PKG00261250-instructions.pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Funding Opportunity Title:

Humanities Collections and Reference Resources

Funding Opportunity Number: 20200715-PW

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.149

Application Due Date: July 15, 2020

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

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Registration in all systems, including SAM.gov and Grants.gov, may take up to 1 month to complete.

Division of Preservation and Access Telephone: 202-606-8570 Email: preservation@neh.gov

TTY: 800-877-8399

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date June 30, 2021 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. The purpose of this program is to support projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. This program strengthens efforts to extend the life of humanities collections and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology. Awards are also made to create various reference resources that facilitate 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: 20200715-PW Federal Assistance Listing Number (CFDA):

45.149

Application Due Date: July 15, 2020, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Announcement: April 2021 Anticipated Total Annual Available FY 21 Funding:

$7,500,000

Estimated Number and Type of Awards:

Up to 35 grants

Funding Range: 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 may start as early as June 1, 2021.

Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, public and 501(c)(3) accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

See Section C for additional information.

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

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 supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects. This program strengthens efforts to extend the life of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology. Awards are also made to create various reference resources that facilitate 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.

Proposed projects may address the holdings or activities of a single institution or may involve collaboration between institutions. However, even in the case of single-institution projects, working with specialists in other offices or departments or colleagues in other institutions often helps ensure that proposed activities are achievable and will have maximum impact for the humanities. Collaboration can be crucial in providing the appropriate mix of humanities content and methodological expertise and can help broaden the scope of, and audiences for, proposed collections or reference resources.

Unallowable activities are described in section D6. Funding Restrictions.

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

Implementation Applications may be submitted for projects that address one or more of the following humanities 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 for collections, leading to enhanced access;

• digitizing collections;

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

• creating oral history interview collections about war and military service in conjunction with NEH’s Standing Together initiative, or about imperiled cultural heritage in conjunction with the agency’s Protecting our Cultural Heritage encouragement);

• 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); and 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, applicants may request support for implementing preservation measures, such as reformatting (including microfilming), rehousing, or item-level stabilization procedures, in the context of projects that also create or enhance access to humanities collections.

Major studies of cultural heritage repositories have cited sound recordings and moving images as formats that are seriously endangered. This program encourages applications that address the need to preserve and access such sources. Applicants may request funds to assess or establish intellectual and physical control of such materials as well as to digitize them.

Applications may address the holdings or activities of a single institution or may involve collaboration. In all cases, projects should be designed to facilitate sharing, exchange, and interoperability of humanities information and products.

Foundations To help in the formative stages of efforts to preserve and create access to humanities collections or to produce reference resources, Foundations awards support planning, assessment, and pilot activities that incorporate cross-disciplinary expertise. Drawing upon the cooperation of humanities scholars and technical specialists, these projects might encompass efforts to prepare for establishing 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. The variety of experts may include humanities scholars, archivists, curators, librarians, preservation specialists, and digital curation/preservation experts, as pertinent to your goals. Although the most important consideration is to assemble a qualified team appropriate to the project, reviewers tend to look favorably on teams that include experts from both within and beyond your institution.

Foundations awards may be used to address one or a combination of the following activities:

• analyzing and evaluating the humanities content strengths, intellectual control requirements, and preservation needs of significant humanities collections, including the development and distribution of collection-level descriptive information (projects to process or 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 for ensuring the preservation of previously digitized or born-digital humanities content, which could include preliminary testing and evaluation of institutional and/or distributed digital repository systems; or

• 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.

Foundations projects must encompass a substantial amount of cross-domain participation, typically involving persons with humanities expertise, curatorial experience, and relevant technical skills, such as collection processing and preservation, audiovisual reformatting, metadata creation, or digital preservation. While any inter-institutional partnerships should be

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in place at the time of application, Foundations projects can include efforts to identify individual community members who would serve in an advisory capacity.

Foundations projects should be at no less than a “beta” level of development upon application, demonstrating that the very first stages of effort—for example, initial collections appraisal and accessioning, conceptualization of scope and audience for reference resources, or consortium partner contact and cooperation—have been achieved. Because pilot activities can be crucial to the ultimate success of preservation and access initiatives, applicants are urged to incorporate the creation of test-case products that will inform planning and evaluation.

