Humanities Collections and Reference Resources notice of funding opportunity 2023 20230718-PW.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Funding Opportunity Title:

Humanities Collections and Reference Resources

Funding Opportunity Number: 20230718-PW

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.149

Application Deadline: July 18, 2023

Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current.

It may take up to one month to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Division of Preservation and Access Email: preservation@neh.gov Telephone: 202-606-8570 Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date October 31, 2024 mailto:preservation@neh.gov

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Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Preservation and Access is accepting applications for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program. This program supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public engagement in the humanities. It strengthens efforts to extend the reach of humanities collections and make their intellectual content widely accessible. Awards also support the creation of reference resources that facilitate the use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.

Funding Opportunity Title Humanities Collections and Reference Resources

Funding Opportunity Number 20230718-PW

Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.149

Optional Draft Deadline June 6, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Application Deadline July 18, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Anticipated Award Announcement April 2024

Anticipated FY 2024 Funding Approximately $7,500,000

Estimated Number and Type of Award Approximately 35 grants

Award Amounts Foundations: up to $50,000 (plus $10,000 for inter-institutional activities) Implementation: up to $350,000

Cost Sharing/Match Required No

Period of Performance Foundations: up to two years Implementation: up to three years

Projects must start between June 1, 2024, and

September 1, 2024.

Eligible Applicants • nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code

• accredited institutions of higher education

(public or nonprofit)

• state and local governments and their agencies

• federally recognized Native American Tribal governments

See C. Eligibility Information for additional information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/humanities-collections-and-reference-resources

Published March 21, 2023 https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/humanities-collections-and-reference-resources

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Table of Contents

A. Program Description

1. Purpose

2. Background

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award

2. Summary of Funding

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing

3. Other Eligibility Information

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

E. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Assessment of Risk and Other Pre-Award Activities

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

G. Agency Contacts

H. Other Information

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A. Program Description

1. Purpose This notice solicits applications for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program (HCRR).

HCRR advances scholarship, education, and public engagement in the humanities by helping libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country steward important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects. The program strengthens efforts to extend the reach of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible. Awards also support the creation of reference resources that facilitate the use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.

Projects may address the holdings or activities of a single institution or may involve partnerships between organizations. Collaboration between humanities experts and information professionals is essential to broaden the scope of, and audiences for, proposed collections or reference resources. You should design a project that facilitates sharing, exchange, and the interoperability of humanities information and products, and ensures their long-term availability. Projects should expand participation in cultural heritage and promote engagement with primary sources.

See D6. Funding Restrictions for unallowable activities.

See E1. Review Criteria for the standards NEH will use to evaluate applications under this notice.

Funding categories The HCRR program includes two funding categories: Foundations and Implementation.

Successful completion of a Foundations project is not a prerequisite for Implementation support in this program. While Foundations award recipients may choose to apply later for an Implementation award, they are not required to do so.

Foundations

Foundations awards support planning, assessment, and pilot activities that incorporate cross-disciplinary expertise in the formative stages of preserving and creating access to humanities collections or producing reference resources. Drawing upon the cooperation of humanities scholars and technical specialists, these projects might include efforts to initiate intellectual control of collections, to solidify collaborative frameworks and strategic plans for complex digital reference resources, or to produce preliminary versions of online collections or resources.

Experts may be humanities scholars, archivists, curators, librarians, preservation specialists, and other information professionals, depending on your goals.

You may use a Foundations award for one or more of the following activities:

• analyzing and evaluating the content areas, intellectual control requirements, and preservation needs of significant humanities collections, including the development and distribution of collection-level descriptive information (projects to process or

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catalog collections at more detailed levels should apply instead for an Implementation award);

• identifying and prioritizing humanities materials for digitization, developing project-specific selection criteria, evaluating technical requirements for digital preservation and access, reformatting, test-bed items, and/or exploring third-party service arrangements;

• developing plans and protocols to ensure the preservation of digital humanities content (previously digitized or born digital), which could include preliminary testing and evaluation of institutional and/or distributed digital repository systems;

• creating editorial plans, locating and assembling resources, devising strategies for technological and programmatic sustainability, and producing content exemplars for reference resources such as encyclopedias, databases, virtual archives, etymological dictionaries, or online atlases; or

• developing plans for and/or conducting collection surveys to inform future repatriation efforts, sustainable and inclusive collection development, or deaccessioning.

