Guidelines for Applicants
Programme Commission Mission
The Programme Commission (PCOM) is responsible for the professional and technical programme of the ICA; coordinating the activities of Regional Branches, Professional Sections and Expert Groups; and the professional content of ICA international congresses and conferences.
PCOM funds archives and records management projects that support the ICA’s professional programme, strategic objectives and business plan.
It also creates Expert Groups in the main areas of professional activity, provides their terms of reference and monitors their progress.
The Vice President Programme has ultimate responsibility for PCOM and for aligning the professional programme and its initiatives with the ICA’s strategic objectives.(1)
ICA Project Funding
ICA offers funding through PCOM or International Fund for Archival Development (FIDA) – see Appendix A – Funding Decision Tree to find out which is more suitable for your project.
PCOM will consider funding applications for projects to a total of 5 000€. Funded projects can be onsite or online events, projects resulting in the development and publication of a resource, and/or advocacy activities. The project duration cannot exceed one calendar year, from January to December.
- Maximum funding: 5000€
- Maximum length of the project: one calendar year from January to December
Applicants are also expected to secure additional funding or resources from other sources.
Eligibility
Who can apply?
The applicant must be either
1. An active ICA group (Regional Branch, Professional Section or an Expert Group) with an approved project from its members, or a project in alignment of its work plan for 2024.
- The project leader should be a member of the ICA body steering Committee or be endorsed by such committee.
- Applicants are highly encouraged to develop projects in collaboration with other ICA bodies. These projects will be prioritized if the selection process requires it.
Or
2. A member of ICA, or a staff member of an institutional member of ICA registered as a right-holder of the institution’s membership. Applicants must provide their ICA membership number and be in good standing with ICA dues paid.
The project leader will be asked to be an ICA member in good standing for the year of the project.
- Applicants from the membership at large are highly encouraged to partner with an ICA body. The support of an ICA body is a significant factor in the project’s assessment. If you need help identifying a relevant ICA Branch, Section or Expert Group, please contact the PCOM team at programme@ica.org.
What type of projects are encouraged to apply?
PCOM encourages applications which:
- produce products, tools and other activities that will be widely used by other ICA Regional Branches, Professional Sections, Expert Groups, and members, or the global archive community and its users, and/or promote archives and archives and records management professionals;
- are multi-disciplinary, involving collaboration with other professions; and/or
- adapt existing products or tools for different audiences or promote ICA and its goals in areas where the network is not strong.
PCOM does not support applications which:
- do not meet the application criteria; or
- include the normal activities and operations of an organization (e.g. digitisation projects).
- Have for main purpose to fund an individual or another organization for travel, per diem, study, or other similar purposes.
PCOM funding rules:
- Travel expenses are to be limited and reasonable. Flights should be in Economy class or Economy with extra leg room for flights longer than 6 hours. Accomodation not to exceed 160 €/per night VAT and city/local taxes included.
- PCOM funding cannot be used for buying renewable licences or tools that will need funding after the end of the project. If necessary to the project, the plan needs to explain how these renewable consumables will be funded after the project.
- PCOM funding cannot be used for the organization of social events, or the payment of tuition fees, or administration fees, or any expense outside of the professional programme jurisdiction
- The way the PCOM funding will be received and administered needs to be specified in the application (grant administered by the project leader through a dedicated bank account, reimbursement after completion of the project and submission of financial report, invoicing of expenses to ICA-PCOM)
- The applicant (institutional or individual) receiving the funds should be able to sign a project charter (see model in Appendix C)
- If applicable, funds cannot be transferred to bank accounts other than those of the signatories.
Application Procedure
The deadline for submitting your Application Form is 16 November 2023 at 23:59 (CET Time). Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Results of the selection will be published on the ICA website by January 2024.
Before you send your application, it is important that you:
- find out about the ICA and its strategic objectives and programmes;
- read the assessment criteria so that you know what is needed for a successful application;
- contact us before completing the Application Form in case you need more information about how to join the ICA or renew your membership, how to best link your project with the ICA’s strategic objectives and work, or in case you need our support to put you in touch with related projects or subject area specialists who can help;
- complete the Application Form online ( you can save your application as a draft and finalize it at a later date within the set deadline).
