Overview of NEH Grant Programs
Federal Update Webinar
Fall 2012
Nadina Gardner, Director
Division of Preservation and Access
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
What is NEH?
• The National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) is an independent federal agency created
in 1965.
• It is one of the largest funders of humanities
programs in the United States.
• NEH supports quality humanities projects in
four funding areas: preserving and providing
access to cultural resources, education,
research, and public programs.
What does NEH do?
NEH grants typically go to colleges and universities,
museums, archives, libraries, public television, and radio
stations, and to individual scholars. NEH grants:
• strengthen teaching and learning in the humanities in
schools and colleges across the nation
• facilitate research and original scholarship
• provide opportunities for lifelong learning
• preserve and provide access to cultural and educational
resources
• strengthen the institutional base of the humanities
What are the humanities?
The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the
study of the following: language, both modern and
classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence;
philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the
history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of
social sciences which have humanistic content and employ
humanistic methods; and the study and application of the
humanities to the human environment with particular
attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions,
and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the
current conditions of national life.
How is the NEH structured?
• NEH is directed by a chairman, who is appointed by the
president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, for a term
of four years.
• Advising the chairman is the National Council on the
Humanities, a board of 26 distinguished private citizens
who are also appointed by the president and confirmed
by the Senate. The National Council members serve
staggered six-year terms.
• NEH grant programs are administered by seven divisions
and offices.
NEH Chairman Jim Leach
• 9th NEH Chairman
• Nominated by President
•
•
Obama and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate in 2009
Previously served for 30
years in the U.S. House
of Representatives
Created the Bridging
Cultures Initiative
NEH Divisions & Offices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Division of Education Programs
Division of Preservation and Access
Division of Public Programs
Division of Research Programs
Federal/State Partnership
Office of Challenge Grants
Office of Digital Humanities
What does NEH staff do?
• work with prospective applicants
• recruit and oversee peer-review panels
• present results of peer review to members of
the National Council on the Humanities and the
agency’s senior staff
• conduct site visits of projects that have
received NEH support
• represent NEH at regional, national, and
international conferences in the humanities
NEH Budget
• Fiscal Year 2009: $155,000,000
• Fiscal Year 2010: $167,500,000
• Fiscal Year 2011: $154,690,000
• Fiscal Year 2012: $146,021,000
FY2012 Appropriation Request
Division of Education Programs
The Division of Education
Programs seeks to improve
humanities education at schools
and colleges through its programs
devoted to teachers and their
students. Grants strengthen
teaching and learning through
new or revised curricula and
materials, collaborative study,
seminars, and institutes.
Division of Education Programs
The division strives to cultivate intellectual
curiosity, so that students can:
• Deepen their reflections on human
experience
• Increase their understanding of different
cultures and societies, past and present
• Achieve the knowledge and wisdom
necessary for democratic citizenship
Division of Education Programs
Grant Categories
•
•
Summer Seminars and Institutes
•
Humanities Initiatives at:
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollment
• Tribal Colleges and Universities
•
Landmarks of American History and Culture:
Workshops for School Teachers
Enduring Questions
•
Picturing America School Collaboration Projects
•
Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges Cooperative Agreement
Division of Education Programs
Summer Seminars and Institutes
Provide opportunities for teachers to:
• Create intensive two-to-five week programs
that reach a national audience of school
teachers or college and university faculty
members
• Engage in collegial study of significant texts
and topics in the humanities
• Use the resources of libraries, museums, and
cultural sites
Division of Education Programs
Landmarks of American History and Culture
Workshops for School Teachers
•
•
•
Create multiple intensive one-week programs in
American history that reach national audiences
Engage in collegial study of significant texts and
topics in the American experience at historic sites
Integrate the use of archival sources and material
evidence into educational curricula
Division of Education Programs
Humanities Initiatives for Historically
Black, High Hispanic Enrollment, and
Tribal Colleges and Universities
Provide opportunities to:
• Enhance and redefine institutions’ humanities programs in
collaboration with consulting scholars
• Support faculty members as they collaborate to strengthen
humanities programs
• Prepare institutions to develop new humanities programs,
take advantage of underused resources, or collaborate with
other institutions
• Train staff and faculty members in the use of humanities
materials and technologies
Division of Education Programs
Enduring Questions
Provide opportunities to:
•
•
•
Design a new course for undergraduate teaching and
learning that promotes engagement with fundamental
issues in the humanities
Focus on an explicitly stated question drawing upon
significant readings from prior to the twentieth century
Stimulate inquiry beyond vocational or specialized areas
(not limited to those trained in or teaching in humanities
disciplines)
Division of Education Programs
Contact info:
(202) 606-8500
Education@neh.gov
www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivision.html
#education
Division of Preservation & Access
The Division of
Preservation and Access
provides leadership and
support in the national
effort to preserve and
create access to cultural
heritage resources that
constitute the foundation
for research, education,
and public programming
in the humanities.