Foundations projects’ initial stages – for example, initial collections appraisal and accessioning for archival materials, conceptualization of scope and audience for reference resources, or consortium partner contact and cooperation – should be complete at the time of application.

Any inter-institutional partnerships should also be in place at the time of application.

Partnership opportunity

In order to enhance access to humanities collections held by smaller institutions, Foundations applicants may request an additional $10,000 (for a total of $60,000) to support inter-institutional planning and pilot activities. Applicants may be small institutions proposing to work with a larger repository or larger institutions proposing to collaborate with one or more smaller partners. In either case, applicants must demonstrate that each participating institution is fully engaged in the project and is an equal stakeholder in its outcomes. Partnerships might be especially well suited for community-based cultural heritage initiatives but are not limited in geographic or topical scope.

Implementation

You may use an Implementation award for 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;

• digitizing and reformatting collections;

• preserving and improving access to born-digital sources, including updating existing digital resources;

• developing databases, virtual collections, other digital resources, or project-specific tools to codify information on a subject or to provide integrated access to selected humanities materials;

• creating encyclopedias;

• preparing linguistic resources, such as historical and etymological dictionaries, corpora, and reference grammars (separate funding is available for endangered language projects in partnership with the National Science Foundation); or http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/documenting-endangered-languages http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/documenting-endangered-languages

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• producing resources for spatial analysis and representation of humanities data, such as atlases and geographic information systems (GIS).

Because ensuring the longevity of humanities sources is critical to enabling their ongoing use, you may request support for implementing preservation measures – such as rehousing, item-level stabilization, and conservation treatment – in the context of projects that also create or enhance access to humanities collections.

In recognition of the time-sensitive nature of reformatting sound recordings and moving images stored on degrading and obsolescent media, this program encourages applications that address the need to preserve and access these critically endangered sources.

In support of the U.S. Department of Interior’s ongoing investigation into the Federal Indian boarding school system, this program encourages applications that address preservation and access to boarding school and related records.

2. Background NEH offers this funding opportunity under the authority of 20 U.S.C. § 956. Awards are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations (for grants and cooperative agreements issued January 1, 2022 or later).

Under Section 3(a) of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, “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 the 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.”

Use the Funded Projects Query Form to find examples of NEH-supported projects.

Learn more about NEH.

American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future is a wide-ranging special initiative at NEH that leverages the humanities to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time: strengthening our democracy, advancing equity for all, and addressing our changing climate. The initiative encourages humanities projects that elevate the role of civics in schools and public programs, advance knowledge of the country’s history and political institutions, and examine threats to its democratic principles. The initiative also encourages projects that explore the untold stories of historically underrepresented groups and build capacity at cultural and educational institutions to benefit underserved communities. Finally, the initiative welcomes projects that promote research into the historical roots and cultural effects of climate change and support the cultural and educational sectors in building climate resilience. By supporting humanities projects that align with these three themes—strengthening our democracy, advancing equity for all, and addressing our changing climate—the American Tapestry initiative seeks to tell our country’s history in all its complexity and diversity.

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NEH also encourages projects that include Native American organizations and communities as applicants and project partners. NEH will give all applications equal consideration in accordance with the program’s review criteria.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award NEH seeks new applications in response to this notice.

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding

Award amounts You may request up to $50,000 for Foundations awards and up to $350,000 for Implementation awards. In order to enhance access to humanities collections held by smaller institutions, Foundations applicants may request an additional $10,000 (for a total of $60,000) to support inter-institutional planning and pilot activities. Award totals include direct and indirect costs.

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $7,500,000 among an estimated 35 recipients.

NEH will not determine the amount available until Congress makes appropriations for FY 2024.

NEH will issue awards subject to the availability of appropriated funds. NEH is publishing this notice as a contingency action to ensure that NEH can process applications and issue awards in a timely manner, should sufficient funds become available.

Period of performance You must request a period of performance up to two years for Foundations awards and up to three years for Implementation awards with a start date between June 1, 2024, and September 1, 2024.

The period of performance is the span of time during which you may incur expenses to carry out the work under the award. It must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of a month.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types:

• a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

• an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)

• a state or local government or one of their agencies

• a federally recognized Native American Tribal government https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/28/2022-01789/indian-entities-recognized-by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of

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If your organization is eligible, you may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, you will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award.

To be eligible, you must not function solely as a fiscal agent for another entity and must make substantive contributions to the success of the project.

Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.

2. Cost Sharing NEH does not require cost sharing in this program unless you request federal matching funds.

Cost sharing or matching is the portion of the project costs you pay for with non-NEH funds.

Peer reviewers will not consider cost sharing in their evaluation of applications.

If you request federal matching funds, you must raise third-party non-federal gifts dollar-for-dollar. NEH will certify the allowability of these gifts before releasing federal matching funds.

Typically, NEH distributes federal matching funds on an annual basis over the period of performance. See the NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines.

You may contribute voluntary cost share to your project if the total costs exceed the amount awarded by NEH. Voluntary cost share includes:

• cash contributions made to the project by you or a third party

• your unrecovered indirect costs

• in-kind contributions (non-cash contributions, such as property or services, that benefit the project and are contributed without charge) by you or a third party

While you may describe voluntary cost share in your budget justification, you should not include it on your Research and Related Budget.

You must maintain auditable records of the source and use of cost share. See 2 CFR § 200.306.

Learn about types of funds NEH offers.

3. Other Eligibility Information You may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under this notice.

Collaborating organizations may participate in multiple proposals.

You may revise and resubmit previously rejected applications. Submissions are subject to the application requirements and review criteria of this competition.

If NEH has previously made an award in support of your project, you may submit an application for a new or subsequent stage of the project, which NEH will assess using the same criteria as other applications in this competition.

Per 2 CFR § 200.403(f), you must not include the same project costs in more than one application for federal funding and/or approved federal award budget. However, you may submit multiple proposals for complementary aspects of the same overall project. NEH may https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3aeab4e3a836f5b6807999701e518c94&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1306 https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRea20080eff2ea53/section-200.403

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disallow costs or reject applications that include overlapping project costs. An individual’s level of effort cannot exceed 100% across multiple active federally funded awards.

NEH does not issue awards to other federal entities. If your project is so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities, it is ineligible. You may use funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in your project, but you may not use them as gifts to release NEH matching funds.

NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations. If you are an eligible domestic entity, you may apply for collaborative projects involving foreign organizations provided you do not use NEH funds for the purpose of issuing subawards to any foreign organization, as defined in 2 CFR §§ 200.1 and .331(a). You may obtain the services of foreign individuals and consultants to carry out programmatic activities on a fee-for-service basis, as specified in 2 CFR § 200.459. You may obtain goods and services from foreign vendors, such as in-country transportation services, in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.331(b). If you plan to submit an application involving international collaboration, contact program staff at preservation@neh.gov.

Except for the rare cases covered by its late submission policy, NEH will not consider applications submitted after the deadline.

NEH will not consider incomplete, nonresponsive, or ineligible applications for funding.

NEH will not consider applications that exceed page limits or deviate from formatting instructions. See the Application Components Table.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20230718-PW. There is also a link on the program resource page.

Once you have located the funding opportunity in Grants.gov, you will find the application package under the “Package” tab. It includes a series of required and conditionally required forms. You will upload additional application components using the Attachments Form.

You must complete a multistep registration process to submit your application. See D3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.

Contact preservation@neh.gov to request a paper copy of this notice.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can contact NEH using telecommunications relay at 7-1-1.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_11 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1331 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1459 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1331 mailto:preservation@neh.gov https://www.neh.gov/grants/policy-on-late-submissions mailto:preservation@neh.gov

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2. Content and Form of Application Submission Your application will include a narrative, budget, and other forms and attachments. You will complete the forms within Grants.gov Workspace and upload other components into the Attachments Form. See the Application Component Table.

NEH has assigned each application component one of the following designations:

• Required: You must submit this component.

• Conditionally Required: You must submit this component if your proposal meets the specified conditions.

• Recommended: NEH encourages, but does not require, you to submit this component.

You must submit all required components and conditionally required components relevant to your proposal. NEH will not review applications missing any required documents or relevant conditionally required documents.

In addition, NEH has established page limits for some application components:

• Mandatory: You must not exceed the page limit.

• Suggested: NEH encourages, but does not require, you to abide by the page limit.

Take note of the page limits and formatting instructions in this notice. NEH will not review applications that exceed mandatory page limits or deviate from formatting instructions.

