AccessAbility Program Announcement

CFDA No. 45.024
2008NEA01ACC
7390000

Grant Program Description

This program announcement outlines three separate National Endowment for the Arts projects. These projects, listed below, provide career opportunities or arts programming for individuals with disabilities, older adults, or those in healthcare settings:

• Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities
• Access to Design Professions
• Arts in Healthcare Consultancy Program

The Arts Endowment plans to award one grant for each project. Each grant may be renewed for up to four years, subject to agency priorities, the availability of funds, and grantee performance. These projects are managed by the Arts Endowment's AccessAbility Office, which works with a wide range of public and private partners. For more information on the background of each project, visit the Accessibility section of the Arts Endowment's Web site.

Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals
with Disabilities
(One award up to $50,000)

Background

This project is designed to advance education and career opportunities in the arts for individuals with disabilities. A June 1998 National Forum on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities and three subsequent summits on arts education, arts administration, and vocational rehabilitation assessed needs in this area and recommended strategies for addressing them. A key recommendation was the convening of statewide forums.

The Arts Endowment initiated the Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities project in 2002. Since that time, 26 states have convened forums and conducted follow-up activities.

Grant Opportunity

The Arts Endowment plans to award a single grant of up to $50,000 to an organization to 1) manage and support a minimum of two Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities in states that have not yet convened such a forum, and 2) conduct a minimum of four follow-up activities in states that have convened forums. The grantee organization will:

• Develop a protocol whereby state arts agencies (those organizations that are officially designated and financially supported by their state governments as such) may submit proposals to convene statewide forums or conduct follow-up activities on careers in the arts for people with disabilities. The grantee organization must provide oversight and consultation to the state arts agencies as they develop their proposals. State arts agencies should be encouraged to develop their projects with their VSAarts affiliates.

• Ensure that each forum or follow-up activity engages key individuals and organizations from the arts and disability communities. Career opportunities should span all arts disciplines and include a wide variety of positions such as museum curator, media artist, visual artist, costume designer, actor, director, arts gallery manager, poet, and writer.

• Conduct a peer review to evaluate proposals and determine the state arts agencies that will participate.

• Provide technical assistance to and monitor the activities of the selected states as they develop their forums or follow-up activities. This must include:

  • Convening regular conference calls to review progress and provide guidance.

  • Identifying and providing resources for participants.

• Provide reimbursement for the forum or follow-up activity expenses.

• Summarize the results and provide recommendations for the future. This includes providing the following reports to the Arts Endowment:

  • A six-month progress report.

  • A final report with a summary and analysis of findings from the forums and follow-up activities including recommendations.

• Disseminate relevant information to the field. This may include:

  • Using the grantee organization's Web site and message board to exchange information and to post lessons learned for and from forum and follow-up activity participants.

  • Disseminating information and a calendar of events to the arts and disability community and to the public at large.

• Secure any rights, permissions, and releases that are required to carry out the project.

Access to Design Professions
(One award up to $75,000)

Background

The Arts Endowment established Access to Design Professions in 2000 to increase the number of and support for people with disabilities in design professions. Research shows that there are very few designers with disabilities in design professions and that traditional approaches in professional education, vocational rehabilitation, and career counseling do not encourage, target, or accommodate individuals with various disabilities.

Four phases of the project have taken place thus far. Phase I involved research with designers about their career development, the identification of issues and barriers for people with disabilities, and the development -- with a task force -- of an action plan. Phases II and III included additional research, the development of networks, the documentation of career opportunities, an electronic mentorship program, and the development of conference and online course materials, as well as Web resources. Phase IV developed professional design demonstration projects in a high school, created profiles of designers with sensory disabilities, and refined the E-Mentoring program and the Web resources. The Arts Endowment now hopes to build on these earlier phases to advance this work further.

Grant Opportunity

The Arts Endowment plans to award a single grant of up to $75,000 to one organization that will work closely with the established national task force composed of a select group of design faculty, professional designers, disability service coordinators, career and vocational rehabilitation counselors, and students, to:

• Develop pilot projects as well as identify and document existing projects that recruit and support people with non-apparent disabilities, such as hearing loss and learning disabilities, for professional design education programs. This would build on work from previous phases that developed and evaluated high school projects for people with disabilities, their families, and school counselors. Projects may include the expansion of programs for students (elementary, middle, and high school, as well as college and university) that introduce students with disabilities to careers in design through community experiences and contact with designers.

