Public Scholars 2024 and 2025 NOFO.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Public Scholars

Funding Opportunity Number: 20241127-FZ

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.160

Application Deadline:

August 28, 2024 August 6, 2025

Ensure your Grants.gov registration and password are current.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Division of Research Programs Telephone: 202-606-8200 Email: publicscholar@neh.gov Federal Relay: 7-1-1

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date October 31, 2027 mailto:@neh.gov

20241127-FZ i

Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Research Programs is accepting applications for the Public Scholars program. The program offers grants to individual authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to the creation and publication of well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public. It encourages non-academic writers to deepen their engagement with the humanities by strengthening the research underlying their books, and it encourages academic writers in the humanities to communicate the significance of their research to the broadest possible range of readers.

Funding Opportunity Title Public Scholars Funding Opportunity Number 20241127-FZ Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.160 Application Deadlines August 28, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

August 6, 2025, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcements 2024 deadline: April 2025

2025 deadline: April 2026 Anticipated FY 2025 and 2026 Funding Approximately $1,500,000 per deadline Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 25 grants per deadline Award Amounts Up to $60,000 ($5,000 per month) Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance Six months to one year.

2024 deadline: projects must start between June 1, 2025, and October 1, 2026.

2025 deadline: projects must start between June 1, 2026, and October 1, 2027.

Eligible Applicants Individuals; see C. Eligibility Information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/public-scholar-program Pre-Application Webinar See the program resource page for webinar information for the 2025 deadline.

Published Modified Modified

Modified Modified

June 3, 2024 September 23, 2024 (updated webinar information) February 10, 2025: A2. Background, and D6.

Funding Restrictions March 7, 2025: D6. Funding Restrictions March 21, 2025: D6. Funding Restrictions https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/public-scholar-program

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................ i Table of Contents ................................................................................................... ii 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. Grants.gov Registration Process

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Other Submission Requirements

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 The Public Scholars program offers grants to individual authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to the creation and publication of well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public. Writers with or without an academic affiliation may apply, and no advanced degree is required. The program encourages non-academic writers to deepen their engagement with the humanities by strengthening the research underlying their books, and it encourages academic writers in the humanities to communicate the significance of their research to the broadest possible range of readers. NEH especially encourages applications from independent writers, researchers, scholars, and journalists.

The program welcomes projects in all areas of the humanities, regardless of geographic or chronological focus. The resulting books might present a narrative history, tell the stories of important individuals, analyze significant texts, provide a synthesis of ideas, revive interest in a neglected subject, or examine the latest thinking on a topic.

Books supported by this program must be written in an accessible style. They must clearly explain specialized terms and concepts and must frame their topics to have wide appeal. At the same time, they should be authoritative, carefully researched, and appropriately documented, making use of relevant primary and/or secondary sources and showing appropriate familiarity with relevant existing publications or scholarship.

Proposals for books directed primarily to professional scholars are unlikely to be competitive in this program.

The program supports projects at any stage of development. You may propose to complete your manuscript during the period of performance or at a later date. You may also seek support for the creation of digital or web-based products intended to supplement your proposed book.

NEH prohibits certain types of publications and activities from receiving support under this program. See D6. Funding Restrictions for unallowable publications and activities.

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

Program Outputs The primary output of a successful Public Scholars award will be a well-researched nonfiction book for general readers. (The book need not be complete at the end of your award period.)

You will describe your project output, and its appeal and significance for general readers, in Attachment 1: Narrative. If you receive an award, NEH will assess your performance based on the work plan and the project output(s) you describe in the proposal, and on your final report.

See F3. Reporting.

2. Background NEH offers this funding opportunity under the authority of 20 U.S.C. § 956. Awards are subject to the NEH Public Scholar Program Terms and Conditions.