Your application components must conform to the following formatting requirements, unless otherwise indicated:

• pages no larger than standard letter (8 ½" x 11”)

• at least one-inch margins on all sides for all pages

• a font no smaller than 11 points

In addition, you are encouraged to format your components consistent with the following:

• single-spacing

• a readable font such as Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Times New Roman

• any standard citation style (citations are included in page counts)

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Application Component Table Application Component File Name Designation Page limit

Grants.gov forms

SF-424 Application for Federal

Assistance - Short

Organizational

Required

Supplementary Cover Sheet for

NEH Grant Programs

Required

Project/Performance Site(s)

Location Form

Required

Research and Related Budget Required

Attachments Form Required

Certification Regarding

Lobbying

Conditionally required

Standard Form-LLL “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities”

Conditionally

Attachments

1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required Foundations: 10;

Implementation:

15 (mandatory)

2: History of awards awardhistory.pdf Conditionally required

1 page

(suggested)

3: Project deliverables deliverables.pdf Required

4: Work plan workplan.pdf Required

5: List of project personnel personnel.pdf Required

6: Résumés for key personnel resumes.pdf Required 2 pages each

(suggested)

7: Letters of commitment and support letters.pdf Conditionally

8: Additional supporting documentation documentation.pdf Recommended

9: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally

10: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement agreement.pdf Conditionally

11: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally

Narrative Compose a comprehensive description of your proposed project. Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can understand the proposed project.

../../../../General/Templates/Disclosure#_Standard_Form-LLL,_ ../../../../General/Templates/Disclosure#_Standard_Form-LLL,_

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Limit the narrative for Foundations applications to ten single-spaced pages; limit the narrative for Implementation applications to fifteen single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive summary or a table of contents. You may include images, charts, diagrams, footnotes, and endnotes if they fit within the page limit.

Organize your narrative using the following headings. Each section aligns with one or more review criteria NEH will use to evaluate your proposal.

Significance (aligns with review criterion 1)

Justify the project’s importance based on its long-term benefits to research, education, or public engagement in the humanities. Discuss the central humanities themes, questions, or disciplines it would address.

For Foundations projects involving humanities collections, describe the nature and importance of the sources that would be the focus of assessment or planning and include examples of materials you would use in any pilot efforts. For Implementation projects involving humanities collections, describe the selection criteria, nature, size, and intellectual content of the selected collections; explain how they relate to similar collections, both within and external to your organization. Discuss the rationale for focusing on these particular sources.

For Foundations applicants proposing reference resources, provide a clear conceptual vision of the scope and contents of the eventual product and its relationship to other pertinent works or tools. For Implementation applicants proposing reference resources, define the selection criteria and explain how your project relates to existing resources. Demonstrate what benefit or utility the project would provide that existing resources cannot.

Discuss actual and anticipated use of the collection or reference work. Identify the audience(s) that the project would serve. Document use, when possible, through examples of outcomes such as scholarly publications, educational activities, exhibitions, or media programming.

History, scope, and duration (aligns with review criteria 1 and 4)

Summarize the project’s history, including information about preliminary research and planning, prior financial support, and available resources or research facilities. If relevant, describe the goals of the larger initiative of which this project is a part. If an Implementation project would take more than three years to complete, describe the scope and duration of the entire initiative, as well as the specific accomplishments or final products you intend to produce during this period of performance.

List any project-specific products or publications to date in print or digital form. When appropriate, indicate print runs, sales, and royalties relating to publications; in the case of online products, include the URL and provide user analytics. If NEH has previously supported the project, compare the accomplishments in the current or past period of performance with the intended goals. If you propose the continuation of work on long-standing reference resources, describe how the project has adapted to or envisions incorporating changes in technology and user expectations.

Methodology and standards (aligns with review criteria 2 and 6)

Explain how you would execute the project and how it would conform to appropriate national standards and accepted professional practices. If your methodology departs from expected

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standards and practices, explain why the project requires such an approach and how you would ensure the interoperability of results with other relevant resources.

Discuss any intellectual property or privacy issues that might affect the availability of collections or the dissemination of reference resources. Describe how you would address intellectual property and privacy issues during the period of performance and provide documentation of applicable permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed consent in Attachment 8: Additional supporting documentation.

Consistent with NEH’s policy on providing access to NEH-funded products, recipients should provide access to all products through the internet, on-site use, interlibrary loan, or duplication of materials at cost, insofar as the condition of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. Explain how you might leverage open access online resources and use Creative Commons licenses, as possible and appropriate.

If your project fits one of the descriptions below, address the following, as relevant.

