Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) Investment Program
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
July 2005
The mission of
the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is to engage audiences of all ages
in Canada's diverse heritage through a dynamic Internet service freely
available to the public in French and English.
The Canadian Heritage Information
Network (CHIN) issues two calls a year for the Virtual Museum of Canada
(VMC) Investment Program inviting eligible organizations to submit proposals
for the production of VMC content, such as virtual exhibitions, interactive
games and educational resources. The VMC Investment Program is not a grants
and contributions program, but rather a limited-tender competitive contracting
process. The proposals are evaluated on a competitive basis and contracts
are awarded to those that are successful.
Participants in the VMC Investment
Program are committed to producing on-line content in French and in English
that engages diverse audiences through the quality of both the research
and the presentation. They recognize that the digital environment offers
the opportunity to create experiences that are not feasible in physical
space or analogue media and that it demands innovative approaches.
All proposals must be submitted using the on-line
proposal form, available on the CHIN Web site, by the deadline specified
for each call, and are evaluated by an editorial board.
ELIGIBILITY
CHIN considers contracts with:
- public, not-for-profit museums1 that
have demonstrated their commitment to work collaboratively with colleagues
across the country by becoming contributing or basic members2
of the Canadian Heritage Information Network; and
- organizations that have an ongoing role in representing museums or
managing several institutions (e.g., provincial museum associations,
Heritage Branches in certain provinces) and that are making proposals
on behalf of multiple museums.
Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee investment.
While institutions may submit more than one
proposal for consideration in response to a given call for proposals,
the VMC does not invest in more than one production at a time from any
institution. As well, if an institution is working on a VMC production,
new proposals from that institution are ineligible for consideration by
the VMC Editorial Board until the production is completed.
Institutions that are recipients
of prior investment from CHIN are eligible only if they are in compliance
with and abide by all terms and conditions, including all reporting requirements,
in agreements previously signed with CHIN.
EVALUATION PROCESS
The VMC Investment Program receives more proposals than its budget can accommodate
in each call. All proposals received by the deadline are evaluated in accordance
with the procedures outlined below.
CHIN staff, specifically the VMC Secretariat,
assess all eligible proposals from a technical and administrative perspective,
including the mandatory criteria identified below. Proposals that do not
meet the mandatory criteria are immediately eliminated from consideration.
Following this step, the VMC
Secretariat prepares summary information of all remaining proposals to
assist the VMC Editorial Board in its evaluation process.
Once the above steps are complete,
members of the VMC Editorial Board begin the evaluation process, which
includes individual assessments and group discussion. Following the group
discussion, which occurs at the biannual VMC Editorial Board meeting,
a decision is made regarding the proposals that are recommended for VMC
investment.
The evaluation process spans
approximately four months from beginning to end, including the VMC Editorial
Board meeting.
VMC Editorial Board
The role of the VMC Editorial Board includes the evaluation of proposals
submitted to the VMC Investment Program, taking into account the desired
program outcomes, the Virtual Museum of Canada operating principles and
content policy, and the specific criteria that are set out below. The Board
provides recommendations to the Director General of CHIN with respect to
the proposals in which the VMC should invest.
CHIN executes contracts with museums to carry
out the proposed productions as soon as the recommendations have been
received from the Editorial Board. For reasons of public accountability,
CHIN reserves the right to reject Editorial Board recommendations.
The VMC Editorial Board is
composed of:
- a chairperson;
- 10-12 members representing diverse expertise (representatives from
the museum community as well as representatives from other relevant
sectors (eg. education, publishing, broadcasting, new media)).
A full list of members is available on the CHIN Web site at the following
URL:
http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Members/Vmc_Investment_Program/editorial_board.html.
The criteria identified below
are considered in the evaluation process. Certain criteria are mandatory;
others represent factors that are taken into account as the Editorial
Board selects among competing proposals. The Board may refine the criteria
as the Program evolves.
Even though content is located
on Web sites across the country, the VMC is presented to the public
as a collective entity. Proposals are therefore evaluated not only on
their own merits but within the overall context of other existing and
proposed content to ensure balance among disciplines and themes, approaches
to the presentation of content, and target audiences. CHIN and the Editorial
Board may also proactively seek partners to undertake projects.
Mandatory Criteria
- Clearly identified target audience(s) for the content and specific
measures to conduct audience evaluations during the development process.
- A clearly developed production plan, including quality control measures
and timeline that defines the period for each activity.
- Contribution to the project by the institution and its other partners.
Note: this contribution does not need to be financial. See the Annex
A - Investment by Museums for examples.
Specific Criteria
Primary Criterion
- Demonstrate a dynamic exploration of Canada's diverse heritage in
ways that encourage enjoyment and learning. - Value 40%
Secondary Criteria
- Exploit the digital medium to create experiences that are not feasible
in physical space or analogue media (e.g., through presentation techniques;
through assembling collections that do not co-exist in physical space).