• Work with targeted organizations (including those for professional designers, design faculty, vocational counselors, disability service staff, and students) to evaluate, refine, and promote widely the Web-based resources that were developed in earlier phases of this project, and expand these resources by soliciting recommendations for and developing additional material.

• Develop, document, and evaluate six to eight new internships in design firms for design students with disabilities.

• Evaluate, modify, and promote the electronic E--Mentoring program, Designers with Disabilities, that was developed in an earlier phase of this project to reach and meet more effectively the needs of students and designers with disabilities.

• Create eight to ten comprehensive profiles of design students and working designers with disabilities in a wide range of design careers to update and supplement the online publication, Building a World Fit for People: Designers with Disabilities at Work. A majority of the profiles should be of people with non-apparent disabilities including people with hearing and learning disabilities.

• Secure any rights, permissions, and releases that are required to carry out the project.

This project is expected to be carried out over a minimum of two years.

Arts in Healthcare Consultancy Program
(One award up to $50,000)

Background

The Arts Endowment established its Arts in Healthcare Consultancy Program in 2001 to help improve and increase professional arts programs that involve patients in healthcare settings, their families, caregivers, and communities. Research shows that the arts can be an effective component in an integrated healthcare approach. Participation in healthcare programs also provides employment opportunities for artists in a wide range of disciplines.

In Phase I, consultants were chosen and trained, sites were selected, and 20 on-site consultancies were conducted across the nation. Phase II provided for an evaluation of the pilot year and a resulting expansion of the program to target consultancies in rural and major metropolitan areas. In Phase III, a survey was developed and implemented and broad needs in the arts and healthcare were identified. During Phase IV, the program grew from 20 on-site consultancies per year to more than 100 consultancies each year. In addition, the program provided off-site consultancies through conference calls and online seminars.

Grant Opportunity

The Arts Endowment plans to award a single grant of up to $50,000 to one organization that will work with arts, healthcare, and academic groups to:

• Conduct an Arts in Healthcare Consultancy Program that will help healthcare and arts groups develop and establish a wide variety of arts programming in medical settings through the following types of consulting and technical assistance:

  • On-site consultancies.
  • Phone and e-mail consultancies.
  • Online seminars.
  • Workshops at national conferences.
  • An online resource center to respond to critical issues (e.g., artists working in sterile settings) with timely information.
  • Other online resources for arts in healthcare programs including links to program management resources, and best practices that include program summaries, images, and contact information.

• Partner with medical societies and healthcare associations to 1) target their memberships with consulting services that can help increase knowledge of the benefits of the arts in healthcare, and 2) draw upon their expertise in developing and cultivating healthcare programs that integrate the arts and provide new opportunities to artists. This should include the development of themed programs around health topics such as Alzheimer's, hospice care, pediatric care, or healthcare design.

• Through the Consultancy Program, document arts in healthcare programs across the country, and conduct a needs assessment of the field.

• Secure any rights, permissions, and releases that are required to carry out the project.

Award Information

Grant Amounts and Matching Funds

The grant amount for each project is indicated in the description of that project above. A match of at least $1 in nonfederal funds is required for each $1 in Arts Endowment grant funds. Matching funds may be all cash or a combination of cash and in-kind contributions.

Period of Support

The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on or after May 1, 2009. An initial grant period of up to two years is allowed.

No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget. Project costs that are incurred before May 1, 2009, will be removed from the Project Budget.

Applicant Eligibility

Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. To be eligible, the applicant organization must:

• Meet the Arts Endowment's "Legal Requirements," including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, as detailed in the FY 2009 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, at the time of application.
• Have at least a three-year history of experience that is directly related to the particular Grant Opportunity prior to the application deadline.
• Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.

The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs) are not eligible to apply under this program announcement.

How to Prepare and Submit an Application

Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The Grants.gov system must receive your application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on August 27, 2008.

We strongly recommend that you submit at least one week in advance of the deadline to give yourself ample time to resolve any problems that you might encounter. You take a significant risk by waiting until the day of the deadline to submit your application.

Supporting material that must be mailed directly to the Arts Endowment must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than August 28, 2008. Please mail these items to the AccessAbility office in Room 523, not any other office listed in the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines.

The Arts Endowment has created an easy-to-follow checklist for registering. Step-by-step instructions for registering also are available at Get Registered. If you have problems registering, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site at Applicant Help. The Grants.gov Customer Service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

If you have already registered with Grants.gov, renew/verify your registration with Grants.gov and make sure that all of your information is current before you apply.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically, you may request a waiver from this requirement. A waiver will be granted for the following reasons only:

Your waiver request must be received (not postmarked) at the Arts Endowment at least three weeks before the application deadline, or no later than 5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, on August 6, 2008. You may fax your request to 202/682-5613 or send it to:

Deputy Chairman for States, Regions, and Local Arts Agencies
Grants.gov Waiver Request
Room 710
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506-0001

The National Endowment for the Arts continues to experience lengthy delays in the delivery of First-Class mail. Please consider faxing your waiver request or using a commercial delivery service, particularly if you are sending your request close to the receipt deadline.