Projects for planning, assessment, and pilot work (Foundations)

Identify professional standards, research, or precedents that inform the project. Discuss the knowledge and skills that the project requires and explain how you chose the planning team to meet those needs. Describe how the team would gather relevant information and provide copies of any assessment tools in Attachment 8: Additional supporting documentation. Indicate the methods of communication and collaboration you would use and the framework for decision making.

Describe the anticipated final products and outcomes and how these would guide future stages of work. You should describe these in the narrative and list them in Attachment 3: Project deliverables. Foundations products could include:

• detailed evaluation reports to guide decision making for preserving and creating access to humanities collections;

• descriptions of prioritized sources and technical requirements for future digitization;

• strategic planning documents for digital preservation efforts; or

• editorial policy, procedure, and scheduling guidelines; tables of contents; and sustainability and dissemination plans for reference resources.

Specify the nature of any testing or modeling efforts and, if possible, provide examples. If you plan to produce and distribute collection information or reference resource content, identify the methods you would use and how you would make the content accessible.

If you are developing plans for and/or conducting collection surveys to inform future repatriation efforts, sustainable and inclusive collection development, or deaccessioning, discuss your institution’s preparatory efforts and any relevant legal requirements, governing structures, or existing collection policies that would impact this work. We encourage you to provide relevant information in Attachment 8: Additional supporting documentation; you are required to include a letter of commitment from your institution’s leadership in Attachment 7: Letters of commitment and support.

If you are requesting an additional $10,000 for the “partnership opportunity,” discuss strategies that could lead not only to immediate, project-specific outcomes, but also to enduring engagement between the collaborating institutions. You should describe how you would

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maintain ongoing working relationships between partners through future implementation phases and beyond. Explain how the project could enrich the broader mission and longer-term vision, goals, and capabilities of each partner. You are required to include a letter of commitment from your partner(s) in Attachment 7: Letters of commitment and support.

Projects to preserve humanities collections and make them accessible

Describe the collections’ present condition and level of intellectual control. Discuss how you would organize or reorganize the physical materials or digital assets and how users would discover and access them. Reference pertinent strategies, policies, and procedures for collections stewardship; include information on managing the preservation environment, when relevant.

Additionally, provide the following information:

• For archival processing projects, discuss the rationale for the arrangement of the collections and the level of description proposed for the finding aids.

• For cataloging projects, describe the level of detail of the records you will create; the formats, vocabularies, and systems you will use; and the extent to which the records involve original, enhanced, or copy cataloging. Describe how the metadata would be shared and any plans to support its re-use (for example, contributing to aggregated digital platforms or creating an API).

• For digitization projects, quantify the digital objects to be made available; the nature, formats, and quality of the sources from which they would be derived; and the handling and care of original materials during and after reformatting.

• For projects to preserve and provide access to born-digital sources, specify data formats;

the current extent of accessibility or obsolescence; and strategies to ensure enduring use, such as migration, emulation, or data harvesting.

• For projects that involve item-level stabilization or conservation treatment, describe the amount, types, and condition of materials you will treat and discuss how access would be enhanced. Justify the chosen approach or method and identify applicable procedures and/or quality control measures. Include treatment proposals and cost estimates prepared by qualified conservators in Attachment 8: Additional supporting documentation.

Projects to create reference works or research tools

Indicate the content, form, and length of entries or citations and describe the editorial procedures for writing entries and verifying information. Include a preliminary list of entries, organized by subject areas or topics, and the instructions provided to contributors in Attachment 8: Additional supporting documentation. For language dictionaries, describe the lexicographical principles you would employ. As applicable, indicate how you would update the work or tool, including the addition of new material and the revision of existing content. If relevant, discuss publishing arrangements, publicity plans, estimated prices, and user costs.

Additional technical considerations for projects creating digital products

If you employ digital technology and methods, indicate the technical specifications to be used and how they would facilitate the project. When relevant, provide the following information:

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• the hardware and software you would use or refine (note that for projects that entail software development, you are encouraged to use open-source code made publicly available through an online repository);

• preparations for and implementation of data processing (for example, digital capture, data entry, optical character recognition, or conversion from another format);

• production, preservation, and distribution formats (for example, TIFF, JPEG, PDF/A, WAV), levels of resolution, compression, image enhancement, and the accuracy of textual conversion or transcription;

• provisions for ensuring quality control;

• schema for descriptive, administrative, preservation, and technical metadata, as well as the use of controlled vocabularies;

• system(s) used to manage and present digital content, including specifications that facilitate end use, as well as accessibility features;

• methods for enhancing discoverability, such as search engine optimization, open data harvesting, and/or inclusion in an aggregated resource such as a digital library, cooperative portal, or clearinghouse; and

• as relevant, procedures for facilitating computational re-use of data for purposes such as text mining, visualization, topic modeling, geo-coding, or other digital methods.