Overview of the slave trade out of
Africa, 1500-1900 from An Atlas of the
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis
and David Richardson, Yale University
Press, 2010.
Division of Preservation & Access
Grant Categories
• Humanities Collections and Reference Resources
• Research and Development
• Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
• Education and Training
• Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
• National Digital Newspaper Program
• Documenting Endangered Languages (with NSF)
Division of Preservation & Access
Cultural Heritage Collections can include:
• Decorative and fine art objects
• Furniture, textiles, and historical objects
• Archaeological and ethnographic artifacts
• Prints and photographs
• Moving images and sound recordings
• Architectural and cartographic records
• Books, journals, archives, and manuscripts
• Digital materials
Division of Preservation & Access
Humanities Collections
and Reference Resources
Applications may be submitted for projects that address one or more of the following activities:
• arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections;
• cataloging collections of printed works, photographs, recorded sound, moving images, art,
and material culture;
• providing conservation treatment (including deacidification) for collections, leading to
enhanced access;
• digitizing collections;
• preserving and improving access to born-digital sources;
• developing databases, virtual collections, or other electronic resources to codify information
on a subject or to provide integrated access to selected humanities materials;
• creating encyclopedias;
• preparing linguistic tools, such as historical and etymological dictionaries, corpora, and
reference grammars;
• developing tools for spatial analysis and representation of humanities data, such as atlases
and geographic information systems (GIS); and
• designing digital tools to facilitate use of humanities resources.
Division of Preservation & Access
Research and Development
Eligible projects include:
• the development of technical standards, best practices,
and tools for preserving and creating access to
humanities collections;
• the exploration of more effective scientific and technical
methods of preserving humanities collections;
• the development of automated procedures and
computational tools to integrate, analyze, and repurpose
humanities data in disparate online resources; and
• the investigation and testing of new ways of providing
digital access to humanities materials that are not easily
digitized using current methods.
Division of Preservation & Access
Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
Planning grants might be used to:
•
reevaluate environmental parameters for collections;
•
examine passive (nonmechanical) and low-energy alternatives to conventional energy
sources and energy-intensive mechanized systems for managing environmental conditions;
•
analyze existing climate control systems and the performance characteristics of buildings
and building envelopes to develop a plan for improved operation, effectiveness, and
energy efficiency;
•
examine options and develop strategies for lighting collection spaces in ways that protect
collections while achieving improved energy efficiency; or
•
evaluate the effectiveness of preventive conservation strategies previously implemented,
including energy-efficient upgrades to existing systems and performance upgrades to
buildings and building envelopes.
Implementation grants to preserve humanities collections might be used to:
•
manage interior relative humidity and temperature by passive methods (such as creating
buffered spaces and housing, controlling moisture at its sources, or improving the thermal
and moisture performance of a building envelope);
•
install or recommission heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems;
•
install storage systems and rehouse collections;
•
improve security and the protection of collections from fire, flood, and other disasters; or
•
upgrade lighting systems and controls, to achieve energy efficiency and levels suitable for
collections.
Division of Preservation & Access
Education and Training
These grants support:
• regional preservation field services that provide a wide
range of education and training (for example, through
surveys, workshops, consultations, reference services,
and informational materials about the care of humanities
collections), especially for staff at smaller libraries,
museums, archives, and other cultural organizations;
• master’s degree programs in preservation and
conservation; and
• workshops that address preservation and access topics of
national significance and broad impact.
Division of Preservation & Access
Preservation Assistance Grants
for Smaller Institutions
Activities that can be supported include:
• General preservation or conservation assessments that will help an
institution identify its overall preservation needs and develop a
long-range, prioritized preservation plan to address those needs.
