to be registered on SAM.gov and be “active”.

31. Here at the Historic New Orleans Collection, we already have a robust history of collecting oral histories from our various community members. One of our next projects will be to document the Honduran community and their cultural impacts on New Orleans and this region. In addition to oral histories, we also intend to archive photographs and ephemera, which will feed into potential future projects and events to continue our connection with this community. We also intend to make this content available for free through our research center and website resources. I understand any materials created and compiled during the grant period would need to be available through your https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/19/66/70/28/2019667028/2019667028.pdf https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/19/66/70/28/2019667028/2019667028.pdf

5 5/14/2026 archives, but can you explain what intellectual property rights we would retain? Would we still be able to use this content for future projects such as an exhibition?

Please see Section 3.2.3. of the BAA for further detail on this question. It states, “In addition to digital collection materials deposited with the Library, copies may be retained by the interviewer and/or the local organization participating in the project.” However, the applicant must grant the Library an open license for non-commercial public use of the collection materials as stated in the BAA.

32. My question is regarding the period of performance. Would all activities need to be completed in the 12-month period, or could that time be used to prepare and launch the project? In the event we collect more oral histories, photographs, and/or ephemera in the future, well after the period of performance, would we need to contact you to add to the original project content?

All activities must be completed by the period of performance as specified in the BAA. Awardees will be eligible to request a no-cost extension in certain cases, although this is not guaranteed and should not be incorporated into program planning. In the instance that additional materials are collected after the period of performance ends, the Library would evaluate any additions to the project as a separate accrual.

33. I have a question about Intellectual Property Rights. Are awarded projects able to use the same materials in later projects, such as museum exhibits or documentaries? My concern is that I would love to apply but also use this project in other ways beyond this program.

Please see Section 3.2.3. of the BAA for further detail on this question. It states, “In addition to digital collection materials deposited with the Library, copies may be retained by the interviewer and/or the local organization participating in the project.” However, the applicant must grant the Library an open license for non-commercial public use of the collection materials as stated in the BAA.

34. I am writing on behalf of Syrian Community Network, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. We serve refugee and immigrant communities, primarily from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. I am reaching out regarding the Archie Green Cultural Documentation Program. We are interested in submitting a concept paper and would like to confirm whether our proposed focus aligns with the program’s priorities. Our project would center on documenting the cultural traditions, practices, and lived experiences of refugee and immigrant communities from the MENA region in the United States, with an emphasis on community-led storytelling and cultural preservation. Could you please advise if this focus would be considered within the scope of the program?

Yes, the project as described would fit within the guidelines for the program.

35. I understand that the projects funded by this program will have a timeline of up to a year long, with an intended start date in September 2026. My project would be documenting a specific event that happens each August. Would it be reasonable for me to propose a project timeline beginning in October of 2026 and ending in October of 2027 so that I have more time after the event in August 2027 to process documentation materials generated during the event?

The period of performance must end no later than one year following the project start. With an anticipated start date of early September 2026, we advise you to create a project that falls within that timeline.

36. Are the schedule and price estimates part of the 3 page concept paper, or separate? How detailed should these timelines and price estimates be? How should we account for training and working with AFC staff on materials preparation and management in the project timeline?

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Please provide a broad overview of the schedule and price estimates within the three-page concept paper.

This will allow us to evaluate the program as described and evaluate it based on the criteria included in the

BAA.

37. Are funds allowed to be used as honoraria for interviewees?

Yes.

38. Are funds allowed to be used to purchase recording equipment?

Yes.

39. Are applications from one individual with no additional team members or subcontractors involved in the project unusual, or seen as a disadvantage?

No, the applicants will be evaluated according to the criteria in the BAA – there is no advantage or disadvantage to applying as an individual.