Museums can participate in MAP in one of two ways:

Annual Application Deadline or Flexible Participation Program (apply anytime)

Annual Application Deadline

Apply to participate in MAP at virtually no cost to your institution thanks to a Cooperative Agreement between AAM and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Deadline: Rolling acceptance through November 30, 2009.  The sooner you get your application in, the sooner you can get started. 

Costs: Assessment costs are based on your institution's annual operating expenses.

Apply: Download the application to apply.  The application is available in two formats: a Word document and a Word fill-in form document. 

In the simple Word format, you have full access to all Word functions, which allows you to control the formatting of the final document. However, there is no convenience of box-checking. Download the Word format application.

In the Word fill-in document, you have the convenience of box-checking. However, Word fill-in lacks the freedom to format the document as you please and excludes your ability to spell-check. Download the Word fill-in application.

For more information contact MAP staff at 202/289-9118 or map@aam-us.org.

* Museums that were previously awarded IMLS funding for MAP may be eligible to participate in the same assessment if 7 years have passed since the original award was received. Applicants are required to report on changes in operations that were made based on the earlier assessment. For the the upcoming deadline, museums must have participated earlier than September 30, 2003.

Flexible Participation (apply anytime)

Formerly known as "fee-for-service", Flexible Participation allows you to apply for MAP at any time. Museums taking advantage of this option have found many creative ways to fund their participation with financial support from board members, friends groups, state or local governments, and even local chambers of commerce. The advantages to doing MAP outside of the annual deadline is that you can apply to the program at any time of the year, federal museums are eligible to apply, and your museum can begin the process immediately.

Deadline: Open

Costs: $3,000 administrative fee for participating in the program plus:

• $300 honorarium per Surveyor
• Funds to cover the Surveyor’s travel, meals, and lodging during the site visit (an estimated cost of $725-850 per Surveyor)
• Meals for group meetings during Surveyor visit (amount will vary)
• Long distance phone calls, photocopying, photography, and other miscellaneous charges (amount will vary)
• Funds to implement the Surveyor’s recommendations (costs as yet undetermined)

Apply: The Flexible Participation Application and Guidelines is available for download. 

Please contact MAP staff at 202/289-9118 or map@aam-us.org for more information about the Flexible Participation program.