Invitation to tender: DDB Digitisation Funding Programme within the framework of Neustart Kultur
By Katja Hesch (Project Coordinator «Nutzerorientierte Neustrukturierung der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek»)
The project «Nutzerorientierte Neustrukturierung der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek» is funded within the framework of NEUSTART KULTUR and is part of the Federal Government’s data strategy. With this, there are more than 2 million euros available for digitisation projects, which cultural and knowledge institutions can apply for from 25th February 2021.
The programme section «Förderung alternativer, auch digitaler Angebote» («Funding of alternative offerings, also digital offerings») includes a scheme for supporting archives, museums, libraries, media libraries and cultural heritage preservation and other knowledge institutions with the aim of forging ahead with the digitisation of cultural and knowledge institutions. In doing so, the accessibility to digital heritage on the internet should be further extended, and the cultural and knowledge institutions should be given the opportunity to make their collections digitally available via the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. A prerequisite for submitting an application is that the institutions are registered with the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. In order to increase the outreach of the funding programme, also for smaller institutions, cooperative projects are explicitly requested.
Each institution registered with the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek may submit an application for the funding of a digitisation project. The amount of funding applied for must be at least 10,000 euros up to a maximum of 200,000 euros. The project applications must be directed towards retrospective digitisation, including the work stages associated with this (provision of materials, digitisation, indexing, if necessary hosting, export of the digital copies and the metadata associated with these etc.). The focus here should be on objects which are as rights-free and high resolution as possible, which either represent a completed collection, respectively holding, or «highlights» of a collection, respectively holding, and which have already been indexed, where possible. It must be a matter of the digitisation of cultural assets (e.g. print media, films, sound recordings, works of fine art, photographs, monuments) which are contained in the holdings of the collections of cultural and knowledge institutions in Germany. Costs incurred for this are eligible.
The Deutsche Bibliotheksverband e.V. (dbv – German Library Association) will undertake the implementation of the funding, in particular the approval and disbursement of the funds as well as the where-used verification procedure.
You can find the invitation to tender, further information as well as the link for submitting funding applications here:
https://pro.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/neustart-kultur
Applications submitted will be examined as to their formal eligibility and with respect to specified criteria relating to their content (eligibility to apply, subject of the funding, financial plan, proportion of own funds) and decided on by an independent expert jury.
Projects approved can begin on 31.03.2021 at the earliest and must be completed by 31st December 2021 at the latest. The where-used lists must be submitted to the Deutsche Bibliotheksverband e.V. by 28th February 2022 at the latest.
There is no entitlement to funding. The grants are subject to any budgetary restrictions and other management measures.
You can find the press release on the project Neustart Kultur at the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek here: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/content/journal/aktuell/sammlungsvielfalt-partizipative-kulturvermittlung-digitalisierungsfoerderung-die-deutsche-digitale-bibliothek-erhaelt-mittel-aus-neustart-kultur
Funded by:
