Scholarly Editions and Translations

Scholarly Editions and Translations grants support the preparation of editions and translations of pre-existing texts and documents that are currently inaccessible or available in inadequate editions. These grants support full-time or part-time activities for periods of a minimum of one year up to a maximum of three years. Projects must be undertaken by a team of at least one editor or translator and one other staff member. Grants typically support editions and translations of significant literary, philosophical, and historical materials, but other types of work, such as musical notation, are also eligible.

Amount: $300,000

Date due: December 8, 2011

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NEH Challenge Grants

NEH challenge grants are capacity-building grants, intended to help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements in and support for their humanities programs and resources. Grants may be used to establish or enhance endowments or spend-down funds (that is, funds that are invested, with both the income and the principal being expended over a defined period of years) that generate expendable earnings to support ongoing program activities. Grantees may also use funds for one-time capital expenditures (such as construction and renovation, purchase of equipment, and acquisitions) that bring long-term benefits to the institution and to the humanities more broadly.

Amount: Varies

Date due: May 4, 2011

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Digging into Data (National Endowment for the Humanities)

The creation of vast quantities of Internet-accessible digital data and the development of techniques for large-scale data analysis have led to remarkable new discoveries in genetics, astronomy, and other fields, and—importantly—connections between different academic disciplines. The Digging into Data Challenge seeks to discover how these new research techniques might also be applied to questions in the humanities and social sciences. New techniques of large-scale data analysis allow researchers to discover relationships, detect discrepancies, and perform computations on so-called “big data” sets that are so large that they can be processed only by using computing resources and computational methods that were developed and made economically affordable within the past few years. This “data deluge” has arisen not just from the capture and storage of data on everyday transactions such as Internet searches, consumer purchases, cell phone records, “smart” metering systems and sensors, but also from the digitization of all types of media, with books, newspapers, journals, films, artworks, and sound recordings being digitized on a massive scale. It is possible to apply data linkage and analysis techniques to large and diverse data collections, including survey data, economic data, digitized newspapers, books, music, and other scholarly and scientific resources. How might these techniques help researchers use these materials to ask new questions about and gain new insights into our world? To encourage innovative approaches to this question, eight international research organizations are organizing a joint grant competition to focus the attention of the social sciences, humanities, library, archival, and information sciences communities on large-scale data analysis and its potential applications. The four goals of the initiative are * to promote the development and deployment of innovative research techniques in large-scale data analysis that focus on applications for the humanities and social sciences; * to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers in the humanities, social sciences, computer sciences, library, archive, information sciences, and other fields, around questions of text and data analysis; * to promote international collaboration among both researchers and funders; and * to ensure efficient access to and sharing of the materials for research by working with data repositories that hold large digital collections.

Amount: $175,000

Date due: June 16, 2011

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Landmarks of American History and Culture (K-12 educators)

The Landmarks of American History and Culture program supports series of one-week residence-based workshops for a national audience of K-12 educators. NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops use historic sites to address central themes and issues in American history, government, literature, art, music, and other related subjects in the humanities. The goals of the workshops are to increase knowledge and appreciation of subjects, ideas, and places significant to American history and culture through humanities reading and site study; build a community of inquiry and provide models of civility and of excellent scholarship and teaching; provide teachers with expertise in the use and interpretation of historical sites and of material and archival resources; and encourage historical and cultural sites to develop greater capacity and scale for professional development programs. NEH Landmarks Workshops are held at or near sites important to American history and culture (e.g., presidential residences or libraries; colonial-era settlements; major battlefields; historic districts; parks and preserves; sites of key economic, social, political, and constitutional developments; and places associated with major writers, artists, and musicians). Applicants should make a compelling case for the historical significance of the site(s), the material resources available for use, and the ways in which the site(s) will enhance the workshop. NEH Landmarks Workshops are academically rigorous and focus on key primary sources, documents, and scholarly works relevant to major themes of American history and culture. Leading scholars should serve as lecturers or seminar leaders. Workshops should also provide the opportunity to work with primary documents and develop classroom resources or a research project. Institutions or organizations that may host workshops include community colleges, universities, four-year colleges, learned societies, libraries or other repositories, centers for advanced study, cultural organizations, and professional associations. NEH expects host institutions to provide facilities conducive to scholarly research, discussion, and interaction. Host institutions should arrange suitable housing for participants, which participants pay for from the stipends provided to them as part of the Landmarks workshop grant.