Successful completion of a Foundations project is not a prerequisite for Implementation support in this program. Also, while Foundations award recipients may choose to apply later for an Implementation award, they are not required to do so. Project outcomes for Foundations awards must be clearly described in the narrative and listed in Attachment 3: Project deliverables, which 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.

Foundations recipients must submit such products to NEH, as well as a “white paper” documenting lessons learned, so that others can benefit from the recipients’ experience. White papers will be posted on the NEH website for open access. Pilot projects should make resulting content available in accordance with NEH’s policy on providing access to NEH-funded products.

Partnership/mentorship opportunity In order to enhance access to humanities collections held by smaller institutions, Foundations applicants may request an additional $10,000 (above the $50,000 ceiling) to support inter-institutional planning and pilot activities. Applicants may be either smaller 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 serves as an equal stakeholder in its outcomes. Applicants should describe how ongoing working relationships between participating institutions could be maintained through future implementation phases and beyond.

Partnerships or mentorships might be especially well suited for community-based cultural heritage initiatives but are not limited in geographic or topical scope.

2. Background This program is authorized by 20 U.S.C. §956 et seq. 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 December 26, 2014 or later).

According to the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, “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 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-december https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-december

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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.”

Examples of previously funded projects may be found by using the NEH's Funded Projects Query Form available online at https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx.

To learn more about the National Endowment for the Humanities, visit https://www.neh.gov/about.

NEH Areas of Interest NEH is especially interested in supporting projects that advance humanities-related work in the following areas.

“A More Perfect Union”: NEH Special Initiative Advancing Civic Education and Commemorating the Nation’s 250th Anniversary As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, NEH encourages projects that promote a deeper understanding of American history and culture and that advance civic education and knowledge of our core principles of government. The agency-wide “A More Perfect Union” initiative will help Americans better understand the world’s oldest constitutional democracy and how our founding ideals are met in a modern, pluralistic society.

NEH welcomes consideration of diverse topics in American history, from Native American culture to rural life to the rise of the industrial city, from the Civil War to the Cold War to the Civil Rights movement, etc. We also seek projects that examine foundational documents in U.S.

history, as well as projects that examine historical objects, places, traditions, events, and individuals who collectively shaped our states and nation. Applications about the contributions of under-represented communities are highly encouraged.

Standing Together In recognition of the importance of the humanities both in helping Americans to understand the experiences of service members and in assisting veterans as they return to civilian life, NEH has launched a special initiative titled Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War. This special initiative draws on the power of the humanities 1) to support advanced research in the humanities that explores war and its aftermath; 2) to promote discussion and deepened understanding of the experiences of those Americans affiliated with the armed services, whether active duty or veterans; and 3) to support returning veterans and their families.

Protecting our Cultural Heritage In response to the destruction of cultural heritage materials worldwide, NEH encourages applications for projects that study, document, or create digital representations of lost or imperiled cultural heritage materials. Proposed projects should be based on scholarly work and follow standards and best practices. Projects must demonstrate the capacity to be sustained and must be widely accessible to the public. Learn more about Protecting our Cultural Heritage.

In addition, NEH especially encourages projects that include Native American organizations and communities as lead applicants and project partners.

https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about https://www.neh.gov/250 https://www.neh.gov/grants/standing-together https://www.neh.gov/grants/standing-together https://www.neh.gov/grants/protecting-our-cultural-heritage

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B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award Type of applications sought: new.

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding Approximately $7,500,000 is expected to be available to fund 35 recipients. You may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $350,000 for Implementation awards and $50,000 for Foundation awards. In order to enhance access to humanities collections held by smaller institutions, Foundations applicants may request an additional $10,000 (above the $50,000 ceiling) to support inter-institutional planning and pilot activities.

The actual amount available will not be determined until enactment of the final FY 2021 federal budget. This program notice is subject to the appropriation of funds, and is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, applications can be processed and funds awarded in a timely manner.

The period of performance is three years for Implementation projects and two years for Foundations projects. Projects may start as early as June 1, 2021.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, public and 501(c)(3) accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

Foundations applicants requesting an additional $10,000 (above the $50,000 ceiling) may be either smaller institutions proposing to work with a larger repository or larger institutions proposing to collaborate with one or more smaller partners.

An eligible entity may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. The lead applicant would be programmatically, legally and fiscally responsible for the award.

Participating organizations would be considered subrecipients under the award.

Individuals, foreign and for-profit entities are not eligible to apply.