• Consultations with preservation professionals to develop a plan for
addressing a specific preservation problem.
• Attendance at workshops on preservation topics, best practices for
cataloging humanities collections, standards for digital
preservation, and the care and handling of collections during
digitization.
• The purchase of preservation supplies, equipment, and storage
furniture. Applicants who request funding for the purchase of
storage furniture must demonstrate that the request is based on a
completed preservation needs assessment or a specialized
consultation with a preservation professional.
Division of Preservation & Access
National Digital Newspaper Program
NDNP is creating a national, digital resource of historically significant
newspapers published between 1836 and 1922, from all the states and
U.S. territories. This searchable database will be permanently
maintained at the Library of Congress (LC) and be freely accessible via
the Internet. An accompanying national newspaper directory of
bibliographic and holdings information on the website directs users to
newspaper titles available in all types of formats.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
Division of Preservation & Access
National Digital Newspaper Program
Division of Preservation & Access
Documenting Endangered Languages
The Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL) program is a
partnership between NEH and the National Science Foundation (NSF)
to develop and advance knowledge concerning endangered human
languages. Made urgent by the imminent death of an estimated half
of the 6000-7000 currently used languages, this effort aims also to
exploit advances in information technology. Awards support
fieldwork and other activities relevant to recording, documenting,
and archiving endangered languages, including the preparation of
lexicons, grammars, text samples, and databases.
Division of Preservation & Access
Contact info:
(202) 606-8570
Preservation@neh.gov
www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivision.html
#preservation
Division of Public Programs
The Division of Public Programs expands
understanding of the humanities through engaging
and substantive projects that encourage lifelong
learning for Americans nationwide. Grants typically
support radio and television documentaries,
exhibitions and interpretation of historic sites,
reading and discussion series, lectures, symposia,
and after school programs.
Division of Public Programs
Grant Categories
• America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations
• America’s Media Makers
• Bridging Cultures through Film:
International Topics
• Small Grants to Libraries
• NEH on the Road
Division of Public Programs
Public humanities programs:
• promote the experience of lifelong learning in the
humanities
• offer new insights into familiar subjects
• invite conversation about important humanities ideas
and questions
• reach large and diverse public audiences
• make creative use of new and emerging technologies
Division of Public Programs
America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations
•
Grants support a wide range of public humanities programs,
including:
• interpretive exhibitions
• websites
• reading and film discussion programs
• symposia
•
Awards primarily cover costs for staff, consultation with
scholars, audience evaluation, design and production, and
ancillary materials.
•
We welcome projects that use more than one format.
Division of Public Programs
America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations
Projects in these categories are especially encouraged:
• Dissemination Projects present programming at twenty or more venues
in a wide range of formats.
•
Interpreting America’s Historic Places projects draw on the evocative
power of historic places to address themes and issues central to
American history.
•
Family and Youth Programs in American History offer programming
tailored to youth and family audiences.
•
NEH’s new Bridging Cultures initiative supports projects focusing on
cultures internationally, or within the United States.
•
Chairman’s Special Awards of up to $1 million support large-scale
traveling exhibitions of exceptional reach and visibility.
Division of Public Programs
America’s Media Makers
Development or Production categories support
media projects that:
• explore significant topics or ideas in the
humanities;
• offer creative approaches to humanities
content; and
• encourage dialogue and discussion.
Division of Public Programs
America’s Media Makers
•
Radio projects may feature documentary programs or
historical dramatizations. They may be intended for
regional or national distribution.
•
Television projects may be documentary programs or
historical dramatizations that address significant figures,
events, or developments. They must be intended for
national distribution.
•
Digital technology projects may expand the content of a
radio or television program or may be components of a
larger, non-broadcast project or be projects in their own
right. Examples include: DVDs, Web sites, games, virtual
environments, streaming, video on demand, and
podcasts, as well as user-generated content.
Division of Public Programs
Bridging Cultures through Film:
International Topics
Sparking Americans’ engagement with the wider world
through exploration of countries and cultures outside the
U.S., and/or across nations.
Films might:
• Take a wide range of approaches to international and
transnational topics:
•
Examine critical issues viewed through an international lens
•
Document the life and work of an international figure
•
Explore the history or cultures of a specific region, country or
community outside of the U.S.