- Value 20%
- Provide value for money. (N.B. The ceiling for investment is $400,000,
including GST/HST. In addition, all proposals requesting an investment
in excess of $200,000 are subject to an additional risk assessment.)
- Value 25%
- Involve partnerships with other public and private organizations for
content development and/or technical expertise. - Value 10%
- Involve youth in the creation of content. - Value 5%
The VMC Editorial Board may
recommend that a percentage of available resources be set aside for priority
themes that have been identified. Should a priority theme(s) be identified,
this information will be included in the call letter.
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A ceiling of $400,000 including
GST/HST has been identified for investment productions. Productions are
evaluated on their merits and in the context of other proposals.
All museums, including the
lead institution and its partners, that receive financial benefit through
contract must be CHIN members.
Certain specifications have
been defined for productions in which the VMC invests. These are included
in the contracts for successful proposals. A sample contract is
available on the CHIN Web site http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Members/Vmc_Investment_Program/agreements.html
In calculating proposed VMC investment in content development projects,
member organizations may include costs related to the following areas:
- research and preparation to develop and present content;
- coordination costs;
- evaluation(s) involving audiences during development phase;
- digitization expenses including rights clearance and documentation;
- multi-media development costs to present content in an engaging
manner that exploits the potential of the Internet;
- development costs for compliance with W3C Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines;
- payments to artists or other copyright holders for the use of their
works;
- translation of content into the other official language and/or
verification of translations (see Annex
B for guidance on estimating translation costs);
- translation into additional languages may be eligible depending
on the project;
- software or hardware (e.g., digital scanners) that is directly
related to the production of content for the VMC ;
- training or skills development that is directly related to the
production of content for the VMC and that will provide longer-term
benefit to the organization;
- salary or contract costs associated with the creation of content
for the VMC ;
- travel costs where these are shown to be essential to the realization
of the project;
- costs incurred by other organizations who partner with member museums
in content proposals may be eligible where the costs are shown to
be directly related to the development of content for the VMC .
Other proposed costs are considered on their merits in the context of
specific proposals. The primary criterion is whether costs are directly
related and essential to the on-line production.
The VMC also considers investing in minor modifications to content
in which it has previously invested, provided that these modifications
are to respond to clearly documented audience feedback following implementation
(ceiling of 10% of original VMC investment). A minimum of 6 months
must have elapsed from the product's launch before any investment for
modifications is considered. Investment in modifications is limited to
one time per exhibit.
The VMC does not invest in costs related to the following areas:
- digitization projects without contextualization of material;
- establishing Web sites. Note: CHIN will offer hosting services
to museums unable to host their own content (Hosting / Internet Service
Provider);
- automating collections management records;
- computers, external hard drives, memory cards and servers;
- printers;
- CD-Burner;
- ancillary materials (e.g. CDs, DVDs);
- marketing and promotional expenses (including: Communications personnel);
- contingency, unexplained miscellaneous or overhead costs;
- Intellectual Property credit;
- creation of new artwork (not including Web graphics);
- office space rental;
- Web site maintenance;
- Internet connection (since CHIN provides this to members);
- search engine registration;
- domain name registration.
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Institutions proposing that the VMC invest in their projects are
expected to demonstrate other investment. There is no fixed minimum for
this investment, nor does it need to be direct financial contribution.
Investment by museums that is acknowledged as valid includes:
- the value of staff, volunteer or other partner time dedicated to
the realization of the project (provided that these costs have not
been included in the proposal for investment by the VMC);
- the value of the intellectual property being made available to the
public without charge in the on-line project. (Note: this in no way
implies transfer of ownership of intellectual property or exclusive
use; the value assigned represents the fees that might have been paid
had the information elements included in the resources been licensed
to the VMC). Guidance concerning the formula to be used in
calculating the value of the investment is provided in Annex
B;
- the value of promotion of the project through museum newsletters,
brochures or other promotional activities. To be eligible, the promotion
must clearly identify the project as part of the VMC. Guidance
concerning the formula to be used in calculating the value of the
investment is provided in Annex
B;
- the value of in-kind contributions (e.g., equipment and services)
by external partners;
- direct financial investment in the project by the museum or other
partners/sources;
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1
not-for-profit permanent establishments, exempt from federal and provincial
government income taxes, open to the public and administered in the public
interest, for the primary purpose of conserving and preserving, studying,
interpreting, assembling and exhibiting to the public, for its instruction
and enjoyment, objects and specimens of educational and cultural value,
including artistic, scientific (whether animate or inanimate), historical,
and technological material. Museums thus defined include art galleries,
art exhibit centres, botanical gardens, zoological parks, aquaria, planetaria,
historical society museums and historical houses, preservation projects,
and sites which meet the requirements set forth in the preceding sentence.
2
CHIN members are those who have met their contractual obligations, including
regularly updating their Museums & Events information.