Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence 20240214-RAI.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence

Funding Opportunity Number: 20240214-RAI

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.161

Application Deadline: February 14, 2024

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

It may take several weeks to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Division of Research Programs Email: AICenters@neh.gov Telephone: 202-606-8200 Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1

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

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Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Research Programs is accepting applications for the Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) program.

Launched through NEH’s new Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence initiative, the purpose of the program is to create new humanities research centers on AI at eligible institutions. Centers must focus their scholarly activities on exploring the ethical, legal, or societal implications of AI, as outlined by the 2023 National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan. Centers should include scholars from multiple disciplines, but they must be led by scholars in the humanities or humanistic social sciences. NEH is particularly interested in Centers that explore the impacts of AI-related technologies in the areas of equity, privacy, or civil rights.

Funding Opportunity Title Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence Funding Opportunity Number 20240214-RAI Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.161 Deadlines for Optional Draft January 10, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Application Deadline February 14, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcement August 2024 Anticipated FY 2024 Funding Approximately $1,000,000 Estimated Number and Type of Awards

Approximately 2 grants

Award Amounts Up to $500,000 for 36 months, with a maximum of $200,000 per year.

You may also request an additional $250,000 in federal matching funds.

Cost Sharing/Match Required No, unless you request federal matching funds Period of Performance Up to 3 years.

Projects must start between October 1, 2024, and September 1, 2025.

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

• accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit)

• state and local governments and their agencies

• federally recognized Native American Tribal governments

See C. Eligibility Information for additional information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/ai-research-centers

Published October 24, 2023 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/National-Artificial-Intelligence-Research-and-Development-Strategic-Plan-2023-Update.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/National-Artificial-Intelligence-Research-and-Development-Strategic-Plan-2023-Update.pdf https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/ai-research-centers

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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. 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 Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) program offered by the Division of Research Programs.

AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time and will have profound consequences for civil rights and civil liberties, safety and security, and democratic values. Questions about the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI are fundamentally rooted in the humanities, which include ethics, law, history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, media studies, and cultural studies. In fall 2023, NEH will launch a major research initiative titled Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence to support research and development in the humanities to understand and address the ethical, legal, and societal consequences of AI. NEH is particularly interested in projects that explore the risks of AI-related technologies on truth, trust, and democracy; safety and security; and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

The Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence program addresses Strategy #3 of the 2023 National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan, put forth by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Strategy #3 calls for research into “the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI” in order to “understand, anticipate, and mitigate harm as well as [understand] the distribution of likely benefits.” The Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence program will create new Centers of scholarly discourse and learning, each one a nexus for collaborative efforts that reach across disciplinary lines to gain a more holistic understanding of AI in the modern world.

In your application to this program, you must propose to create a Center with a specific research focus related to the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI. A Center is a sustained collaboration among scholars focused on exploring a specific topic, the humanities implications of AI, through two or more related scholarly activities. NEH particularly encourages Centers interested in equity, privacy, and civil-rights topics. Existing AI research centers are not eligible in this competition.

Centers must involve more than one scholar. A Center may or may not have a physical location, but as part of your project you should establish a leadership structure, develop a mission statement, and create a strategy to sustain the Center beyond the period of performance.

Address these three elements in Attachment 2: Narrative.

NEH welcomes international collaboration, but scholars at U.S. institutions must contribute significantly to the project. (See C3. Other Eligibility Information.) Centers should leverage the visionary nature of their research to promote a more informed public discourse about AI through education and outreach efforts and to actively build the next generation of scholars.

Centers should aim to advance humanities research on their chosen topic beyond the period of the grant.

In addition to the establishment of the Center, your project should engage in at least two activities that support research into the ethical, legal, and social implications of AI. Appropriate activities may include, but are not limited to, collaborative research and writing efforts;

workshops or lecture series; education and mentoring; and the creation of digital tools to increase or advance scholarly discourse about AI. You must present a plan to disseminate the results of each activity. Allowable costs include, but are not limited to, salary replacement;

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compensation of collaborators, post-doctoral students, consultants, and research assistants;

fringe benefits; and travel, lodging, and per diem costs for lecturers or convening participants.

Outcomes and performance indicators You must propose outcomes that contribute to the creation and long-term development and sustainability of your Humanities Research Center. All project outcomes must address the Center’s chosen thematic focus and convey interpretive humanities work.

Your project must result in a leadership structure, a mission statement, and an institutional plan for long-term sustainability by the end of the first year of the period of performance. Additional outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

• a lecture series extending beyond the period of performance

• a workshop series, colloquia, or summer institute to explore the impact of AI

• digital infrastructure for enabling multi-disciplinary or multi-institutional research about the humanistic implications of AI

• curriculum development or training courses for AI literacy in the humanities

• a multi-authored book, peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, or articles for the general public, or both

To be competitive for this program, you should propose to accomplish at least two such outcomes during the period of performance.

In Attachment 2: Narrative and Attachment 3: Work plan, you will describe what the results of your project will be and how those results align with the outcomes listed above. You must set performance goals and indicators of success that you will use to demonstrate the project’s success.

See D6. Funding Restrictions for unallowable activities.

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

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

Under Section 3(a) of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following:

language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy;

archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods;

and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

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

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title20-section956 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/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-january-2022 https://www.neh.gov/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-january-2022 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1998-title20/pdf/USCODE-1998-title20-chap26-subchapI-sec952.pdf https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx

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Learn more about NEH.