Division of Public Programs
Small Grants to Libraries
•
Bring humanities public programming to libraries across the
country.
•
Offer successful applicants a $2,500 grant for exhibition-related
expenses and for exhibition programming.
•
Have reached 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin
Islands.
•
Grants have included:
• exhibitions at 737 sites,
• multi-format projects at over 160 venues
• completed film and book discussion projects at 125 venues.
Division of Public Programs
NEH on the Road
•
•
•
Mid-America Arts Alliance developed NEH on the Road
in 2003 so smaller museums and communities would
have high quality humanities programming that fit their
spaces and budgets.
Each NEH on the Road exhibition requires only 2,000
square feet of space
Small to mid-sized museums, libraries, schools, and
universities anywhere in the U.S. may host an NEH on
the Road exhibition.
Division of Public Programs
EDSITEment
•
•
•
EDSITEment is a partnership among the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Verizon Foundation, and the National Trust for the Humanities and
is a proud member of the Thinkfinity Consortium of premier educational
websites.
EDSITEment offers a treasure trove for teachers, students, and parents
searching for high-quality material on the Internet in the subject areas of
literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history
and social studies.
All websites linked to EDSITEment have been reviewed for content, design, and
educational impact in the classroom. They cover a wide range of humanities
subjects, from American history to literature, world history and culture,
language, art, and archaeology, and have been judged by humanities
specialists to be of high intellectual quality. EDSITEment is not intended to
represent a complete curriculum in the humanities, nor does it prescribe any
specific course of study.
Division of Public Programs
EDSITEment
Division of Public Programs
Contact info:
(202) 606-8268
PublicPgms@neh.gov
www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivision.html
#public
Division of Research
The Division of Research
Programs encourages
research and writing in all
areas of the humanities.
Grants support individuals
and teams of scholars
pursuing advanced research
in the humanities that will
contribute to scholarly
knowledge or to the general
public's understanding of the
world.
Image of the Gettysburg Address from
the Bliss Copy held by the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library.
Division of Research
Grant Categories
•
Awards for Faculty
• at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• at Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollment
• at Tribal Colleges and Universities
•
Collaborative Research
•
•
•
•
•
Fellowships
Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions
Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan
Scholarly Editions and Translations
Summer Stipends
Division of Research
Awards for Faculty at Historically Black,
High Hispanic Enrollment, and
Tribal Colleges and Universities
•
Awards support individual faculty members
•
Awards allow for a range of research-related endeavors, including:
• conducting research in primary and secondary materials
• writing books and articles based on such research
• undertaking research in response to institutional or community needs and
aims,
• incorporating new research into existing classes
•
Awards are $4,200 per month for periods of two to twelve months’ tenure (or
its equivalent).
Division of Research
Collaborative Research
•
Grants support original research undertaken by a team
of two or more scholars or research coordinated by an
individual scholar that, because of its scope or
complexity, requires additional staff or resources
beyond the individual's salary.
•
Grants support full-time or part-time activities for
periods of one to three years.
•
Grantees are expected to communicate the results of
their work to the appropriate scholarly and public
audiences.
Division of Research
Fellowships
• $4,200 per month for 6-12 months of full time tenure
• For individuals pursuing advanced research
• Faculty or staff members of colleges, universities,
•
•
•
•
primary, or secondary schools, or independent scholars
or writers
No concurrent teaching assignment or other major
activity
May hold other concurrent fellowships/grants
Project to be completed during the tenure of an award
or as part of a long-term endeavor
Products: articles, monographs, books, an archaeological
site report, a translation, an edition, a database, or
other scholarly tools
Division of Research
Fellowship Programs at
Independent Research Institutions
Information for Scholars:
•
Fellowships for 4-12 months, carry a maximum stipend of $4,200
per month.
•
Individual scholars apply directly to institutions offering NEH
fellowships, including:
– Folger Shakespeare Library
– Institute for Advanced Study
– John Carter Brown Library
– National Humanities Center
– Newberry Library
– Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York
Public Library
– American Academy in Rome
Division of Research
Fellowship Programs at
Independent Research Institutions
Information for Institutions:
•
•
•
Grants support domestic and foreign research
centers offering fellowship opportunities for
postdoctoral and independent scholars.
Funding priority given to programs that provide
long-term fellowships (4 months or longer).