2. Cost Sharing Cost sharing is not required in this program, unless matching funds are requested. Applicants may use voluntary cost sharing for projects in which the total costs exceed the amount awarded by NEH.

Cost sharing or matching is the portion of the project costs not paid by NEH funds. Cost sharing will not be considered in the evaluation of applications.

Voluntary cost sharing consists of the cash contributions made to a project by the applicant, including unrecovered indirect costs, and by third parties as well as third-party in-kind contributions. Third-party in-kind contributions means the value of non-cash contributions

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(such as property or services) that benefit the funded project, and are contributed by non-federal third parties, without charge, to the recipient of the federal award.

When federal matching funds are requested, the recipient must raise cash contributions from nonfederal third parties and have them certified by NEH before the funds are released (see NEH’s Federal Matching Funds Guidelines). The full amount of federal matching funds may not be available for release in the first year of a multi-year period of performance. Federal matching funds are typically distributed on an annual basis over the life of the award.

Recipients are responsible for maintaining auditable records of cost sharing contributions. See 2 CFR §200.306 for additional information.

3. Other Eligibility Information Eligible applicants may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under this announcement. Collaborating organizations may be included as participants in multiple proposals.

Two or more applications for federal funding and/or approved federal award budgets are not permitted to include overlapping project costs.

An individual may only serve as project director on a single HCRR proposal. Degree candidates may not be project directors or co-directors. Degree candidates may, however, serve in other project roles.

An institution whose project has received NEH support may apply for a new or subsequent stage of that project. These proposals receive no special consideration and will be judged by the same criteria as others in the current competition. In addition, these proposals must be substantially updated and must include a description of the new activities and a justification of the new budget.

NEH does not make awards to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in their projects. Such resources may not, however, be used as gifts to release NEH matching funds.

NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations.

Nevertheless, otherwise eligible American institutions may apply for collaborative projects involving U.S. and foreign organizations provided they do not use NEH funds for the purpose of issuing subawards to any foreign organization, as defined by 2 CFR §200.92 and 2 CFR §200.330(a). This limitation does not preclude American institutions from obtaining the services of foreign individuals and consultants to carry out various programmatic activities on a fee-for-service basis, as specified in 2 CFR §200.459; it also does not preclude vendor contracts such as in-country transportation services. If you are interested in submitting an application for a project involving international collaboration, please consult beforehand with the division staff.

All application materials must be received by the application deadline. Late, incomplete, or ineligible applications will not be considered for funding under this notice. Applications that exceed specified page limits will not be reviewed. See the Application Components Table.

http://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines http://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.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_192 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1330 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b76712a585433486e57dafcd521c952e&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1330 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=35fcd29238edd42c8b1f8b1628e39d47&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1459

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D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package You must apply electronically, using either Grants.gov Workspace or your organization's system-to-system software. Use the Standard Form 424 - Short Organizational (SF-424 Short) application package associated with the funding opportunity, and follow the instructions provided by Grants.gov unless otherwise noted below.

The application package is available in Grants.gov. A link to the application package can be found on the program resource page.

To request a paper copy of this announcement, please contact preservation@neh.gov.

Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing (TTY users) can contact NEH via Federal Relay at 800-877-8399.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Your application will consist of a narrative, budget, and other required forms and components described below.

i. Project Narrative The narrative provides a comprehensive framework and description of all aspects of the proposed project. It should be succinct, self-explanatory, and well organized. Please limit jargon and explain any technical terms so that peer reviewers from a variety of professional backgrounds can understand the proposed project.

Limit the narrative for Implementation applications to fifteen single-spaced pages; limit the narrative for Foundations applications to ten single-spaced pages. All pages should have one-inch margins and the font size should be no smaller than eleven point.

NEH has aligned each section of the narrative with a corresponding review criterion. Refer to Section E1. Review Criteria for full descriptions.

Successful applications will contain the information below. Use the following section headings for the narrative.

Significance (corresponds to Review Criterion 1) Justify the importance of the project on the basis of its long-term benefits to research, education, or public programming in the humanities. Discuss the central humanities themes, questions, or disciplines to be addressed.

For Implementation projects involving humanities collections, describe the 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; and describe the selection criteria. For Foundations projects, provide a brief profile of the nature and importance of the sources that would be the focus of assessment or planning and include examples of materials to be used in any pilot efforts.