You will receive an acknowledgement of the PCOM team within 15 days.
Assessment Criteria
PCOM evaluates applications in three areas:
- Strategic Direction: whether the project or meeting will contribute to ICA’s strategic objectives;
- Project Impact: the extent to which the project or meeting supports the ICA programme, with preference being given to projects or meetings that support one or more programme priorities or interest areas, or which benefit a wider audience;
- Likely Success: whether the goals and planning are realistic, whether risks have been identified and addressed, and the project or meeting is likely to be successful.
Applications with the support of one or several relevant ICA Branches, Sections or Expert Groups is highly encouraged. This can help ensure that your project or meeting complements work that is already being done within the ICA, it will expand your network of professionals and advice and it will help prevent duplication of projects. Projects proposing activities in partnerships with an ICA body will be prioritized for funding.
If you need help identifying a relevant ICA Branch, Section or Expert Group, please contact the PCOM team at programme@ica.org.
For a detailed explanation of the criteria and how PCOM evaluates applications see Appendix B – Assessment Criteria.
Assessment Process
In general, the application assessment process is as follows:
1. The PCOM team confirms receipt of the completed Application Form within two weeks;
2. The PCOM team completes an initial review of the application and forwards the completed applications to Programme Commission members for evaluation against the criteria.
- We may ask for more information and/or may commission a subject area expert to assist in evaluating the proposal. On the basis of these evaluations the Programme Commission makes its funding decisions;
3. The PCOM team notifies applicants of PCOM’s decision by the set deadline of the application submission.
Successful Projects
Successful projects are notified by January 2024. The timeline for PCOM projects is as follows:
4. ICA and the funding recipient establish and sign a project charter detailing the shared responsibilities of ICA and the project leader, the deliverables and timeline of the project, the financial arrangements, reporting schedule, intellectual rights and any other conditions depending on the nature of the funded project; see Appendix C – Project Charter template.
5. The PCOM team adds the project details to the Project Register and publishes summary details on the ICA website;
6. The Project Leader submits interim (if required) and final project reports to the PCOM team for review by the Programme Commission. Highlights of your report will be included in the ICA Annual Report.
The ICA is committed to accountability, transparency and to providing members with clear information on how its money is used. The PCOM team will support you with the reporting and funding processes;
7. Final project deliverables are sent to the PCOM team for review and clearance by the Programme Commission; and
8. Project deliverables are published and shared with ICA members.
Conditions
Successful projects are subject to various conditions relating to reporting, project deliverables and the publication and/or sharing of end-products. For PCOM-funded projects receipt of funding is subject to meeting these conditions, including:
- submission of a report from the Project Leader upon completion of the project. Interim reports may also be required at dates specified by PCOM;
- making project deliverables, or part of it, available to PCOM for publication and/or use by Branches, Sections, Expert Groups, the Training Programme, and ICA members (3), once cleared by PCOM members in any language suitable with the ICA objectives. All intellectual ownership being recognized by the users in concordance with the ICA copyright policy (4). By default, resources in which the ICA owns the copyright are subject to Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC) unless an exception applies; and
- translation of project deliverables into either French or English as part of the project, where neither is the language of the original. Other language versions are also welcome.
(1) ICA Constitution article 12
(2) Please be advised that the ICA does not cover bank fees for any transfer.
(3) This means that the products of PCOM-funded projects may only be available to ICA members as part of the ICA membership benefits package.
(4) By default, resources in which the ICA owns the copyright are subject to Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC). This means that users can copy or distribute, and modify, the resource, as long as the use is noncommercial and the required attribution is present. It means that translations can be undertaken without seeking permission, and that partial re-use (such as one article in a journal) is also possible.
Some ICA resources are subject to different licences because of factors including contractual commitments. When an exception applies to a resource for which ICA retains the Copyright, the conditions are described on pages linking to the resource and, where possible, embedded in the document.