Only independent research institutions may apply.
Division of Research
Fellowships for Advanced Social Science
Research on Japan
• Joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship
•
•
•
Commission (JUSFC) and the NEH.
Awards support research on modern Japanese society
and political economy, Japan's international
relations, and U.S.-Japan relations.
Encourages innovative research that puts these
subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is
comparative and contemporary in nature.
Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or
to the general public's understanding of issues of
concern to Japan and the U.S.
Division of Research
Scholarly Editions and Translations
•
Grants support preparation of authoritative and annotated
texts and documents.
•
Materials have been either previously inaccessible or
available only in inadequate editions.
•
Projects involve the editing of significant literary,
philosophical, and historical materials.
•
Editions contain scholarly and critical apparatus
appropriate to the subject matter and format of the
edition.
•
Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose electronic
editions that provide wide access to scholars and students.
Division of Research
Summer Stipends
• Successful applicants receive an outright award of
$6,000 for two consecutive months of full-time
research and writing.
• Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing
advanced research of value to humanities scholars
and/or general audiences.
• Recipients usually produce articles, monographs,
books, digital materials, archaeological site
reports, translations, editions or other scholarly
resources.
Division of Research
Contact info:
(202) 606-8200
Research@neh.gov
http://www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivisi
on.html#research
Office of Federal/State
Partnership
NEH’s Federal/State Partnership is a
collaborative effort, dedicated to the study
and enjoyment of the humanities in the public
sphere, links a national agency with fifty-six
nonprofit state and jurisdictional humanities
councils. Through its programs, the
Federal/State Partnership and the individual
councils advance knowledge and
understanding, and increase public
awareness of the humanities.
Office of Federal/State
Partnership
• Humanities councils are located in each of the fifty
states, the District of Columbia, and five territories.
• The councils receive general operating support from
NEH, and they are also eligible to apply for other NEH
grant opportunities.
• As independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, they
also raise money from diverse sources.
• The councils themselves make grants to nonprofit
organizations and individual scholars for the
preparation or execution of humanities programs and,
in a few instances, for independent scholarly research.
Office of Federal/State
Partnership
Programs supported by the fifty-six state and
jurisdictional humanities councils, 2010-2011:
7,369
2,543
18,448
4,486
4,750
Media programs
Exhibitions
Reading and discussion programs
Speakers bureau presentations
Local history programs
Office of Federal/State Partnership
Contact info:
(202) 606-8254
fedstate@neh.gov
www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivision.html
#fedstate
Office of Challenge Grants
The Office of Challenge Grants
provides institution-building
grants to improve humanities
programs and carry out longterm plans for strengthening
basic resources and enhancing
financial stability.
Office of Challenge Grants
Grant Categories
• Challenge Grants
• Challenge Grants for Two-year Colleges
Office of Challenge Grants
Types of Funding
•Create or augment endowment
•Construction/Renovation
•Direct expenditures:
• equipment
• acquisitions
• technology
• fundraising costs
Office of Challenge Grants
Grants range from $375,000 to $500,000
•Up to $1 million maximum
•3:1 match required
(1 federal dollar for every 3 non-federal dollars)
Office of Challenge Grants
Contact info:
(202) 606-8570
Challenge@neh.gov
www.neh.gov/grants/grantsbydivision.html
#challenge
Office of Digital Humanities
Our primary mission is to help coordinate the NEH's
efforts in the area of digital scholarship. As in the
sciences, digital technology has changed the way
scholars perform their work. It allows new questions to
be raised and has radically changed the ways in which
materials can be searched, mined, displayed, taught,
and analyzed. Technology has also had an enormous
impact on how scholarly materials are preserved and
accessed, which brings with it many challenging issues
related to sustainability, copyright, and authenticity.
The ODH works not only with NEH staff and members
of the scholarly community, but also facilitates
conversations with other funding bodies both in the
United States and abroad so that we can work towards
meeting these challenges.
Office of Digital Humanities
Grant Categories
• DFG/NEH Bilateral Digital Humanities Program
• Digging into Data
• Digital Humanities Implementation
• Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants
• Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital
Humanities
Office of Digital Humanities
DFG/NEH Bilateral Digital Humanities
Program
• This program funds the development of tools and
infrastructure to enhance the use of digitized resources
and support international digitization work.
