DHPSNY is excited to announce the return of in-person Planning & Assessment Services! Starting this application round, accepted sites will have the option of choosing in-person services, including Archival Needs Assessments, Strategic Planning Assistance, Preservation Surveys, and Condition Surveys. Sites can elect to receive virtual services if preferred.
In light of this announcement, we will be accepting application materials for our summer 2022 Planning & Assessment Services round until midnight EST on Friday, July 29, 2022. All sites that apply in this application round will have in-person services available.
Start an Application Today
To help you get started, we've outlined each of our services below with links to application materials. Our website also features helpful tools for navigating the application process, including frequently asked questions, sample applications, and our recent webinar DHPSNY's Planning & Assessments: A Crash Course.
Support
DHPSNY staff is here to help you every step of the way! For assistance, questions about eligibility, or additional information, contact us at info@dhpsny.org or (215) 545-0613 extension 338.
Archival Needs Assessments
DHPSNY Archival Needs Assessments thoroughly examines your institution's archival program, identifying what's working, as well as areas of potential improvement. An Archival Needs Assessment pinpoints problems, recommends solutions, sets priorities, and guides the development of your archival program.
Strategic Planning Assistance
Developed in partnership with the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON), DHPSNY Strategic Planning Assistance assesses a collecting organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats under the leadership of a trained facilitator. At the end of the process, your organization will have completed a three-year strategic plan, a document unique to your institution, identifying key goals to support and strengthen your organization with milestones to gauge your success along the way
Preservation Surveys
A DHPSNY Preservation Survey is a general evaluation of your institution’s preservation needs and is a recommended step for any archival program. In addition to pinpointing areas of concern and recommendations for improvement, a Preservation Survey is a valuable tool in fundraising for collections care and is often a prerequisite for grants and other funding opportunities.
Condition Surveys
DHPSNY Condition Surveys are a valuable tool for institutions that have previously undergone a Preservation Survey (through DHPSNY or another program) and are now interested in evaluating the conditions of collection materials on a more granular level. Since a Condition Survey is designed to evaluate the materials in a discrete collection, this service will be offered only after an overall Preservation Survey has been conducted.
Not quite ready to take part in the services above?
Conducted virtually, DHPSNY Foundational Planning Assistance is intended for organizations that need to invest in resource development and capacity building before they can reasonably embark on implementing recommendations frequently found in our other services. The overarching goal of Foundational Planning Assistance is to strengthen an organization’s capacity and prepare them to engage in a comprehensive assessment within the next one to three years. Applications for this service are accepted year-round on a rolling basis.
Offered free of cost to NYS institutions, DHPSNY Planning & Assessment Services are accepted year-round and reviewed three times a year.