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title20-section956&num=0&saved=%7CKHRpdGxlOjIwIHNlY3Rpb246OTU2YSBlZGl0aW9uOnByZWxpbSk%3D%7C%7C%7C0%7Cfalse%7Cprelim https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/neh-public-scholar-program-terms-and-conditions

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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.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award NEH seeks new applications (rather than requests for supplements or renewals) in response to this notice. You may revise and resubmit previously rejected applications.

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding

Award amounts Successful applicants will receive a stipend of $5,000 per full-time month; the maximum award is $60,000 for a twelve-month period. You may work on your project part time or full time (or combine periods of part-time and full-time work). NEH will reduce awards to reflect the smaller time commitment when recipients work part time or for less than twelve months. The minimum award is $30,000, requiring a commitment to six months of full-time work or the equivalent.

NEH anticipates approximately $1,500,000 to fund approximately 25 recipients per deadline.

NEH will award successful applicants outright funds, which are not contingent on additional funding from other sources.

NEH will not determine the funding available each fiscal year until Congress enacts the final budget. This notice is subject to the availability of appropriated funds and is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, NEH can process applications and issue awards in a timely manner.

Period of performance The period of performance is the span of time during which you are committed to working on your NEH-supported project. You should request a period of performance that suits your schedule and the needs of your project. Requesting a shorter period of performance will not improve your chances of receiving an award.

Your period of performance must:

• start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.govinfo.gov%2Fcontent%2Fpkg%2FUSCODE-1998-title20%2Fpdf%2FUSCODE-1998-title20-chap26-subchapI-sec952.pdf&data=05%7C01%7Cdperry%40neh.gov%7C30905191d5eb4c59c43608daac673f53%7C93b06459c77d44b6af7fe813cddcdcc3%7C0%7C0%7C638011856701305190%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SrNUevWOczyWKaVkXTLogNXDu2Pt88rQRwJTx7B6%2F6I%3D&reserved=0 https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about

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• be continuous

• be the equivalent of six to twelve full-time months. If you propose a time period of less than the equivalent of six full-time months, NEH will reject your application.

• not exceed twelve months, even if it includes part-time work

You must:

• work at least half time on your project throughout your period of performance

• forego other major activities, including teaching, while holding a full-time award

• carry a reduced teaching load when working part time on your project, if you teach while holding an award

If you apply for this deadline…. Your project must start between… 2024 June 1, 2025, and October 1, 2026 2025 June 1, 2026, and October 1, 2027

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants The Public Scholars program accepts applications from individuals, whether they have an affiliation with a scholarly institution or not.

You must be one of the following to be eligible:

• A U.S. citizen residing domestically or abroad

• A foreign national who has lived in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years prior to the application deadline

Foreign nationals who take up permanent residence outside the United States any time between the application deadline and the end of the period of performance will forfeit their eligibility.

Leaving the U.S. on a temporary basis is permitted.

Organizations are ineligible. If you elect to have the stipend paid through your institution, it must remit all NEH funds to you and not take an institutional allowance or claim indirect costs.

Previous Publication Requirement In addition to the criteria above, to be eligible to apply to this program you must have either:

• written and published a nonfiction book with a university press or trade press; OR

• written and published at least three nonfiction articles or essays in general-interest publications that reach a large national or international audience. The articles or essays may be published either in print or electronically. (For more information about “general-interest publications,” see section I of the FAQ document.)

You must list the relevant publication(s) on your résumé, providing a citation sufficient to identify the work(s). NEH will reject your proposal if you fail to do so.

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A co-authored nonfiction book meets the requirement for previous publication, provided it was published with a university press or trade press.

The following types of books do not meet the requirement for previous publication: anthologies, multi-author edited collections of essays or articles, scholarly editions, translations, dissertations, or self-published books. (Self-published books include books published by a press requiring payment from the author as a condition of publication.)

The following types of articles or essays do not meet the requirement for previous publication:

self-published works (whether print or electronic), co-authored articles or essays, articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, essays or chapters in multi-author edited volumes, or works in publications aimed primarily at readers with a professional interest in the material.

