Call for Proposals: Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation 2023 Grants Program (Cambodia)

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the fiscal year (FY) 2023 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Grants Program (AFCP).

Goals of Funding Opportunity

• The fund was established to help countries preserve their cultural heritage. For Cambodia, it is aimed at preserving major ancient archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, major museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression that have historical or cultural significance and are accessible to the public and protected by Cambodian law.

• The projects selected to receive funding through the AFCP Grants Program will advance U.S. diplomatic goals and demonstrate the depth of U.S. respect for the cultural heritage of Cambodia. Proposal shall advance U.S foreign policy objectives and demonstrates U.S. leadership in the preservation and protection of cultural heritage around the world.

Funding Priorities

• Applications for projects that directly support one or more of the following will receive additional consideration in FY 2023:

  • Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations;

  • Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas or post disaster cultural heritage recovery

  • Support conflict resolution and help communities bridge differences

  • Partner, connect with, or feed into other Embassy or public diplomacy programs

Funding Areas

• The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Grants Program supports the preservation of major ancient archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, major museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous languages and crafts. Appropriate project activities may include:

  • Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts)

  • Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site)

  • Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site)

  • Documentation (recording in analog or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site or tradition)

  • Inventory (Listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age or other unifying characteristic or state)

  • Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition)

  • Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of an object or site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings)

  • Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).

Funding Information

• Floor on Amount of Individual Awards: US $10,000 per project

• Ceiling on Amount of Individual Awards: US $500,000 per project.

Ineligible Activities and Unallowable Costs

• AFCP does not support the following activities or costs, and application involving any of the activities or costs will be deemed ineligible:

  • Preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects, collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process but not complete at the time of application.

  • Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations).

  • Preservation of hominid or human remains.

  • Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.).

  • Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.).

  • Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use.

  • Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purpose.

  • Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project.

  • Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new existing museums

  • Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example).

  • Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes.

  • Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances

  • Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist.

  • Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another

  • Removal of Cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason.

  • Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation, or public diplomacy effort.

  • Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies.

  • Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [ up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund).

  • Costs of fund-raising campaigns.

  • Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees.

  • Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award, unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the Grant officer.

  • International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project or to provide project leaders with learning and exchange opportunities with cultural heritage experts.

  • Individual projects costing less than US $10,000 or more than $500,000.

  • Independent U.S. projects overseas.