In May 2009, the government of Ontario announced the creation of the Museums and Technology Fund which would provide $6.5 million in financial assistance over four years to museums, art galleries, archives and associated heritage service organizations to assist them in taking advantage of new technologies to improve public access to their collections.

The Museums and Technology Fund will invest in innovative projects and partnerships that will enable collections-based arts and heritage organizations to use digital technology to support community economic development, education and life-long learning.

Program Objectives

The primary objectives of the Museums and Technology Fund are to:

• Provide citizens with access to the diversity and richness of Ontario’s heritage and its history.
• Maximize the role of collections-based arts and heritage organizations in stimulating cultural tourism, community economic development and municipal cultural planning.
• Encourage innovative museum partnerships and models that support education, life-long learning and new audience development.

Eligible Applicants:

To be eligible for funding consideration, an applicant must be an incorporated not-for-profit:

• Museum - must have a collection of tangible objects
• Art gallery -   must have a collection of tangible objects
• Archive - must have a collection of tangible objects  
• Heritage service organization with a provincial mandate.

Applicants must also have been in continuous professional operation in Ontario for at least one year prior to the application deadline, and be operational and accessible to the public at the time of application.

Applicants that are governed by other levels of government or by academic or cultural institutions are eligible, but must have distinct objectives, programs and budgets related to heritage. Provincial agencies or provincial Crown corporations are not eligible for financial support through the Museums and Technology Fund.

Eligible Projects:

Eligible projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Development of online exhibitions, including design and production
• Creation of online curriculum and education modules
• Introduction of digital collections management systems, including the digitization of collections and the purchase and implementation of collections database software
• Development of membership and audience through the use of technology
• Implementation of collaborative digital technology and/or social media technology
• Fundraising through the use of technology
• Purchasing technology that helps people with disabilities to access programs or services in the arts and heritage sector.

The project must be a new initiative for the organization, not an extension of an ongoing initiative (i.e. operational activity).

Application Deadline:

Applications to the Museums and Technology Fund must be received at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture no later than 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on August 13, 2010.

Program Materials:

• 2010-2011 Guidelines (word, pdf, htm)
• Application for Funding (word, pdf, htm)

To access fillable forms in Portable Document Format (PDF), you will require an Adobe Reader version 8 or higher installed on your computer. If you do not have the required software, it is available for free download from the Adobe website.

Funding History:
To review projects recently supported through the Museums and Technology Fund, please consult the following list:

2009-2010 Museums and Technology Fund Grant Recipients