Books or articles not yet published at the time of the application deadline do not satisfy the requirement.

Documentary scripts and podcasts or other audio broadcasts do not satisfy the requirement (even if they are preserved in transcription).

Currently enrolled students While you do not need to have an advanced degree to apply, you are ineligible if you are enrolled in a degree granting program at the time of the application deadline or if you will be during the proposed grant period.

Dissertation and thesis revisions You may not request funding for a project based on a completed dissertation or master’s thesis.

2. Cost Sharing Cost sharing is not required in this program.

3. Other Eligibility Information

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

You may submit only one application under this notice.

If you submit multiple applications (including submitting to the wrong funding opportunity or making corrections or updates), NEH will only accept your last validated submission prior to the deadline under the correct Grants.gov funding opportunity.

Limitations regarding other NEH applications and awards You may apply concurrently to the Public Scholars program and to the following programs for individuals:

• Fellowships

• Awards for Faculty https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships https://www.neh.gov/divisions/research

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• Summer Stipends

• Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan

• Dynamic Language Infrastructure - Documenting Endangered Languages Fellowships

• NEH-funded Fellowships at Independent Research Institutions

Each competition has distinct application requirements. Follow the instructions in the relevant Notice of Funding Opportunity.

You may not accept both a Public Scholars award and any of the above awards as a result of concurrent applications, with the exception of NEH-funded Fellowships at Independent Research Institutions. If you accept a Public Scholars award, any pending application you have submitted for the same project to any of the above programs will be automatically withdrawn, with the exception of NEH-funded Fellowships at Independent Research Institutions.

You may not apply for funding for a project previously supported by any of the above programs, with the exception of Summer Stipends and NEH-funded Fellowships at Independent Research Institutions.

If you apply to the Public Scholars program with a project previously supported by an NEH Summer Stipend, you must address any overlap with the work described in your previous application, providing an update on your progress and clearly distinguishing the tasks supported by each program.

You may not hold two or more NEH individual awards with overlapping periods of performance or in support of the same tasks. NEH will not delay the period of performance beyond the stated timelines of this NOFO to prevent overlap between individual awards. See B2. Summary of Funding.

Concurrent support from other organizations You may simultaneously hold fellowships or grants from institutions other than NEH — including sabbaticals and grants from your own institution — in support of the same project during your period of performance. You may also hold an advance from a publisher.

Collaborative projects This program is designed for individual researchers; awards may not be divided. If you are seeking funding for a co-author, each individual must:

• submit a separate application specifying their individual contribution

• independently meet the eligibility requirements, including the requirement for previous publication

• clearly explain how the work will be divided and the extent to which each collaborator’s contribution depends on that of the other(s)

Peer reviewers will evaluate each application on its own merits.

You are eligible to apply if you are working as part of a collaborative team but seeking funding only for yourself. Collaborating scholars affiliated with an eligible institution may apply to the Collaborative Research program.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships-advanced-social-science-research-japan https://www.neh.gov/program/dli-del-fellowships https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowship-programs-independent-research-institutions https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/collaborative-research-grants

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Other restrictions You may not work on a project supported by an NEH institutional award as either a project director or team member during the period of performance of an NEH individual award that you are holding full time.

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.

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.

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. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20241127-FZ. There is also a link to the application package on the Public Scholars program 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.

Grants.gov Registration Process.

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

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Your application will consist of a series of forms included in Grants.gov Workspace and other components that you will prepare and upload to the Attachments Form. The Application Components Table below will help you prepare a complete application. You are not required to submit a budget.

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

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.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/policy-on-late-submissions mailto:publicscholar@neh.gov

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Do not include attachments other than those requested in this notice. If you do, NEH will reject your application.

Unless the instructions specify otherwise, your attachments must be PDFs and conform to the following formatting requirements:

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

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

• a font size no smaller than 11-point

• single-spacing

• a standard Roman font: (e.g., Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Times New Roman)

• any standard citation style is acceptable; citations are included in page counts

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.

