DISCOVERY AND ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RECORDS COLLECTIONS | CONGRESSIONAL 202411

Opportunity Information: Apply for CONGRESSIONAL 202411

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), part of the National Archives and Records Administration, is offering the "Discovery and Access to Congressional Records Collections" grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: CONGRESSIONAL 202411). The program is designed to support collaborative, field-shaping work that improves how Congressional Records collections are processed, preserved for the long term, made discoverable, opened for access, and ultimately used in research. A major theme of the opportunity is building practical, repeatable models that the broader archival community can adopt, especially for electronic records and mixed-format collections where paper and born-digital materials coexist.

A key expectation is collaboration. While a range of applicants can apply, NHPRC strongly encourages proposals that bring together three or more repositories, research centers, and/or other archival entities that hold Congressional Records collections. The idea is to move beyond one-off solutions and instead create shared approaches, shared responsibility, and shared infrastructure that can seed improvements across the field, including across geographically dispersed institutions that may otherwise struggle to align workflows, standards, or access systems.

Competitive projects are expected to fit within one or more focus areas. One category is state-of-the-field and policy studies, aimed at developing and widely sharing best practices and policy objectives for handling electronic records, hybrid collections (analog plus born-digital), and datasets derived from Congressional Records. Another category is education and training, which can include training for archivists and other stakeholders on best practices, clarification of existing processes and why they matter, and programming that helps researchers, educators, and the public better understand the historical significance and research potential of Congressional Records collections. A related emphasis within training is building archivists' skills with electronic records systems and tools, including how to process, preserve, arrange, and describe born-digital Congressional records.

The opportunity also includes support for processing and digitization projects, with a clear equity and capacity-building tilt. Funding can go toward Congressional Records collections at underserved and under-resourced institutions, as well as collections of Members of Congress from underrepresented communities or groups. These projects may include funds for essential preservation needs tied to making processing and digitization possible, such as shelving, archival furniture, equipment, and rehousing supplies, which is notable because many digitization and access efforts stall without basic physical and environmental readiness.

Another major area is collaborative initiatives for discovery, access, and research use. NHPRC is looking for model collaborative projects or consortia that improve discovery and online access and encourage greater research use of Congressional Records collections across multiple institutions. This can include planning and steps toward shared, long-term digital storage arrangements, reflecting a practical recognition that digital preservation and access often require sustained shared infrastructure rather than isolated local solutions.

Hybrid Congressional Records collections receive special attention because they tend to create the hardest long-term stewardship problems. The program invites model projects that tackle preservation, management, sustainability, discovery, and responsible access for collections containing both analog and born-digital content, as well as other complex digital objects. It also supports model projects focused on the sustainable long-term preservation, discovery, and access of datasets derived from Congressional Records, acknowledging that datasets are increasingly important research outputs but can be difficult to curate and preserve in a reliable, reusable way.

NHPRC encourages early communication for applicants who have a promising concept, whether it fits the listed focus areas or proposes another idea that advances the Congressional Records field. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to submit draft materials for feedback; drafts were due by August 15, 2024, which signals that the program values iterative proposal development and wants to reduce the risk of misalignment with program goals before submission.

Funding is available for projects lasting up to three years. Individual awards generally range from $100,000 to $350,000 (the award ceiling is $350,000). NHPRC expects to make up to seven awards in this category, with up to $1,000,000 total anticipated for the program. Funded projects will start no earlier than July 1, 2025. The application deadline listed is November 7, 2024.

Eligibility includes U.S. nonprofit organizations and institutions, colleges and universities (public or private), and state or local government agencies, as well as federally recognized or state recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. A notable restriction is that applicants may not undertake an archival project centered on the papers of an appointed or elected public official who remains in major office, is politically active, or whose papers have not largely been accessioned by a repository. NHPRC also warns that proposals consisting entirely of ineligible activities will not be considered, and applicants are expected to review NHPRC rules and the agency's "What we do and do not fund" guidance to avoid disqualification.

Cost sharing is required. NHPRC will provide no more than 75 percent of total project costs, meaning the applicant must cover at least 25 percent through a mix of direct and indirect expenses, in-kind support, third-party non-federal contributions, and project-generated income. A practical detail that matters for budgeting is that NHPRC grant funds may not be used for indirect costs; indirect costs must be counted as part of the applicant's cost share instead. The opportunity gives a simple example: a request of $100,000 in NHPRC funds requires at least about $33,000 in cost share to keep the federal portion at or below 75 percent of the total.

Finally, there are standard federal administrative requirements that can affect timelines. Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), maintain an active registration through application and award, and include a valid Unique Entity ID in the application. Because SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations or renewals can take up to a month, applicants are warned to start early; NHPRC will not extend deadlines because an organization failed to complete or renew registrations in time.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DISCOVERY AND ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RECORDS COLLECTIONS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-11-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for CONGRESSIONAL 202411

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