The purpose of the Museum Fund, according to the Museum Act No. 141/2011, is to support the activities of museums subject to the act. To that end, the fund may provide grants to accredited museums, for collaborative projects between such museums, and for other projects.
Other collections, principal collections, as well as other state-run collections, curators, institutes, and exhibitions can receive a grant from the Museum Fund in partnership with accredited museums, with the accredited museum serving as the responsible party.
The fund is also authorized to support other activities to promote professional museum work, including research on its field of activity and the dissemination of information about it.
Who can apply for one-year grants
Category a-i
Accredited museums
Category a-h
Other collections, principal collections, as well as other state-run collections, curators, institutes, and exhibitions can receive a grant from the Museum Fund in partnership with accredited museums, with the accredited museum serving as the responsible party.
Other activities to promote professional museum work, including research on the fund's field of activity and the dissemination of information about it.
Application categories
Application for one a specific funding category in each funding application
- Collection
- Registration
i. Registration – general
ii. Registration – Copyright - Preservation
- Research
- Distribution
i. Presentation – Exhibition
ii. Distribution – Publication
iii. Media – Digital Media
iv. Distribution – Other - Museum education
- Collaboration with an accredited museum with museum services, sites, exhibitions, principal collections, and other state-run museums
- Other
- Strengthening basic activities
Assessment of applications in categories a-h is followed the rules for project grants as set forth in the Museum Act No. 141/2011 and the allocation rules of the Museum Fund No. 551/2016. In category i. Strengthening basic activities The application and allocation rules for operating grants set out in the Museums Act No. 141/2011 and the Museum Fund's allocation rules No. 551/2016 are followed.
Please note that only accredited collections can apply for a category grant. i. Strengthening core operations.
More information can be found in the allocation and procedure rules of the Council (updated procedure rules will be published in mid-November 2019). Also, the application form contains very detailed information.
Further rules for application categories
Applications in the category b. Registration
According to the Museums Act No. 141/2011, the Museum Board is tasked with overseeing accredited museums that operate under the Museum Board's terms and conditions for the operation of accredited museums. One part of the oversight is Monitoring the registration of objects and access to collections and exhibitions and that monitoring will begin with the follow-up and evaluation of the grants received for registration from the 2020 Collections Fund.
For registration applications to meet the requirements of the supervisory authority, the following items must be included in the application:
- Information about the registrar's expertise in registration. Example: If registering in Sarp, the registrar must have attended a workshop/course on the system or have experience with it. It is essential to specify who will be responsible for the registration. The registrant must always log in to the registration system with their own account.
- Which collection items should be cataloged and how this will be done.
- What is the status of the registration? Example: Basic registration, final registration, or other. Also, please specify whether the registration is a new object registration, a re-registration of objects, or a transfer between systems.
- Will photographs be taken and included with the registration?
- Will the registration be published on an external website or not? Example on sarpur.is.
Applications in the category i. Strengthening core operations
This category of applications is Intended for accredited institutions only. Excluded are state-owned museums and accredited museums that receive operating subsidies in the budget.
Assessment of applications in the category I, Strengthening basic activities The application and allocation rules for operating grants set out in the Museums Act No. 141/2011 and the Museum Fund's allocation rules No. 551/2016 are followed.
- Only one grant in this category is awarded to eligible collections.
- This category is for supporting the core activities of the museum. It is a reminder of the responsibility of the owner and/or board of accredited museums. A grant in this category is intended to enhance the museum's core activities, providing funds that support their operations but are not part of their essential operating foundation. The owner of a museum shall ensure a financial foundation for its normal operations, in accordance with the provisions of item 1 of the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Museum Act No. 141/2011., and a grant in this category from the collection fund is not intended to relieve the owner of that obligation.
- Wage costs and housing costs are example on the necessary financial foundation.
- Examples of grants that fall under this category include, for example, responses to an advisory board's oversight, renewal or upgrading of security equipment, exhibition or storage equipment, innovation in museum work, support for the operation of combined museums, or collaboration on dissemination and preservation.
- Operational information will be retrieved last. Annual Report of Accredited Museums
- Required supporting documents:
- Annual report for the last fiscal year. (Attached Annual report of recognized museums which the applicant is already required to have submitted. If that report has not been submitted, the application is invalid.)
- Next year's budget (sent as an attachment with the application). That budget may include a more detailed cost analysis for applications in the category i, Strengthening core operations.
- Application Rules
- Applications received after the application deadline will not be considered.
- The Collection Council sets neither a minimum nor a maximum on the application amount for grants or the number of applications.
- A grant proposal is not automatically made to all applicants who meet the requirements of the Act on Recognized Museums, but the amounts and number of grants will depend on the fund's available funds and the number and quality of applications.
- The application content applies. If the acquisitions committee determines that an application marked for the category a-h in accordance with the party's rules i, Strengthening core operations,Then she will be considered as such.
- The Collection Council reserves the right to obtain external evaluators for applications, if necessary.
- All grant recipients submit a final report on the use of the grant. For grants of 1,500,000 kr. and higher, recipients also submit an interim report.
The Museum Council reviews all applications to the Museum Fund and evaluates them professionally in accordance with the Museum Act No. 141/2011, the Rules on the Allocation of the Museum Fund No. 551/2016, and the Museum Council's procedures.