• Program Description • Award Information • Eligibility • How to Prepare an Application • How to Submit an Application • Application Review • Award Administration • Points of Contact • Other Information • Budget Instructions and Sample Budget (PDF) • Budget form (PDF) • Definitions of types of funding • DUNS Number Requirement • Frequently Asked Questions • Registration Checklist • Download the current version of Adobe Reader • How to Convert Documents into PDFs • Tips for Creating PDF Files in Grants.gov Applications • Grants.gov FAQs • Grants.gov Customer Support To obtain a printed version of these guidelines, call 202-606-8446, send an e-mail to info@neh.gov, or write to NEH, Office of Public Affairs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506. * - Modification (2/19/08) - The program description was updated to clarify the types of activities supported by grants for Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities.

Date posted: December 18, 2007

Modification date: February 19, 2008 *

Draft Proposals: Program staff recommend that draft proposals be submitted six weeks before the deadline. Time constraints may prevent staff from reviewing draft proposals submitted after that date.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.169

Questions? Questions about this request for proposals can be answered by the staff of the NEH Digital Humanities Initiative (DHI) via email at dhi@neh.gov. Hearing impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930. Because the NEH's DHI staff is dispersed across the agency, for a fast response please contact the DHI program first by e-mail. Applicants wishing to speak to a staff member by telephone should provide in the e-mail a telephone number and a preferred time to call.

As part of the Endowment-wide Digital Humanities Initiative, these grants support national or regional
(multi-state) training programs on approaches in humanities computing. Through these programs, the NEH seeks to increase the number of humanities scholars using digital technology in their research and broadly disseminate knowledge about advanced technology applications relevant to the humanities. The projects may be a single opportunity or offered multiple times to different audiences, although the duration of a program should allow for full and thorough treatment of the topic.

• bring together humanities scholars and digital technology specialists from different disciplines to share ideas and methods that advance humanities research through the use of digital technologies;
• reflect on, interpret, and analyze new digital media, multimedia, and text-based computing technologies and integrate these into humanities research;
• prepare current and future generations of humanities scholars to design, develop, and use cyber-based tools and environments for research;
• devise new and creative uses for technology that offer valuable models that can be applied specifically to research in the humanities.

Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities may be hosted by colleges, universities, learned societies, centers for advanced study, libraries or other repositories, and cultural or professional organizations. The host site(s) must be appropriate for the project, providing facilities for scholarship and collegial interaction. Projects that will be held more than once and at different locations are permissible.

• Text Encoding Initiative, electronic editing, and publishing;
• e-literature;
• textual analysis and text mining;
• immersive and virtual environments in multimedia research;
• 3 -D imaging technology, including laser scanning;
• creativity, culture, and computing;
• digital image design;
• information aesthetics;
• computer gaming and the humanities;
• high performance or supercomputing and the humanities; and
• advanced Geographic Information Systems applications.

• digitization of collections;
• support for workshops on routine computer applications (e.g., training in HTML mark-up) from which little new knowledge about techniques or approaches in the digital humanities will emerge;
• the development and presentation of courses or programs that focus on the skills and knowledge required to preserve, digitize, or catalog humanities collections, such as training in digital scanning;
• graduate programs in the digital humanities; or
• programs that are not regional (multi-state) or national in scope.

Applicants seeking support for projects to provide professional development opportunities in the digital humanities for elementary and secondary school teachers should apply to the Digital Humanities Workshops program of the NEH Division of Education Programs.

Awards normally range from one to three years and from $50,000 to a maximum of $250,000. Successful applicants will be awarded a grant in outright funds, federal matching funds, or a combination of the two, depending on the applicant's preference and the availability of NEH funds. Matching funds are released when a grantee secures gift funds from eligible third parties.

Cost sharing Cost sharing consists of the cash contributions made to the project by the applicant, third parties, and other federal agencies, as well as third party in-kind contributions, such as donated services and goods. Cost sharing also includes program registration fees and gift money that will be raised to release federal matching funds. Cost sharing is not required. NEH, however, is rarely able to support the full costs of projects approved for funding. In most cases, NEH grants cover no more than 80% of project costs. (Learn more about different types of grant funding.)

