First Aid Plan Grants
Many members of the Islamic Manuscript Association work with manuscript collections facing daunting preservation and conservation challenges.
To address these challenges, the Islamic Manuscript Association has created the Islamic Manuscript Association First Aid Plan, which will award three grants of up to £5,000 British pounds sterling annually.
These grants are open to all Islamic Manuscript Association members who have paid their membership fees, whether individual or institutional, and are offered in addition to other grants funded by the Association. Applying for a First Aid Plan grant does not disqualify the applicant from applying for or receiving any other Association-sponsored grants.
First Aid Plan grants are for initiatives that will enable improvements in collection care and management. These include, but are not limited to, assessments of libraries’ or museums’ preservation and conservation programmes and consultancy and training in manuscript handling, condition surveying, the monitoring and control of the library and museum environment, anoxic treatments for mould and insects, disaster planning, the design and implementation of exhibition policies and procedures, and library and museum security. These assessments, consultancies, and training courses may be led by a suitably qualified member of the Islamic Manuscript Association, or the Association may assist in finding an expert.
First Aid Plan grants are not intended to fund conservation treatments for specific manuscripts or to purchase equipment, tools, or materials for preservation or conservation projects. Support for such projects is available through the Association’s normal grant scheme.
Every applicant for a First Aid Plan grant must submit a completed application form and questionnaire, a letter of support from a sponsoring institution or letter of reference, and the disclaimer simultaneously.
The questionnaire is a planning tool that provides basic information about the collection and indicates where and what improvements might be needed.
After the Association receives the application form, questionnaire, letter of support or letter of reference, and disclaimer, its board of directors and suitably qualified Association members will consider it and may suggest changes to the type of assistance the applicant seeks. For example, they might recommend that one collection care and management problem should be prioritised before another. The applicant would then have the opportunity to revise the application to incorporate these suggestions before the Association’s board makes its final decision.
When awarding grants the Association will consider the importance of the collection, the urgency with which the collection’s needs must be addressed, the feasibility of the proposed project, sustainability, the provision of professional development for the collection holder’s staff, and the expertise and experience of the applicant as reflected in the letter of support or letter of reference.
All grant recipients will be required to submit a grant report, including a summary of expenditure, to the Association’s board within three months of completing the grant project. Grant recipients who do not submit a report will not be eligible for any future Association funding. The content of these reports remains the property of the Islamic Manuscript Association, which reserves the right to publish or use any information therein.
To apply for a First Aid Plan grant, please use the online application or send your completed application and supporting documentation to:
Executive CommitteeThe Islamic Manuscript Association Ltd.
c/o 33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1 QY
United Kingdom
Email: admin@islamicmanuscript.org
Fax: +44 (0)1223 302 218
If you have any queries about the First Aid Plan, please contact the Association’s executive committee at admin@islamicmanuscript.org.