International Partnerships Among Museums 2005 - 2007 Cycle Application Overview for U.S. Museums

I. Program Goal

IPAM provides museums worldwide with a unique intercultural opportunity to establish lasting institutional ties by developing and conducting collaborative projects. The program promotes institutional development while enhancing the participating museums' ability to enrich their own communities.

The project can involve any area of museum operation as long as it is mutually beneficial and cooperative; proposals that emphasize training, technical assistance, observation, or travel are not considered.

The execution of the project is facilitated through the exchange of mid-level staff members for minimum 31-day residencies at the partner museum.

II. Process

Participants are required to find a partner before submitting their Phase II Application; a two-phase application structure has been designed to help museums through this process.

A. Phase I

Both U.S. and non-U.S. museums must complete a Phase I Application. Non-U.S. museums complete a special application available from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate within their country’s borders.

The purpose of the Phase I Application is:

• to provide information that allows IPAM staff to conduct a review and screen out those institutions that are not eligible to continue the competition process;
• to provide potential partners with information necessary to identify institutions with which they would like to work. The Phase I Application should be thought of as a marketing tool; and
• to provide museums with detailed instructions on how to communicate with potential partner museums.

The Phase I Application asks for the museum’s mission statement. Similarity of mission is an important determinant in successful matching and is one of the criteria upon which the selection committee awards grants.

Cooperative project areas are also used to identify potential partners and should thus be well considered and succinctly written.

Phase I Applications are due from both U.S. and non-U.S. museums on March 18, 2005.

B. Phase II

After submission of U.S. and non-U.S. Phase I Applications, separate books containing the applications are compiled and distributed - applications from museums outside the U.S. are sent to U.S. museums and U.S. applications are sent to nominating Cultural or Public Affairs Officers at the U.S. embassy or consulate to share with their nominees. These books are used by all Phase I applicants who do not already have partners to identify and contact institutions with which they would like to work. A museum that has already identified a partner can only apply with that institution if it has a Phase I Application included in the book.

Based on the communication option chosen by the Cultural or Public Affairs Officer in Section IV of the Phase I Application for Non-U.S. Museums, U.S. museums either work with the embassy or consulate to initiate contact, or they contact their potential partners directly and copy the Cultural or Public Affairs Office. Initial contact must be limited to two museums.

For the next six months (April through September), museums match themselves with a suitable partner and develop a project, which forms the core of the Phase II Application.

The purpose of the Phase II Application is to provide the IPAM Selection Committee with the material from which it will choose 2005-2007 IPAM program awardees.

The most important component of the Phase II Application is the jointly developed project proposal submitted by the U.S. partner institution on behalf of the partnership.

The Museum Director’s Statement is also significant because it places the project within the context of the museum's long-range plan and underscores the institution’s commitment to the exchange. To ensure a successful partnership, it is very important that both museum directors and the people to whom they report (e.g. board of directors, government officials, etc.) are supportive of the project.

Phase II Applications are due October 7, 2005.

III. Selection Criteria

The Selection Committee, composed of past IPAM participants, chooses finalist pairs based on the following criteria:

• similarity of institutional objectives
• viability of project
• potential for long-term continuation of institutional relationship
• similarity of professional specialization and level within institutional hierarchy of individual participants as well as their promise of future leadership in the museum community

IV. Award Terms

Both IPAM participants receive:

• roundtrip economy airfare between their point of origin and their host institution;
• $105 per diem for 31 days; and
• $475 to be used for cultural allowance, books, educational materials.

V. Notification of Awards

Awards are announced in December 2005 or January 2006.