In the event a waiver is granted, your complete paper application package must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than August 27, 2008.

IMPORTANT: You must have Adobe Reader (version 8.1.1 or higher), a small, free software program, installed on your computer before you download your application package from Grants.gov. Earlier versions of Adobe Reader or other Adobe products will lead to errors and prevent you from submitting your application. If more than one computer will be involved in the preparation of the application package, ensure that the same version of Adobe Reader is used.

To verify that you have a compatible version of Adobe Reader installed, click on the test application package link below:

Adobe Reader Version Test Application Package

If you do not already have Adobe Reader (version 8.1.1 or higher) installed on your computer, please download and follow the installation instructions for Adobe Reader (version 8.1.1 or higher).

Then follow the link below to "How to Prepare and Submit an Application." These instructions will guide you to submit material that corresponds to the requirements for applicants to the Access to Artistic Excellence category in the FY 2009 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. Submit only these items:

• Application for Federal Domestic Assistance (SF-424)
• NEA Supplemental Information Form
• NEA Organization & Project Profile Form
• Attachments Form to which you have attached:
• Organizational Background Statement
• Details of the Project Narrative
• Project Budget Form, Pages 1 and 2
• Financial Information Form
• Biographies of Key Project Personnel
• List of Current Board Members
• Your Own Project Budget (optional)
• Programmatic Activities List
• Four copies of supporting material. This material must be mailed directly to the Arts Endowment and be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than August 28, 2008. Please mail these items to the AccessAbility office in Room 523, not any other office listed in the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines.

Go to "How to Prepare and Submit an Application" for further instructions.

Application Review

The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the:

• Artistic significance of the project.
• Quality of the artists, arts organizations, works of art, and/or services that the project will involve.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

• Potential to enhance access to the arts and opportunities in the arts for individuals with disabilities, older adults, or those in healthcare settings, as applicable.
• Involvement of the targeted populations in planning, developing, and implementing the project.
• Potential effects on participating artists and the artistic community.
• Appropriateness of the project to the organization's mission, audience, and/or constituency.
• Applicant’s track record in working with appropriate partners to provide or enhance opportunities for individuals with disabilities, older adults, or those in healthcare settings, as applicable.
• Applicant's ability to oversee, provide technical assistance for, and monitor a multi-state program that engages individuals with disabilities, older adults, or those in healthcare settings, as applicable.
• Likelihood that the project will achieve the identified outcome(s) and the feasibility of the proposed performance measurements. *
• Ability to carry out the project including the appropriateness of the budget, the quality and clarity of the project goals and design, the resources involved, and the qualifications of the project's personnel.

* The Arts Endowment, along with other federal agencies, collects information on the projects it funds in order to track the results – or outcomes – of its activities. This information is compiled and reported to Congress and the public. The outcome the Arts Endowment intends to achieve through these AccessAbility projects is: Audiences throughout the nation have opportunities to experience a wide range of art forms and activities. Within the context of this outcome, we ask all applicants to define what they would like to achieve, how they will assess the degree to which it is achieved, and, upon completion of the project, what they have learned from their successes and failures.

All applications are reviewed by an advisory panel. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Chairman reviews the Council's recommendations and makes the final decision on all grant awards. Pending the availability of funding, it is anticipated that applicants will be notified of award or rejection in April 2009.

Award Administration

Crediting Requirement

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts in their programs and related promotional material including publications and Web sites. The organizations that receive grants may be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of their projects.

Administrative Requirements

Before submitting a Statement of Interest, organizations should review the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines and General Terms & Conditions for detailed information on legal requirements and other administrative matters that pertain to this announcement.

Agency Contact

If you have questions, please contact:

Katie Lyles
Accessibility Specialist
202/682-5733 or 202/682-5496 Voice/T.T.Y.
lylesk@arts.gov

Paula Terry
Director, AccessAbility
terryp@arts.gov

Reporting Burden

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 32 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The Arts Endowment welcomes any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and making them as easy to use as possible. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Office of Guidelines & Panel Operations, Room 620, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001. Note: Applicants are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

July 2008

OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2010

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506