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Project: Archives Working Across Remote Environments (AWARE): Connecting the Government Archives of the U.S. Territories, Hawaii, and Alaska
The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) seeks proposals from practicing consultants, independent researchers, or small teams to support implementation of an IMLS National Leadership Grant (LG-254941-OLS-23) to investigate and articulate the needs of territorial and non-contiguous state archives, produce guidance documents, and develop a plan for their support. Using a series of data-gathering assessment methods, CoSA representatives and project partners will identify unique and shared agency needs and collaborative opportunities to address both individual and overarching challenges facing these institutions and the communities they serve.
The selected consultants will engage in a number of data collecting activities informed by the project partners and supported by the CoSA Community Coordinator. Activities will include, but are not limited to:
- Webinars and other virtual meetings and presentations
- Virtual focus groups
- 1-on-1 conversations
- Guided asynchronous conversation in a virtual community
- In-person site visits to the seven participating archives
- In-person listening session
The consultant’s primary task will be active listening to synthesize the lessons from project partners into useful tools, such as individualized reports, and to make recommendations for implementation of specific outcomes.
CoSA expects project work to begin in late 2023 and continue through Summer 2025. Individuals or teams may submit proposals for consideration, which should include an expected timeline of project work and associated budget. The selected individual or team will be awarded a contract from CoSA, with a maximum payable amount of no more than $50,000.
As a planning project, the consultants will work closely with the project partners and CoSA staff to identify and pursue the most urgent areas of concern. Topics for investigation include, but are not limited to:
- emergency preparedness and disaster planning;
- impact of climate change on archival records and facilities;
- infrastructure and technology needs;
- building institutional stability and growth potential;
- collection policies and challenges, especially related to electronic records;
- community needs unique to the regions;
- staffing levels, retention, and pool for future hiring;
- training and skills gaps; and
- growing community in state/territorial government agencies (e.g., relationships with CIOs) to identify opportunities to work collaboratively across and within their governments.
Anticipated deliverables include, but are not limited to, individualized reports to the project partners shaped from site visits and other points of data collection and a public white paper or report summarizing the findings and next steps.
Required Qualifications:
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Demonstrated familiarity with communities and cultures of the Caribbean (especially Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and/or the Pacific Rim (especially Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands)
- The ability to apply cultural competency to data gathering and assessment activities
- Experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis
- Demonstrated ability to work on research projects with limited day-to-day supervision
- Familiarity with archives, government agencies, or other related fields (such as libraries, museums, or records management)
- Ability to travel to the seven participating institutions (funding available)
- Eligible to work in the U.S.
Interested consultants should contact CoSA Executive Director Joy Banks at employment@statearchivists.org for further details and information on submitting a proposal. Review of proposals will begin by mid-November.