For proposed reference resources for Implementation projects, define the selection criteria and explain how your project relates to existing resources. Demonstrate what this work or tool will provide that other resources cannot. For Foundations applications, provide a clear conceptual vision of the scope and contents of the eventual reference resource and its relationship to other pertinent works or tools.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html mailto:preservation@neh.gov

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All applicants must discuss actual and anticipated use of the collection or reference work.

Identify the audience(s) that the project would effectively serve. Provide evidence of use, when possible, through examples of outcomes such as scholarly publications, educational activities, exhibitions, or media programming.

History, scope, and duration (corresponds with Review Criteria 1 and 4) Use this section to explain the activities leading up to the proposed project and, if relevant, the goals of the larger initiative of which it is a part. Provide a concise history of the project, including information about preliminary research or planning, financial support already received, and resources or research facilities available. If an Implementation project will take more than three years to complete, describe the scope and duration of the entire project as well as the specific accomplishments or products intended for the period of performance for which funding is requested.

List any project-specific products or publications to date in print or electronic form. When appropriate, indicate print runs, sales, and royalties relating to publications; in the case of online products, include the URL and provide use statistics. If the project has been previously supported by NEH, compare the accomplishments in the current or past period of performance with the intended goals. For applications proposing to continue 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 (corresponds with Review Criterion 2) Explain the manner in which the project will be executed. Activities should conform to appropriate national standards and accepted professional practices. If your project’s methodology departs from usual standards and procedures, explain why its goals require such an approach and how the results would be interoperable with other relevant resources that do follow existing standards.

Discuss any intellectual property or privacy issues that might affect the availability of collections or the dissemination of reference resources. Applicants should provide documentation of any applicable permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed consent in the appendices or describe how intellectual property and privacy issues would be addressed in the course of the project.

Additionally, address the following, as relevant.

Projects to preserve humanities collections and make them accessible Provide information about the collections’ present condition and level of intellectual control.

Discuss the manner in which the physical materials or digital assets will be organized or reorganized, and the ways in which users will discover and access them. Describe 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 to be created, the record formats, vocabularies, and systems to be used, the extent to which the records will involve original, enhanced, or copy cataloging. Describe how the metadata will be shared

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and any plans to support its re-use (for example, contributing to aggregated digital platforms or creating an API).

• For conservation treatment projects leading to enhanced access, describe the amount, types, and condition of material to be treated, and discuss how access will be enhanced;

provide the rationale for the chosen approach or method; and identify applicable procedures and/or quality control measures. Include in the appendices treatment proposals and cost estimates prepared by qualified conservators.

• For projects to digitize collections, specify the quantity of digital objects to be made available for use; 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 to create oral histories in conjunction with either the Standing Together initiative or the Protecting our Cultural Heritage encouragement, identify narrators, to the extent possible, and provide examples of questions to be asked. Discuss plans for preparatory research, recording equipment, interview setting, securing permissions, and post-interview preservation and access methods, such as audio streaming, transcription, or time-based indexing. For guidance, refer to the statement of Principles and Best Practices published by the Oral History Association. Interviews of military veterans should be produced so as to facilitate their inclusion in the Veterans History Project collection of the Library of Congress.

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 in an appendix a preliminary list of entries, organized by subject areas or topics, and the instructions provided to contributors. As applicable, indicate how the work or tool will be revised, including the addition of new material and the updating of current content.

Describe the lexicographical principles to be employed for a language dictionary.

Projects for planning, assessment, and pilot work (Foundations) Identify any professional standards, research, or precedents that will inform the project.

Discuss the knowledge and skills that the planning team needs and explain how members have been chosen and assembled. Explain how the team will gather any needed information, and provide copies (via appendices or links) of any assessment tools. Indicate the methods of communication and collaboration to be employed and the framework for decision making.

Describe the final products and outcomes for the project and how these will guide future stages of work. Specify the nature of any testing or modeling efforts and, where possible, provide examples. If the project will produce and distribute collection information or reference resource content, identify the methods to be employed and the manner in which it will be made accessible.