• Conditionally required for recipients: You are encouraged but not required to submit this component when you apply. You must submit it if you receive an award if your proposal meets the specified conditions.

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

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.

Application Component Table Application Component File Name Designation Page limits Attachments 1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 3 (mandatory) 2: Work plan workplan.pdf Required 1 (mandatory) 3: Bibliography bibliography.pdf Required 1 (mandatory) 4: Résumé resume.pdf Required 2 (mandatory) 5: Writing sample writingsample.pdf Required 20

(mandatory) 6: Publisher’s letter of interest or commitment publisherletter.pdf Recommended

7: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally required for recipients

Grants.gov forms SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Individual

Required

NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form

Required

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Project/Performance Site(s) Location Form

Required

Attachments Form Required

Application Components: Attachments Each attachment must be a single PDF file. See the Attachments Form instructions for further guidance about file requirements. Read those instructions carefully, as Grants.gov will not accept files that do not meet the requirements.

Attachment 1: Narrative (required) 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.

You must limit the narrative to three single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive summary, cover page, or a table of contents. You may include images, charts, diagrams, footnotes, and endnotes if they fit within the three-page limit.

NEH has aligned each section of the narrative with corresponding review criteria. In accordance with Review Criterion 4, the entire narrative and writing sample will be evaluated for clarity of expression.

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

Appeal and Significance (aligns with review criteria 1 and 3) Describe the appeal and significance of the proposed project for general readers. Explain why your topic will be of interest to a general audience, and why it matters. Summarize the project, explaining its scope and the basic ideas, problems, arguments, questions, texts, people, and/or events that it will explore. Discuss how it relates to previous work on the topic and how your work makes a new contribution.

Sources and organization (aligns with review criteria 1 and 3) Discuss your sources and research materials. Explain how you will use appropriate primary and/or secondary sources, including such things as historical or contemporary documents or other writings, artifacts or objects, literary or artistic or cinematic or visual works, print or digital publications or other digital resources, interviews, observation (including participant observation), the administration of surveys or questionnaires, or other fieldwork. Explain how you will locate or select your sources and how they will support your treatment of the topic.

Explain how you plan to organize your book. Provide a chapter outline, with brief explanations of each chapter’s contents.

Competencies, skills, and access (aligns with review criteria 2 and 5) Explain your competence in the area of your project and describe your experience in conveying scholarship to, or otherwise writing for, a broad audience. If the subject is new to you, explain your reasons for working in it and your qualifications to do so. Specify your level of competence

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in any language or skills needed for the study. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives, collections, or institutions that contain the resources you need, or for interviews with relevant people. If you are proposing to work with a collaborator, indicate that person’s competencies. If you are proposing a biography of a living person, discuss the degree of cooperation you have from that person and how this affects your project.

Final product and dissemination (aligns with review criteria 1 and 5) Describe your final product(s) and the audience(s) you aim to reach. Discuss why your treatment is appropriate to the subject matter and audience.

Indicate when you expect to submit the project for publication and when you expect the book to appear. If you have a publisher, describe your plans to disseminate and market the book, explaining how you will reach general readers. If you do not have a publisher, describe your plans to secure one. If you propose creating supplemental digital materials, discuss their technical specifications and explain how you will support and maintain them beyond the period of performance.

Explain how you will handle the documentation of sources, and what form you expect the documentation to take. Briefly discuss how you will balance readability against the need for thoroughness and precision in your documentation of sources.

If the project involves publishing materials that are under copyright, indicate your plans for securing the necessary permission.

Name the file narrative.pdf.

Attachment 2: Work plan (required) Present a schedule for the period of performance. Explain the tasks you expect to accomplish and your timeline for them. Explain how many months of support you are requesting and whether you propose full- or part-time work, or a combination of the two. If you propose part-time work, indicate the fraction of time you will devote to the project (e.g., half-time or three-quarters time). Specify the part or stage of the project that the award will support. Identify what, if any, parts of the project you have already completed. If you will not complete the project during the period of performance, state when you expect to complete it. State when you expect to submit the project for publication, and when you expect the book to appear.

