ICOM SAREC 2026 Special Projects Grants and Solidarity Projects

Each year, ICOM establishes general guidelines to support the successful application of participants. Proposals should highlight the relevance of projects to ICOM's strategic plan, the clarity of their objectives, collaboration with other entities, innovation, and a sustainable approach.

ICOM encourages all its National Committees (NCs), International Committees (ICs), Regional Alliances (RAs), and Affiliated Organizations (AOs) to engage in these calls for projects.

2026 Call for Projects

To promote excellence and solidarity, the ICOM Strategic Allocation Review Committee (SAREC), announces the opening of the "2026 ICOM Special Projects Grants" and the "Solidarity in Times of Crisis 2026" calls for projects.

The "2026 ICOM Special Projects Grants" invite the members of our community to showcase their innovative and impactful projects. Proposals are expected from ICOM National Committees (NCs), International Committees (ICs), Regional Alliances (RAs), and Affiliated Organizations (AOs). ICOM is ready to fund up to 50% of the project total budget, with a maximum grant of 15,000 euros. To be eligible, projects must secure another confirmed funding source and should be finalized before December 31, 2026, for one-year project, and before December 31, 2027, for two-year projects.

In recognition of the world's ever-increasing challenges, ICOM introduces the "Solidarity in Times of Crisis 2026" Call for Projects. This initiative seeks to support ICOM members grappling with conflicts, natural disasters, and other crises, both locally and globally. ICOM is committed to providing up to 75% of the total project cost, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros, to projects focused on crisis situations. These projects must secure another confirmed funding source and should be finalized by December 31, 2026, for one-year project, and before December 31, 2027, for two-year projects.

For detailed guidelines and further information, please visit your ICOM Member Space.

THE PROJECTS SUPPORTED IN 2025

Special Projects

• Heritage, museums, collections. A debate for enhancing professionals' skills between Africa and Europe, with ICOM Europe as leading committee (15 000€)
• Revisiting Voices: Re-edition of the research on Museum Professionals and their Audiences, with ICOM Brazil as leading committee (7 000€)
• Bi-lingual Documentation and Outreach: Expanding ICOM MUSIC's LAC Impact, with ICOM Music as leading committee (4 439€)
• That Everlasting Plastic! with ICOM Estonia as leading committee (3 750€)
• Young people shaping the future of museology through the lens of the SDGs (Year 3), with ICOFOM as leading committee (5 850€)
• Formulating ICOM's Strategy and Action Plan towards Decolonization, with ICOM Germany as leading committee (15 000€)
• Social Museology: Declarations and Manifestos (Book project), with SOMUS as leading committee (7 600€)
• Museum Reputation as a Leadership Tool, with INTERCOM as leading committee (15 000€)
• 1er Forum des étudiants et jeunes Professionnels africains membres de l'ICOM, « Etudiants et jeunes Professionnels africains : Leviers pour un ICOM dynamique », with ICOM Africa as leading committee (15 000€)
• Histoire de la médiation muséale en France, with CECA as leading committee (2 650€)
• Réseau mondial pour les musées du sport et la formation des professionnels des musées du sport, with ICMAH as leading committee (5 980€)
• Número extraordinario del Chaski: 40 años de la consolidación del Secretariado permanente del ICOM para América Latina y el Caribe a la Alianza Regional del ICOM para América Latina y el Caribe. 1984-2024, with ICOM LAC as leading committee (2 400€)

Solidarity in Times of Crisis

• Enhancing Museum Documentation: Overcoming Challenges and Building Capacity, with ICOM-Georgia as leading committee (15 000€)
• Leveraging Ethnographic & Generational Knowledge for Art Conservation in South East Asia (LegaSEA), with ICOM-CC as leading committee (12 594€)
• Training on Disaster Management - Eastern Africa Region, with ICOM Africa as leading committee (8 731€)
• Elaboration et publication d'un plan sous-régional ouest-africain de gestion du patrimoine culturel en temps de crise, with ICOM Burkina Faso as leading committee (16 450€)
• Plan regional Andino-Pacífico RE-ORG, with ICOM Belgique as leading committee (20 000€)

ABOUT SAREC

The ICOM Strategic Allocation Review Committee (SAREC) is intended to review the subvention applications submitted to ICOM by its Committees, Regional Alliances and Affiliated Organisations as they relate to the frame of the organisation's Strategic Plan and based on their capacity of implementation while reaching their objectives with full consumption of the given funds.

Its tasks cover on the one hand the subventions for International Committees and Regional Alliances and on the other hand, the assessment of projects in order to review all the requests with the most comprehensive and strategic vision.