Application advice and proposal drafts Prior to submitting a proposal, applicants are encouraged to contact program officers who can offer advice about preparing the proposal and review draft proposals. These comments are not part of the formal review process and have no bearing on the final outcome of the proposal. Program staff recommend that draft proposals be submitted six weeks before the deadline. Time constraints may prevent staff from reviewing draft proposals submitted after that date. Draft proposals should be submitted by e-mail attachment to dhi@neh.gov. You will prepare your application for submission via Grants.gov just as you would a paper application. Your application should consist of the following parts:

1. Description of the project and its significance Provide a one-page abstract written for a non-specialist audience, clearly explaining the project's importance to the humanities, its principal activities, and its expected results. Describe the research questions or the learning outcomes to be considered that would benefit humanities scholarship, and describe the project's intended outcome in quantitative terms (e.g., the number of participants).
2. Table of Contents List all parts of the application and, beginning with the narrative, number all pages consecutively.
3. Narrative Limit the narrative to eight single-sided and single-spaced pages. All pages should have one-inch margins and the font size should be no smaller than eleven point. Use appendices to provide supplementary material. Individuals with a variety of professional backgrounds will read these applications and advise NEH on their merits. Project narratives should, therefore, be written so that they can be understood by persons who may not have the same technical awareness as the applicant. Keep the application review criteria (see Section VI) in mind when writing the narrative, which consists of the following sections:
   • Significance Discuss the national or regional needs this program will serve. This discussion should include the program's intended audience, its potential impact on digital humanities practices, and the ultimate audience that will benefit. Describe how this program relates to others of a similar nature that currently exist or have been conducted in the past. Clarify the degree to which this program will build on past work or break new ground.
   • Institutional profile: Provide general information about the applicant institution or organization and explain why it is an appropriate venue. Include a description of the institution's mission, organizational structure, annual budget, and staff.
   • Curriculum and work plan Thoroughly describe the content of the project including requirements for attendance; the time, location, duration, and structure of the program; and the materials to be used. Summarize presentations and discussion topics, include assigned and recommended readings, and identify other resources and materials to be used (a detailed work plan and schedule should be included in the appendix).
   • Participants Describe how participants for the institutes will be chosen. Explain how the curriculum and duration of the program reflect the subjects taught and the educational needs or level of the attendees.
   • Impact and evaluation Discuss the program’s expected results, their impact on digital humanities scholarship, and any plans for wider dissemination. Describe any plans, including listservs and Web sites, to facilitate discussion and collaboration among participants after the initial learning opportunity. Indicate how the program and its results will be evaluated by participants and by the applicant organization.
   • Staff, faculty, and consultants Using short paragraphs, identify principal faculty, visiting lecturers, master teachers, and support staff and describe their roles, responsibilities, and qualifications. Include in the appendix up-to-date letters of commitment and brief résumés (two pages).
   • Budget Notes Discuss the rationale for stipends and travel funds offered to participants. For projects that have received past NEH funding, applicants should describe plans to broaden the base of financial support.
4. Budget Using the instructions, complete the NEH budget form (PDF). While all items should be justified by the narrative, further explanation may be included in brief budget notes. If stipends are to be offered to participants, we recommend that those stipends not exceed $125 per day. Stipends should be commensurate with the time commitment expected of the participants. Project directors are generally compensated for the time required to oversee all arrangements, recruit and select the participants, and conduct the active portion of the project. For example, the following percentages of the base annual academic salary are recommended as appropriate compensation for multiple week projects: 13.9% for a two-week session, 16.6% for a three-week session, 19.4% for a four-week session, 22.2% for a five-week session, and 25% for a six-week session. Codirectors would each receive 80% of these amounts. Generally, the honoraria for visiting faculty and other consultants should be no higher than $500 per person per day or $2,000 per person per week. For any outsourced work, third-party contractor costs should be included in the budget category "Services." Attach a complete itemization of these costs to the budget form. If there is more than one contractor, each one must be listed on the budget form and the costs itemized separately.
5. Appendices Use appendices to provide:
   • course outlines;
   • brief résumés (no longer than two pages) for staff with major responsibilities for the project's implementation;
   • job descriptions for any additional staff who will be hired specifically to work on the project;
   • letters of commitment from outside participants and cooperating institutions; and
   • a list of staff, faculty, and consultants(this list is used to ensure that prospective evaluators have no conflict of interest with the project that they will be evaluating).