Indicate where you will work and, if you will be in more than one location, how long you will spend in each.

Your work plan should not depend on factors outside your control, such as the receipt of an editors’ comments by a particular date. If you plan to submit your manuscript to an editor or publisher before the end of the period of performance, explain what additional work the project will require after you submit the manuscript and why it merits support.

If your project was previously supported by an NEH Summer Stipend, you must clearly distinguish the tasks to be supported by the Public Scholars program from those supported by the Summer Stipend. NEH will not support the same tasks with two different awards.

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If you are seeking funds as part of a larger collaborative project, clearly explain how you will divide the work and the extent to which each collaborator’s contribution depends on that of the other(s).

The work plan must not exceed one page. It must not include information that belongs in the narrative statement, such as a detailed chapter outline or discussion of your competencies and skills. You may present information in table form.

Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 3: Bibliography (required) The bibliography should list a representative selection of primary and/or secondary sources that relate directly to the project. If you propose work with archival materials, indicate the archive(s) in which they are held. If your sources include interviews, indicate when they were conducted.

Reviewers will use the bibliography to assess your approach to your topic and your knowledge of the subject area.

Any standard bibliographic format is acceptable. Items referenced in the narrative need not appear in the bibliography if the citation in the narrative enables readers to identify the work.

The bibliography must not exceed one page. Name the file bibliography.pdf.

Attachment 4: Résumé (required) Your résumé should include the following information:

• name

• current and past positions

• education (list degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations)

• awards and honors, including dates. If you have received prior support from NEH, indicate the dates of these awards and the products that resulted from them.

• publications and presentations (provide full citations)other relevant professional activities and accomplishments, including your level of competence in any relevant foreign languages.

Your resume must list the publication(s) you are using to meet the program’s requirement for previous publication, providing full citations.

If your writing sample consists of previously published material, include it on your resume in your list of publications.

Your résumé must not exceed two pages. Do not submit a narrative biographical statement instead of a résumé. Applications including a biographical statement instead of a résumé will be disqualified.

Name the file resume.pdf.

Attachment 5: Writing sample (required) You must submit a writing sample. NEH strongly recommends that you submit a draft chapter or partial chapter of the proposed book if possible. If a draft chapter is not available, a sample in the style of the proposed book is acceptable.

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Your writing sample should demonstrate how the final product will read, and your ability to appeal to a general audience. If it is drawn from the proposed book, it should demonstrate how you will document your sources or contain a note explaining this.

Your writing sample must not exceed twenty PDF pages. You may submit the writing sample as typescript (i.e., as manuscript pages) or as a reproduction of previously published pages.

• If you submit your sample as typescript (i.e., as manuscript pages), you must use a font no smaller than standard 11-point. NEH recommends that you submit a double-spaced sample. Single-spaced samples containing more than the equivalent of twenty double-spaced pages may not receive full consideration from reviewers. You may include end notes or footnotes (either single-spaced or double-spaced), tables, visual material, captions, a bibliography, and/or an explanatory headnote, provided they are contained within the twenty-page limit.

• If you submit a reproduction of previously published pages, you may include either one or two published pages on each page of the PDF. The sample may include end notes or footnotes, tables, visual material, captions, a bibliography, and/or an explanatory headnote. You may make abridgments to conform to the twenty-page limit, and you may include a note explaining what has been omitted. The entire sample, including any such ancillary material, must be contained within the twenty-page limit. NEH recommends that you limit your sample to approximately 7000 words. Longer samples may not receive full consideration from reviewers.

If the sample consists of material that will appear in the proposed book, include a headnote explaining how the sample and the proposed book relate. For example, specify which chapter it is, whether it is a complete or partial chapter, or whether you will ultimately use parts of it in several different chapters. This explanation must be included within the twenty-page limit.