Sustainability of project outcomes and digital content (aligns with review criterion 4)

Describe how you would maintain the project’s results beyond the period of performance.

Demonstrate institutional commitment to ensuring sustained access to collections or reference resources. For Foundations projects, discuss the next steps that you envision as an outgrowth of the award, and how these would be supported.

As relevant, provide details on digital preservation infrastructure and policies, such as repository system capabilities, storage requirements and capacity, migration or emulation strategies, and collaborative or third-party arrangements.

Outreach (aligns with review criterion 6)

Describe your plans to bring the project to the attention of the relevant communities of users.

The HCRR program can support outreach activities within appropriate limits. Your budget may include staff time and other eligible expenses related to disseminating the NEH-funded product.

In many cases, the outreach components accomplished during the period of performance would be preparatory and developmental; larger scale dissemination work would more likely occur after the project concludes. Applicants seeking to communicate project results through exhibits or other public humanities programs should consider programs offered by the NEH Division of Public Programs.

Work plan (aligns with review criteria 3 and 5)

Summarize your work plan, providing an overview of what you would accomplish during each stage of the project. Describe activities for each stage and specify the project team members involved. For multi-institutional collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities. Provide a detailed version of your work plan in Attachment 4: Work Plan.

https://www.neh.gov/divisions/public https://www.neh.gov/divisions/public

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Project personnel and advisors (aligns with review criterion 5)

Identify project personnel and advisors, including consultants and/or personnel to be hired, and summarize their duties and relevant qualifications. Specify individual roles and responsibilities as they relate to project activities, the tasks that they would perform, and the aspects of the project they would oversee. Indicate the time they would devote to the project. Provide résumés (recommended length: two pages) for key personnel and all consultants as Attachment 6:

Résumés for key personnel.

If the project has an advisory board, list the names and affiliations of its members, and explain its function. While having an advisory board is not a requirement, many projects benefit from early consultation with scholarly advisers and technical experts.

HCRR projects often broaden participation in cultural heritage stewardship. Discuss how you would include diverse perspectives, including those of any source or heritage communities that are the subjects of projects. As relevant, explain how you would incorporate them in the proposed activities and decision-making. In the case of proposed projects specific to Native American groups and cultural materials, indicate how your staffing plan (and other project components) would facilitate adherence to the NEH Code of Ethics Relating to Native Americans.

Narrative Guidance

Each section of the narrative aligns with corresponding review criteria. Use the crosswalk to ensure you address all criteria.

Narrative Section Review Criteria

Significance #1

History, scope, and duration #1, 4

Methodology and standards #2, 6

Sustainability of project outcomes and digital content

#4

Outreach #6

Work plan #3, 5

Project personnel and advisors #5

Research and Related Budget You must submit a project budget using the Research and Related Budget form included in the Grants.gov application package and attach a budget justification. The Research and Related Budget, including the budget justification, correspond to review criteria 7.

Complete a single detailed budget for the entire period of performance. The form will generate a cumulative budget.

If you only request outright funds, your budget should include only the funding you are requesting from NEH. If you request federal matching funds, your budget must equal the total funding requested from NEH (outright and federal matching funds) and the one-to-one https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/code-ethics-related-native-americans https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/code-ethics-related-native-americans

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required third party cost share for the federal matching funds. Refer to the NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines regarding the eligibility of gifts for matching purposes.

The total federal matching funds and cost share should equal the amounts indicated on the Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs in the “Federal Matching” and “Cost Sharing” fields. Learn about types of funds NEH offers.

If you will provide voluntary cost share, do not include it on the Research and Related Budget form. You may describe it in your budget justification.

All costs must be reasonable, necessary to accomplish project objectives, allowable in terms of 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles, auditable, and incurred during the period of performance.

All costs are subject to audit, record retention, and other requirements set forth in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F - Audit Requirements.

You should only include your own employees under A. Senior/Key Person and B. Other Personnel. Include team members in leadership roles in the project under A. Senior/Key Person.