DOWNLOAD THE FREE ADOBE READER SOFTWARE

Once installed, the current version of Adobe Reader will allow you to view and fill out Grants.gov application packages for any federal agency. If you have a problem installing Adobe Reader, it may be because you do not have permission to install a new program on your computer. Many organizations have rules about installing new programs. If you encounter a problem, contact your system administrator.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION PACKAGE

The application package contains three forms that you must complete in order to submit your application:

1. Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - Short Organizational (SF-424 Short)—this form asks for basic information about the project, the project director, and the institution.
2. Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs—this form asks for additional information about the project director, the institution, and the budget.
3. NEH Attachment Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE SF-424 SHORT FORM

Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:

1. Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically with "National Endowment for the Humanities."
2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically with the CFDA number and title of the NEH program to which you are applying.
3. Date Received: Please leave blank.
4. Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
5. Applicant Information: In this section, please supply the name, address, employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), DUNS number, Web site address, and congressional district of the institution. Also choose the "type" that best describes your institution (you only need to select one).

   If your institution is located, for example, in the 5th Congressional District of your state, put a "5." If your institution doesn't have a congressional district (e.g. it is in a state or U.S. territory that doesn't have districts or is in a foreign country), put a "0" (zero).

   All institutions applying to federal grant programs are required to provide a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, as part of their application. Project directors should contact their institution’s grant administrator or chief financial officer to obtain their institution’s DUNS number. Federal grant applicants can obtain a DUNS number free of charge by calling 1-866-705-5711. (Learn more about the requirement.

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HOW TO FILL OUT THE SUPPLEMENTARY COVER SHEET FOR NEH GRANT PROGRAMS

Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:

1. Project Director: Use the pull down menu to select the major field of study for the project director.
2. Institution Information: Use the pull down menu to select your type of institution.
3. Project Funding: Enter your project funding information. Note that applicants for Challenge Grants should use the right column only; applicants to all other programs should use the left column only.
4. Application Information: Indicate whether the applications will be submitted to other NEH grant programs, government agencies, or private entities for funding. If so, please indicate where and when. NEH frequently cosponsors projects with other funding sources. Providing this information will not prejudice the review of your application.

   For Type of Application, check "new" if the application requests a new period of funding, whether for a new project or the next phase of a project previously funded by NEH. Check "supplement" if the application requests additional funding for a current NEH grant. If requesting a supplement, provide the current grant number (applicants should discuss their request with a NEH program officer before submitting such an application).

   For Project Field Code, use the pull down menu to select the humanities field of the project. If the project is multidisciplinary, choose the field that corresponds to the project's predominant discipline.

HOW TO USE THE NEH ATTACHMENT FORM

Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don't already have software to convert your files into PDFs, there are many low-cost and free software packages available. To learn more, go to http://www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.

When you open the NEH Attachment Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons, labeled "Attachment 1" through "Attachment 15." By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order so that we can identify them. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below:

ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your table of contents. Please name the file "contents.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your budget. Please name the file "budget.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your appendices (if applicable). Please name the file "appendices.pdf".

UPLOADING YOUR APPLICATION TO GRANTS.GOV

During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives). These AORs typically work in your institution's Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that was assigned to him or her during the registration process.

After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a tracking number, will appear indicating that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail.

To identify the proposal that the samples accompany, indicate the title of the project, the name of the project director, and the applicant institution.

DEADLINES

• the significance and potential impact of the project for improving the use of advanced technology for research in the humanities;
• the soundness of the methodology and the program's structure and work plan in relation to its goals;
• the professional training and experience of the staff in relation to the activity for which support is requested; and
• the appropriateness of the project's budget.

Interim and final performance reports will be required. Further details can be found in Performance Reporting Requirements (formerly Enclosure 2).

Digital Humanities Initiative
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 429
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
dhi@neh.gov

If you need help using Grants.gov, contact:

Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.

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