If the sample has been previously published, indicate this and list the publication on your resume.

The sample may not include a table of contents, outline, or abstract of the proposed book or portions of it (this information belongs in the narrative).

You must be the author of the sample. It must not be co-authored, unless you are proposing a co-authored book, in which case you may submit a sample co-authored with your proposed collaborator.

NEH recommends that you submit a single piece of writing as your sample, rather than multiple pieces.

Name the file writingsample.pdf.

Attachment 6: Publisher’s letter of interest or commitment (optional) If you have already explored publication arrangements, you may submit a letter of interest or commitment from a publisher. The letter should be from an official representative of the publisher. Letters of commitment should indicate the physical format(s) planned for the book, dissemination plans, and print-run expectations.

bookmark://_Attachments/

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If you submit a letter, it must be included together with your other materials. It may not be submitted separately or added to your application after the deadline.

Do not include a copy of the book contract.

Do not include a copy of email correspondence with an editor or publisher.

Do not include a letter from someone other than a publisher’s representative, such as your literary agent.

Name the file publisherletter.pdf.

Attachment 7: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally required) If you are delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, provide explanatory information including evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include delinquent student loans, taxes, child support payments, and payroll taxes for household or other employees. See OMB Circular A-129.

Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.

Application Components: Grants.gov Forms

SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance – Individual This form requests basic information about you and your proposed project. Items 1, 2, and 4 will be automatically filled in; leave item 3 blank.

5a-d. Applicant Information a.-c. Provide your name, telephone number, email address, and mailing address. You must include an email address in the “Email” field, even though it is not highlighted as a required field. NEH will use this address to notify you of the outcome of your application.

Provide your mailing address. Note: Your ZIP code must include the four-digit extension preceded by a hyphen. If you do not know your four-digit extension, use “-0000” (four zeros).

Indicate your citizenship status with an “X.”

d. Indicate your congressional district with your two-character state abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For example, if you reside in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If you reside in a state or U.S. jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If your residence is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”

6. Project Information

a. Project Title: Provide your project’s title. It should be brief (no more than 125 characters, including spaces). Successful applications typically have titles that are descriptive of the project and easily understood by the general public. NEH reserves the right to retitle funded projects for clarity when announcing its funding decisions and in its own reports and communications, but you may use your preferred title for any award products.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

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b. Project Description: Provide a brief description of your project. Write the description for a non-specialist audience and clearly state the importance of the proposed work for the humanities. This description will appear on your application cover sheet and will serve as a project abstract during the review process. Do not exceed one thousand characters, including spaces. If you exceed one thousand characters, including spaces, Grants.gov may reject your application or cut off your project description at the thousand-character limit.

c. Proposed Project: List the start and end dates for your project. Your period of performance must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. Because award amounts depend on the number of months of work that you specify, the dates that you enter here will determine the maximum amount of your award. For more information about allowable time periods and how NEH calculates awards, see B2. Summary of Funding. You may change your start and end dates if you receive an award, but the change must be consistent with the dollar amount for which you were approved. You may change the dates to result in a smaller award, but you must meet the minimum time commitment of six full-time months or the equivalent.

7. Signature By clicking on the “I Agree” box, you certify the following:

1) You are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in covered transactions by any federal department or agency, and have not—within the three years preceding the submission of this application— been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against you for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with a public (federal, state, or local) transaction or a contract under a public transaction; for violation of federal or state antitrust statutes; for commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property; had any public transactions terminated for cause or default; and are not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with any of the preceding offenses. See 2 CFR 180 and 3369.

2) You are not delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt or you are providing explanatory information about any delinquency. Examples of relevant debt include student loans, delinquent taxes, delinquent child support payments, and delinquent payroll taxes for household or other employees. See OMB Circular A-129.

3) You will comply with the NEH Public Scholar Program Terms and Conditions.

