NEA Universal Design Leadership Project, FY2009

The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to maintaining a leadership role in the area of universal design. Universal design is a design process that goes beyond minimum codes and standards to make spaces comfortably usable by people from childhood into their oldest years. It is not, as many mistakenly view it, the practice of meeting minimum access requirements. The Arts Endowment recognizes design’s ever present role in everyday life and is committed to encouraging and disseminating the best in universal design for the benefit of the American public. The NEA, with its national perspective and commitment to artistic excellence, is in a unique position to exercise a leadership role in this area. The Arts Endowment seeks to enter into a Cooperative Agreement with an organization that will carry out a project to increase understanding, acceptance, and practice of universal design within the design profession, by design educators, and by the American public. Proposed projects should focus on extending the appeal of universal design from the disability community into the mainstream of American design and American society. The project should educate designers and others including developers, city planners, and consumers on this important issue. The Arts Endowment’s support of this Cooperative Agreement can start no sooner than September 1, 2009. The period of support may extend for up to two years. Closing Date for Applications: Feb 19, 2009