If you are requesting an additional $10,000 for the “Partnership/mentorship opportunity,” discuss strategies that could lead not only to immediate, project-specific outcomes, but also to persistent engagement between the collaborating institutions. Explain how the project could enrich the broader mission and longer-term vision, goals, and capabilities of each partner.

https://www.oralhistory.org/principles-and-best-practices-revised-2018/ https://www.oralhistory.org/principles-and-best-practices-revised-2018/

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Projects that involve geospatial data If you are requesting complete or partial funding for the development, acquisition, preservation, or enhancement of geospatial data, products, or services, you must conduct a due diligence search at the Data.gov list of datasets to discover whether the needed geospatial-related data, products, or services already exist. If not, you must produce the proposed geospatial data, products, or services in compliance with applicable proposed guidance posted at www.fgdc.gov.

Additional technical considerations for projects creating digital products Applicants employing digital technology and methods should indicate not only what technical specifications are to be used, but also how they will facilitate the project. When relevant, provide the following information:

• the hardware and software to be used or refined (note that for projects that entail software development, applicants are encouraged to use open-source code, which should be made publicly available through an online repository such as SourceForge or GitHub);

• preparations for and implementation of data processing (for example, digital capture, data entry, optical character recognition, or conversion from another electronic 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 pertinent features for facilitating end use;

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

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

Sustainability of project outcomes and digital content (corresponds with Review Criterion 4) Describe how the project’s results will be maintained and supported beyond the period of performance. Provide information demonstrating the ability and commitment of the institution to ensure 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.

NEH expects that any collections or resources produced in digital form as a result of its awards will be maintained so as to ensure their long-term availability. Discuss plans for meeting this expectation. In addition to pertinent technical specifications requested in the previous section, 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, if any.

Dissemination (corresponds with Review Criterion 6) Explain how the results of the project will be disseminated and why these means are appropriate to the subject matter and intended audience. Where applicable, identify the online systems through which researchers will discover and use finding aids, catalog information, or digital https://catalog.data.gov/dataset http://www.fgdc.gov/

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sources. NEH strongly encourages the contribution of descriptive information and digital products to cooperative networks and digital resource aggregators. If relevant, discuss publishing arrangements, publicity plans, estimated prices, and user costs.

NEH expects recipients to 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. NEH strongly encourages applicants to leverage open access online resources and use Creative Commons licenses, as possible and appropriate.

Describe plans to bring the project to the attention of the relevant communities of users through, for example, scholarly and professional conference presentations, publication, public events, or social media.

NEH encourages applicants to consider ways in which the collections or resources on which a project focuses can engage the wider public in exploring the humanities. To that end, dissemination might involve community humanities programming, film screenings, or the development of resources for K-12 educators and students.

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

Keep in mind that the main purpose of this program is to preserve and increase access to significant humanities collections and to create humanities reference resources. In many cases, the dissemination work to be accomplished during the period of performance will be preparatory and developmental; larger scale dissemination work would more likely occur after the project concludes. Applicants seeking to disseminate project results through exhibits or other public humanities programs should consider programs offered by NEH’s Division of Public Programs.

Work plan (corresponds with Review Criteria 3 and 5) Summarize your work plan, providing an overview of what will be accomplished during each stage of the project. Describe a set of activities for each stage and specify the project team members involved. For multi-institutional collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities across each institution. Provide a detailed version of your work plan in Attachment 4: Work Plan.

Staff (corresponds with Review Criterion 5) Identify the members of the project’s staff, including consultants and/or personnel to be hired, and summarize their duties and relevant qualifications for the tasks assigned. Be specific about their individual roles and responsibilities as they relate to project activities, the tasks that they will perform, and the aspects of the project that they will oversee. Indicate the amount of time that the principal members of the project’s staff will devote to the project. Provide two-page résumés for major project staff and all consultants as Attachment 6: Resumes for key personnel.

If the project has an advisory board, list the names and affiliations of the board’s members and explain the board’s function. While having an advisory board is not a requirement, many projects benefit from early consultation with scholarly advisers and technical experts to plan for implementation. Such planning is a major thrust of Foundations grants. The collaboration of highly qualified and experienced individuals makes it more likely that reviewers will consider a proposal favorably.

As relevant, explain how the perspectives of source or heritage communities that are the subjects of projects would be incorporated in the proposed activities and decision-making process. In the case of proposed projects specific to Native American groups and cultural

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materials, indicate how your staffing plan (and other project components) will facilitate adherence to the NEH Code of Ethics Relating to Native Americans.

NARRATIVE GUIDANCE

To ensure that you fully address the review criteria, this table provides a crosswalk between the narrative language and where each section falls within the review criteria.

