My understanding is that you could still apply, but I think it's the kind of organogram now where really it's the professionals who makes the difference. When I was mentioning earlier the eight-page Excel spreadsheet, for a small museum to do that is next to impossible.
When I started in the museum world in the 1970s, the museums assistance program began then. In the 1970s it was simple, easy to get to, and it was certainly open to every museum in the country. We got our answers within two or three months. It made a huge difference and actually encouraged all the museums at the time.
The impression I get now is that a lot of the museums just don't bother applying because it's turned into a bureaucratic nightmare, and this is the same for all of the museums. You have medium-sized museums that employ people to do grant applications because they have become so sophisticated now.
I think every effort should be made to get the museums assistance program to encourage small museums. For example, one of my things I've been discussing for years is project management. You can only have a project when you apply to MAP. You can't put in underlying factors. I would like to see the program add, say, something like 10% to every grant that is approved, and it's strictly for underlying factors—the furnace, the electricity—just to help the museum get through the basics as well as the actual project.
Yes, every museum in the country should be eligible for the MAP program.