• Collaboration between U.S. and German partners is a
key requirement for this grant category.
• These grants provide funding for up to three years of
development of digitization projects.
Office of Digital Humanities
The Digging into Data Challenge
This program seeks to answer the question:
• What do you do with a million books?
• Or a million pages of newspaper?
• Or a million photographs of artwork?
That is, how does the notion of scale affect
humanities and social science research? Now that
scholars have access to huge repositories of digitized
data—far more than they could read in a lifetime—
what does that mean for research?
DID is co-sponsored by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK, the
National Science Foundation (NSF) of the U.S., and the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.
Office of Digital Humanities
Digital Humanities Implementation
Implementation grants may involve:
• implementation of computationally-based methods or techniques for
humanities research;
• implementation of new digital tools for use in humanities research, public
programming, or educational settings;
• efforts to ensure the completion and long-term sustainability of existing
digital resources (typically in conjunction with a library or archive);
• studies that examine the philosophical or practical implications of the use of
emerging technologies in specific fields or disciplines of the humanities, or
in interdisciplinary collaborations involving several fields or disciplines; or
• implementation of new digital modes of scholarly communication that
facilitate peer review, collaboration, or the dissemination of humanities
scholarship for various audiences.
Office Digital Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants
• Grants support innovative projects that represent the
next generation of advances in humanities research,
education, preservation, access, and public
programming.
• They must propose an innovative approach, method,
tool, or idea.
• These grants are modeled, in part, on the “high
risk/high reward” paradigm often used by funding
agencies in the sciences.
Office of Digital Humanities
Institutes for Advanced Topics
in the Digital Humanities
•
Supports major training institutes that enable digital
humanities experts to share their knowledge with colleagues
from around the country.
•
Training events must be regional or national in scope.
•
Funded institutes train participants to use new technologies
and methodologies that can be applied to enhance
humanities research, education, preservation, access, or
public programming.
Office of Digital Humanities
Contact info:
(202) 606-8364
ODH@neh.gov
Subscribe to their digital newsletter:
www.neh.gov/grants/digitalhumanities.html
How do I apply?
• Visit www.neh.gov and
read the guidelines.
• Talk to someone at your
institution to know the
resources available to you.
• Contact NEH staff.
• Register with Grants.gov.
Grants.gov
• All applications must be
submitted online at
www.grants.gov.
• Register early.
• Identify your institution's
Authorized Organization
Representative (AOR).
NEH Peer Review Panel
Each grant program may have specific evaluation criteria, but in
general NEH applications are judged on the following:
• The humanities significance of the proposed project
• The quality or promise of the quality of the applicant's work
• The quality of the conception, definition, organization, and
description of the project
• The feasibility of the proposed plan of work
• The likelihood that the applicant will complete the project
General Application Tips
• Read the guidelines, FAQs, and sample proposals for the specific grant
program, available at: www.neh.gov/grants.
• Call or email a program officer to confirm your project’s eligibility and to
discuss its likely competitiveness.
• If the grant program you’re interested in accepts draft applications for
review by NEH staff, take advantage of this offer. Submit your draft well
before the deadline for drafts, and you’re likely to avoid the rush and
receive a response sooner.
• Make as compelling a case as you can for the humanities significance of
your project.
• If your application is not funded, ask for the peer reviewers’ comments.
Application Tips continued
• Strike a tone that is concise and positive without being overly optimistic.
• Write for a general audience, avoiding unnecessary professional jargon. If
your project includes technical work, describe it in detail in the section of
the application that addresses the project’s methodology.
• Provide examples of projects in your field similar to yours, in order to
demonstrate your knowledge of the field and to show the particular value
of your own project.
• Many NEH grant programs have page limits for narratives but none for
appendices; however, remember that voluminous, unnecessary material in
the appendices will only obscure the truly important information you want
the reviewers to notice and remember.
• Include all vital information within the proposal narrative; use the
appendices for supporting documentation only.
Interesting in Reviewing
NEH Applications?
• Contact the NEH Division or Office of your
choice and send in a C.V.
• Enter your contact information online:
https://securegrants.neh.gov/Prism/
Overview of NEH Grant Programs
Federal Update Webinar
Fall 2012
Nadina Gardner, Director
Division of Preservation and Access
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov