Interns for MASI and NPNH | P17AS00250

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00250

The grant opportunity titled "Interns for MASI and NPNH" (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00250) is a National Park Service (NPS) education-focused cooperative agreement under the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its purpose is to fund a small cohort of interns who will support operations and public engagement across Manhattan Sites (MASI) and the National Parks of New York Harbor (NPNH). The project is structured around placing interns directly in park units to strengthen interpretation, collections work, and visual communications, while also building participants' professional skills through hands-on training and a coordinated enrichment component.

The core deliverable is staffing for six internship roles spread across multiple parks and historic sites in New York. Three of the interns are focused on interpretation and social media, meaning they will help the public understand and connect with park resources through a mix of formal and informal talks, guided tours, historic education programs, and multimedia presentations. These roles are aimed at increasing public-facing programming and improving how stories from these sites are communicated both in person and through digital channels.

Two additional interns are designated as curatorial/historian interns. Their work centers on museum and archival functions, including handling and organizing historic collections and cataloging the library collection at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, with possible support to other historic sites in New York as needed. In addition to cataloging and collections support, these interns are expected to contribute written content, including articles intended for publication by the National Park Service, which reinforces the scholarly and interpretive value of the work beyond day-to-day collections management.

The sixth position is a visual information intern who supports NPNH park units by developing visual and digital products. This includes assisting with print graphics and digital media platforms, and helping create videos and graphic content for NPNH social media outlets. The intent is to boost the parks' capacity to communicate consistently and effectively across modern media platforms, supporting outreach, education, and visitor engagement.

A significant part of the opportunity is training and professional development. All six interns receive park-based training covering areas such as curatorial collections, interpretation, resource protection, and safety-based operational leadership. This framing shows the agreement is not only about completing work tasks, but also about developing a workforce pipeline by exposing interns to multiple park disciplines and operational expectations.

The agreement also includes a broader enrichment and collaborative problem-solving component coordinated by the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the NPS. Three enrichment days are planned to encourage participants to think across park boundaries and address real resource-based challenges affecting parks. This component involves all 17 SCA interns working in the New York/New Jersey area, not only the six interns funded under this specific task agreement. During an NPS Academy week, the interns form small groups to identify an issue or challenge they observe, then continue working on it throughout the summer by defining the problem, providing context, and developing a proposal that either addresses the challenge or leverages an opportunity. The enrichment days are designed as working sessions to build skills in innovative community engagement, culminating in final presentations delivered to NPNH park leaders on the last enrichment day.

In terms of award structure and availability, this opportunity is listed as discretionary and uses a cooperative agreement mechanism, with an expected single award and an award ceiling of $65,751. Importantly, it is not open for competition: the posting states it is a notice of intent to enter an agreement with the Student Conservation Association under an existing cooperative agreement (P15AC00031), and explicitly notes that no applications will be accepted. The opportunity was created on May 10, 2017, and is tied to CFDA number 15.931, aligning it with National Park Service assistance programming.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Interns for MASI and NPNH" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 10, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Notice of intent to enter agreement with Student Conservation Association under cooperative agreement P15AC00031 without additional competition. No applications will be accepted.. (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 $65,751.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for P17AS00250

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