Amount: $180,000

Date due: March 1, 2011

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NEH Summer Seminars & Institutes

The NEH Summer Seminars & Institutes grants support faculty development programs in the humanities for school teachers and for college and university teachers. NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes may be as short as two weeks or as long as five weeks. The duration of a program should allow for a rigorous treatment of its topic. NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes extend and deepen knowledge and understanding of the humanities by focusing on significant topics, texts, and issues; contribute to the intellectual vitality and professional development of participants; build a community of inquiry and provide models of civility and excellent scholarship and teaching; and promote effective links between teaching and research in the humanities. An NEH Summer Seminar or Institute may be hosted by a college, university, school system, learned society, center for advanced study, library or other repository, or a cultural or professional organization. The host site must be appropriate for the project, providing facilities for scholarship and collegial interaction. These programs are designed for a national audience of teachers.

Amount: $200,000

Date due: March 1, 2011

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America's Historical and Cultural Organizations

America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations grants support projects in the humanities that explore stories, ideas, and beliefs in order to deepen our understanding of our lives and our world. The Division of Public Programs supports the development of humanities content and interactivity that excite, inform, and stir thoughtful reflection upon culture, identity, and history in creative and new ways.

Grants for America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations should encourage dialogue, discussion, and civic engagement, and they should foster learning among people of all ages. To that end, the Division of Public Programs urges applicants to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public.

NEH offers two categories of grants for America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations:

(1) planning grants. Planning grants are available for projects that may need further development before applying for implementation. See application guidelines for Planning Grants. This planning can include the identification and refinement of the project’s main humanities ideas and questions, consultation with scholars, preliminary audience evaluation, preliminary design of the proposed interpretive formats, beta testing of digital formats, development of complementary programming, research, or the drafting of interpretive materials.

(2) Implementation grants support the final preparation of a project for presentation to the public. Applicants must submit a full walkthrough for an exhibition, or a prototype or storyboard for a digital project, which demonstrates a solid command of the humanities ideas and scholarship that relate to the subject. Applicants for implementation grants should have already finished most of the planning for their projects, including the identification of the key humanities themes, relevant scholarship, and program formats. For exhibitions, implementation grants can support the final stages of design development, but these grants are primarily intended for installation.

Date due: January 12, 2011

Amount: Varies depending upon grant type

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NEH Digital Humanities Start-up Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities is inviting applications to the Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program, which is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities. By awarding relatively small grants to projects in the planning stages, NEH aims to encourage the development of innovations that promise to benefit the humanities.

Proposals should be for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in any area of the humanities. Projects may involve research, new approaches, or best practices in the study of the digital humanities; planning and developing prototypes of new digital tools for preserving, analyzing, and making accessible digital resources, including libraries' and museums' digital assets; scholarship or studies that examine the philosophical or practical implications and impact of the use of emerging technologies in specific fields or disciplines of the humanities, or in interdisciplinary collaborations involving several fields or disciplines; innovative uses of technology for public programming and education utilizing both traditional and new media; and new digital modes of publication that facilitate the dissemination of humanities scholarship in advanced academic as well as informal or formal educational settings at all levels.

Applicants must propose an innovative approach, method, tool, or idea that has not been used before in the humanities. Grants should result in plans, prototypes, or proofs of concept for long-term digital humanities projects prior to implementation.

Two levels of awards are available:

Level I awards are small grants (ranging from $5,000 to $25,000) designed to fund brainstorming sessions, workshops, early alpha-level prototypes, and initial planning. In addition to early planning toward an innovative prototype, Level I proposals should identify a problem or research question, explore a research agenda, or discover appropriate methodologies or technologies. Outcomes for Level I projects would likely include reports, position papers, and plans for subsequent steps and future research or development. Level I grants may also fund conferences or workshops addressing specific topics related to the impact of technology on the humanities. Proposals should include specific plans for broad dissemination of project outcomes.

Level II awards are larger grants (ranging from $25,001 to $50,000) that can be used for more fully formed projects that are ready to be implemented or demonstrate proofs of concept. Level II proposals should therefore include a more articulated plan of work leading to concrete and tangible outcomes, such as working prototypes, test beds, or demonstration projects.

Grants will support full- or part-time activities for periods of up to eighteen months. Support is available for various combinations of scholars, consultants, and research assistants; project-related travel; and technical support and services. Up to 20 percent of the total grant may be used for the acquisition of computing hardware and software.

DUE DATE: February 23, 2011

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