Include other team members under B. Other Personnel. Include costs for non-employees under F3. Consultant Services or F5. Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs, as appropriate.

If you charge indirect costs to the project, you must not charge those same costs to the project as direct costs. See H. Indirect Costs.

Introductory Fields

If not pre-populated, indicate your organization’s Unique Entity Identifier, name, and the period of performance. This should be the same as the information you provide on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational. You may need to complete the SF-424 prior to completing your Research and Related Budget. Your period of performance must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. For budget type, check “project.”

A. Senior/Key Person

Include personnel who are employed by the applicant institution in leadership roles on the project. Do not include collaborators at other institutions or consultants, as you will include them in F. Other Direct Costs.

Enter the base salary (annual compensation) for each senior/key person and identify the number of months they will devote to the project. If you do not include base salaries, your award may be delayed.

Many non-academic institutions organize their budgets using calendar months. If your organization does not differentiate between academic and summer months, use only the calendar months column.

If your organization follows an academic calendar, you may differentiate levels of effort by using the academic and summer months columns. You may also use both columns if your institutional policy requires accounting for academic and summer months separately. If your institution does not use a nine-month academic year and a three-month summer period, include your institution's definition of these terms in your budget justification.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#sp2.1.200.e https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subpart-F https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subpart-F

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Enter the requested salary and fringe benefits for each senior/key person. Per 2 CFR § 200.431, fringe benefits are allowances and services you provide in addition to salaries and wages. Fringe benefits include, but are not limited to, the costs of leave (vacation, family-related, sick, or military), employee insurance, pensions, and unemployment benefit plans.

Requested salaries and wages must comply with 2 CFR §§ 200.430 and .466 and fringe benefits must comply with 2 CFR § 200.431.

The form will calculate the requested salary and fringe benefits for each key person.

The form has space for up to eight people. If you request funds for additional key personnel, list them in a separate document using the same format as the Research and Related Budget. Save the document as a PDF named additionalpersonnel.pdf and attach it under “Additional/Senior Key Persons.” If applicable, enter the total funds you are requesting for additional senior/key persons in the "Total Funds requested for all Senior/Key Persons in the attached file" field.

B. Other Personnel

Include personnel employed by the applicant institution who will play a supporting role on the project. For each project role, identify the number of personnel proposed, the total number of months, total salary, and total fringe benefits requested as described in A. Senior/Key Person.

The form will calculate the requested salary and fringe benefits for each group.

Post-doctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students

If applicable, include charges for tuition remission and other forms of compensation paid to students as, or in lieu of, salaries and wages. You must report such costs in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.466(b), and must treat them as direct or indirect costs in accordance with the actual work performed. You may charge tuition remission on an average rate basis.

Secretarial/Clerical

In most circumstances, you should include the salaries of administrative, secretarial, or clerical staff as indirect costs (see H. Indirect Costs). Per 2 CFR § 200.413(c), you may charge salaries for administrative or clerical staff as direct costs only if the following conditions are met:

• The administrative or clerical services are integral to a project or activity.

• The individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity.

• You explicitly include these costs in your budget or have prior written approval from

NEH.

• You do not also recover the costs as indirect costs.

If you include administrative or clerical salaries in your budget as direct costs, document how direct charging meets all four conditions in your budget justification. NEH may request additional information to assess if proposed costs are allowable.

Additional Other Personnel

List additional project roles, if applicable. The form has space for six named roles. If you have more, combine project roles on the form and explain in your budget justification.

Requested salaries and wages must comply with 2 CFR §§ 200.430 and .466 and fringe benefits must comply with 2 CFR § 200.431.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1431 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1430 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1466 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1431 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.466 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.466 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1413 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1430 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1466 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1431

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Do not list collaborators at other institutions or consultants here, as you will include them in F.

Other Direct Costs.

C. Equipment Description

Equipment is defined as nonexpendable personal property costing $5,000 or more per item and having a service life of more than one year (unless your organization has established a lower level). See 2 CFR §§ 200.313 and .439.

You may purchase equipment if analysis demonstrates that it is more economical and practical than leasing (equipment rental/user fees should be included in F. Other Direct Costs). You may charge depreciation in compliance with 2 CFR § 200.436.

Per 2 CFR § 200.322, you should preference goods, products, and materials produced in the United States purchased or acquired under a federal award.