Narrative Section Review Criteria

Significance #1

History, scope, and duration #1, 4

Methodology and standards #2

Sustainability of project outcomes and digital content #4

Dissemination #6 Work plan #3, 5

Staff #5

ii. Research and Related Budget Applicants must submit a project budget using the Research and Related Budget Form found in the Grants.gov application package, and attach a Budget Justification in section L of this form.

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

Required fields are indicated in yellow. If no funds are requested for a required field, enter "0."

You must round to the nearest whole dollar amount in all dollar fields.

Applicants requesting federal matching fund must submit a budget reflecting total project costs that include the one-to-one required cost share for the federal matching funds. As an example, an applicant requesting $100,000 in outright funds and $20,000 in federal matching funds must submit a budget that includes $140,000 in total project costs.

All of the items listed, whether supported by NEH funds or voluntary cost sharing contributions (if applicable), 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.

The inclusion of a cost category on the Research and Related Budget Form does not automatically indicate that an expense is allowable in this program. See D6. Funding Restrictions for a list of unallowable costs. Carefully review these instructions to ensure that costs are not disallowed.

When indirect costs are charged to the project, ensure that expenses included in the organization's indirect cost pool are not charged to the project as direct costs. For further information, see Section H. Indirect Costs.

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Introductory Fields If not pre-populated, indicate your organization’s D-U-N-S® number, the name of your organization, and the period of performance start and end dates. The period of performance start and end dates should be the same as your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational. Check “Project” for budget type.

Section A. Senior/Key Person Include the names of the project director and other senior/key persons employed by the applicant organization who are involved in the project.

Indicate the name and project role of each senior/key person. Enter the annual compensation and identify the number of months the senior/key person will devote to the project in the applicable box (i.e., calendar, academic, summer). Use either calendar months OR a combination of academic and summer months.

If the level of effort does not change throughout the year, you may use only the calendar months column. You may use both the academic and summer months columns if your institutional business process requires noting each separately even if effort remains constant. If effort varies between academic and summer months, leave the calendar months column blank and use only the academic and summer months columns. If your institution does not use a 9-month academic year or a 3-month summer period, indicate your institution's definition of these in Section L. Budget Justification.

Regardless of the number of months being devoted to the project, indicate the salary and amount of fringe benefits being requested for the senior/key person. Per 2 CFR §200.431, fringe benefits are allowances and services provided by employers to their employees as compensation in addition to regular 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. The sum of requested salary and fringe benefits will automatically calculate for each senior/key person.

The form can accommodate up to eight senior/key persons. If you are requesting funds for more senior/key persons than the form allows, you must include an attachment listing the additional senior/key person(s) in the "Additional Senior/Key Persons" field. Use the same format as the budget form and include all the information identified in this section. If you have attached a file with additional senior/key persons, enter the total funds requested for everyone listed in the attachment in the "Total Funds requested for all Senior/Key Persons in the attached file" field.

All salaries and wages claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §§200.430 and 466. All fringe benefits claimed must be in compliance with 2 CFR §200.431.

Do not list details of collaborators at other institutions or consultants here, as they will be included in Section F. Other Direct Costs.

Section B. Other Personnel For each project role category described below, identify the number of personnel proposed, the total number of months, the total salary, and total fringe requested as described in Section A.

Senior/Key Person. Totals will be automatically calculated.

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

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Post-doctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students For all post-doctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students, individually list names, roles, associated months, and requested salary and fringe benefits in Section L. Budget Justification.

If applicable, include charges for tuition remission and other forms of compensation paid to students as, or in lieu of, salaries and wages. Such costs are subject to the reporting requirements in 2 CFR §200.430, and must be treated as direct or indirect cost in accordance with the actual work being performed. Tuition remission may be charged on an average rate basis.

Secretarial/Clerical In most circumstances, the salaries of administrative, secretarial, or clerical staff at educational institutions and nonprofit organizations are included as part of indirect costs (Section H.

Indirect Costs). However, examples of situations where direct charging of administrative or clerical staff salaries may be appropriate may be found at 2 CFR §200.413 (c).

Inclusion of such costs may be appropriate only if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Administrative or clerical services are directly involved in a project or activity (for example, a project coordinator)

2. Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity

3. Such costs are explicitly included in the budget or have prior written approval of the federal awarding agency

4. The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs

Requests for direct charging for secretarial/clerical personnel (i.e., administrative and clerical staff) must be…