Click the “Save” button at the top of the form to save your work and return to the main menu.

NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form This form requests additional professional information about you, your institution (if affiliated), and your references.

Field of Project Using the drop-down menu, indicate the field(s) of your project. You may select one, two, or three fields. If you select more than one, list the primary field first. Program staff will consider this information when assigning your application to a review panel.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-180?toc=1 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=902a748402bef7d8543f27adaf553773&mc=true&node=pt2.1.3369&rgn=div5 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a129_rev2013

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Project Director Field of Study Using the drop-down menu, choose the field of study that best describes your area of expertise.

Address Information Indicate whether the address that you provided on the Application for Federal Assistance SF 424

– Individual form is your home or work address.

Institutional Affiliation If you are not affiliated with an institution of higher education, click “No” and continue to the Status section.

If you are affiliated with an institution of higher education, provide the information for that institution. Include your institution’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), omitting hyphens. You can request this number from your institution’s sponsored research office. NEH uses it to identify your institution to peer reviewers.

Status NEH does not require applicants in this program to be professional scholars. Even so, NEH categorizes all applicants as “junior scholars” or “senior scholars.” Please indicate your category as follows:

• You are a junior scholar if you received your highest formal degree fewer than seven years ago.

• You are a senior scholar if you are more than seven years beyond the day you received your highest degree.

Reference Letters Provide the names, email addresses, and affiliations of your two references. Enter only one email address for each. If you provide two email addresses for a reference, NEH will be unable to contact them. You are responsible for providing accurate email addresses. NEH’s grants management system will use the addresses exactly as you enter them.

NEH will contact your letter writers approximately three to four weeks after the application deadline to request their letters. For the 2024 deadline, requests will be sent on or about September 18; for the 2025 deadline, they will be sent on or about September 3.

See D7. Other Submission Requirements for instructions and deadlines for submitting reference letters and confirming NEH has received them.

Nominating Official Leave this section blank.

Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form Provide the primary location and any other locations where you will conduct project activities during the period of performance. For “Organization,” you may substitute a brief description of locations that do not have a formal organizational name (e.g., "Residence of applicant” or “Interview site in Chicago to be determined”). You may omit the UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) for locations that do not have one.

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Include only sites where you are reasonably certain at the time of application that you will conduct project activities. It is possible to add sites if you are offered an award.

Enter congressional districts using the two letter state abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For example, if your work site is in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If it is in a state or U.S. jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If it is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.

Attachments Form You will upload your Attachments to Grants.gov using this form. This form accommodates up to fifteen attachments. Attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf).

Convert all non-PDF files (e.g., Word, Excel, images) to PDFs. If an attachment contains multiple documents, merge them into a single file. Occasionally, converting a document to PDF may alter its length. Confirm that all attachments are within the mandatory page limits. Do not attach files that have been password-protected, encrypted, or digitally signed. You must remove all such security features before attaching your files. Failure to do so may result in your application being rejected.

Do not attach portfolios containing multiple PDFs.

Consult the Application Components Table to name and sequence your attachments so that NEH can easily identify them. Grants.gov may reject your application if:

• file names exceed 50 characters

• multiple files have the same name

• file names include characters other than the following: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore, hyphen, space, period, parentheses, curly braces, square brackets, ampersand, tilde, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, apostrophe, at sign, number sign, dollar sign, percent sign, plus sign, and equal sign

Grants.gov may accept and validate your application even if you are missing required components or have formatted them incorrectly. You must ensure that you have formatted, attached, and submitted all required components correctly. If you have not, NEH may reject your application as incomplete or nonresponsive.

Learn about Adobe software compatibility with Grants.gov.

3. Grants.gov Registration Process

Login.gov You must create a Login.gov user account to register and log in to Grants.gov. Login.gov is a secure sign-in service used by the public to sign in to participating government agencies. Create and link your account now.

Grants.gov Registration and Creation of Applicant Profiles You must submit your application via Grants.gov Workspace. Register with Grants.gov.

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://www.login.gov/ https://grantsgovprod.wordpress.com/2020/10/08/new-sign-in-to-grants-gov-with-your-login-gov-credentials/ https://grantsgovprod.wordpress.com/2020/10/08/new-sign-in-to-grants-gov-with-your-login-gov-credentials/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/register.faces

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After registering, you must add an “individual applicant” profile to apply to programs for individuals. Click on the “My Account” link, then on “Manage Profiles” and “Add Profile.” Refer to Grants.gov’s instructions for adding a profile.

Grants.gov may assign a number for the Unique Entity Identifier. Do not change this number.

You will not be able to apply until you have added an individual profile. The “Apply” button on the Grants.gov opportunity page will function properly only after you have completed this step. If the “Apply” button is gray rather than red, or if clicking it results in an error message, confirm that your individual applicant profile is complete, re-entering it if necessary.

If you previously registered with Grants.gov and created an “individual applicant” profile, you will not need to re-register. However, NEH encourages you to confirm that your account is active and that your password is current.

NEH strongly recommends that you complete your registration at least two weeks before the application deadline. If you fail to allow sufficient time to register with Grants.gov, NEH will not extend the deadline or waive the online submission requirement.

If you have problems registering with Grants.gov or adding an “individual applicant” profile, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

4. Submission Dates and Times

Applications This notice covers the 2024 and 2025 Public Scholars competitions. The deadlines are:

August 28, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time August 6, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Applications must be complete, follow length and formatting requirements, and be validated by Grants.gov under the correct funding opportunity prior to the deadline to be considered under this notice.

Once the application deadline has passed, you may not make corrections or updates or add materials to your file.

It is your responsibility to confirm that Grants.gov and subsequently NEH have received your application. Check your Grants.gov application status.

When NEH receives your application, the agency will assign it a tracking number beginning with FZ-. A tracking number does not guarantee that your application is free of technical problems (such as missing attachments or failure to convert attachments to PDFs). If your files are not correctly formatted, NEH’s electronic grants management system (eGMS), will reject your application and notify you by email. NEH recommends you submit your application 48 hours prior to the deadline so that you have time to correct technical problems detected by eGMS.

Please note that neither Grants.gov nor eGMS can detect problems such as missing components or excess pages. It is your responsibility to submit your application in good order and to correct errors prior to the deadline.

https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom#t=Register%2FAddProfile.htm mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/Applicants/CheckApplicationStatus/CheckApplicationStatus.htm

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NEH will not comment on the status of your application except regarding matters of eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness.

Letters of reference For deadline and additional information on letters of reference, see D7. Other Submission Requirements.

5. Intergovernmental Review This funding opportunity is not subject to intergovernmental review under Executive Order 12372.

6. Funding Restrictions You may not use awards made under this notice for the following purposes:

• research for doctoral dissertations or theses by students enrolled in a degree program

• revision of a dissertation or thesis

• preparation or revision of textbooks

• curriculum development

• development of teaching methods or theories

• educational or technical impact assessments

• fiction, including historical fiction

• philosophical novels

• guidebooks, how-to books, or self-help books

• anthologies and edited collections of essays or primary source documents

• publications consisting primarily of transcribed interviews, oral histories, or responses to questionnaires

• projects whose primary product will be a digital archive or database, or audiovisual materials

• projects devoted primarily to promoting or disseminating a completed book

• books for children or young adults

• graphic novels, works of graphic history, or other graphic nonfiction

• translations and scholarly editions

• creation of documentary films

• promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view

• promotion of gender ideology

• promotion of discriminatory equity ideology

• support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives or activities

• environmental justice initiatives or activities

• advocacy of a particular program of social or political action

• support of specific public policies or legislation

• lobbying

• projects that fall outside of the humanities; the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; policy studies; and social science research that does not address humanistic questions and/or utilize humanistic methods

Applications proposing these prohibited project types or activities are subject to…