NEH Areas of Interest NEH is especially interested in supporting projects that advance humanities-related work in the following areas. NEH will give all applications equal consideration in accordance with the program’s review criteria.

NEH encourages projects that include Native American organizations and communities as applicants and project partners.

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

United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture Hate must have no safe harbor in America – especially when that hate fuels the kind of violence we’ve seen from Oak Creek to Pittsburgh, from El Paso to Poway, and from Atlanta to Buffalo.

When ordinary Americans cannot participate in the basic activities of everyday life – such as shopping at the grocery store or praying at their house of worship – without the fear of being targeted and killed for who they are, our security as well as democracy are at risk. In coordination with the White House “United We Stand” Summit in September 2022, NEH launched a new initiative titled United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture that uses the humanities to combat hate-motivated violence and promote civic engagement, social cohesion, and cross-cultural understanding. As a part of this initiative, NEH encourages humanities projects that further our understanding of the nation’s racial, ethnic, gender, and religious diversity; examine the sources of hate and intolerance in the United States; and explore progress towards greater inclusiveness. NEH especially welcomes projects that study antisemitism and/or Islamophobia in the context of the digital age and specifically the spread of online antisemitism and/or Islamophobia.

NEH’s Support for the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative As a part of NEH’s partnership with the Department of the Interior on the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, NEH encourages projects that further public understanding and knowledge of the Federal Indian boarding school system. From 1819 through the 1970s the government of the United States operated a system of schools for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children premised on a policy of coerced cultural assimilation.

Native children were forcibly separated from their families and sent to attend federal Indian boarding schools, where they were frequently subject to harsh treatment and abuse. A number of these students died, and others never returned to their families and communities. Many were https://www.neh.gov/about https://www.neh.gov/news/american-tapestry-weaving-together-past-present-and-future https://www.neh.gov/unitedwestand https://www.neh.gov/bsi https://www.neh.gov/bsi

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also deprived of their cultural inheritance. NEH encourages projects that document and explore the history of the federal Indian boarding schools as well as projects that contribute to Native and Indigenous cultural and language revitalization.

B. Federal Award Information

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

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding

Award amounts You may request up to $500,000, (with a maximum of $200,000 per year) plus an additional $250,000 in federal matching funds. This includes the sum of direct and indirect costs.

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $1,000,000 among an estimated 2 recipients.

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

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

Period of performance You may request a period of performance up to 36 months with a start date between October 1, 2024, and September 1, 2025.

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

C. Eligibility Information

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

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

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

• a state or local government or one of their agencies

• a federally recognized Native American Tribal government

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

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

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

The recipient may not function solely as a fiscal agent but should make substantive contributions to the success of the project.

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

Cost sharing refers to project costs that are covered with non-NEH funds. NEH distinguishes between two types of cost sharing: voluntary cost sharing and federal matching funds.

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

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

• your unrecovered indirect costs

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

While you may describe voluntary cost share in your budget justification, you should not include it on your Research and Related Budget. The Research and Related Budget should only include funds you are requesting from NEH.

Peer reviewers will not consider any voluntary cost share in their evaluation of applications.

Federal matching funds You may request up to $250,000 in federal matching funds to leverage third party funding.

Funds to satisfy a matching requirement must be from sources outside of the applicant institution (a third party) consistent with the NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines. If you request federal matching funds, you must raise third-party non-federal gifts dollar-for-dollar.

Include third-party non-federal gifts on your Research and Related Budget and identify what project activities they will support in the budget justification.

Successful applicants will receive an offer of federal matching funds, subject to specific regulatory and other conditions. NEH will certify the allowability of these gifts and will issue the award only when you have met the conditions of the offer. The full amount of federal matching funds may not be available for release in the first year of a multi-year period of performance.

Typically, NEH distributes federal matching funds on an annual basis over the period of performance.

If NEH selects your project for funding, you must raise and certify all eligible gifts and pledges at least one year prior to the end of the period of performance. NEH advises applicants who are requesting matching funds to consider a period of performance that allows adequate time to raise and certify funds. If you fail to certify required gifts by the deadline, NEH may reduce or terminate your award. See NEH Federal Matching Funds Guidelines.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/federal-matching-funds-guidelines https://nehemail.sharepoint.com/teams/nofo/Shared%20Documents/NOFOs/Special%20Initiatives%20and%20Agency%20Wide%20Programs/2023/AI%20Initiatives%202023/Research%202023%20AI%20NOFO/Disclosure#_Standard_Form-LLL,_

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NEH will not release federal matching funds until you raise and certify eligible gifts. In-kind gifts and funds derived from the recipient organization are not eligible sources of certified gifts in this program.

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

Learn about types of funds NEH offers.

3. Other Eligibility Information You may submit only one application under this notice.

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

Per 2 CFR § 200.403(f), you must not include the same project costs in more than one application for federal funding or approved federal award budget. If one application to NEH is pending, a second application for the same project costs, even if to a different program, may be ruled ineligible. However, you may submit multiple proposals for complementary aspects of the same overall project. NEH may disallow costs or reject applications that include overlapping project costs. An individual’s level of effort cannot exceed 100% across multiple active federally funded awards.

If the project has received or is currently receiving support from federal or nonfederal sources, including the NEH, or if you plan to apply for such support, then you must include Attachment 8: Statement of funding received and requested.

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

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

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

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

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

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D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20240214-RAI. There is also a link on the program resource page.

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

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

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

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

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

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

• Required: You must submit this component.

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

• 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.

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

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

• Mandatory: You must not exceed the page limit.

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

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

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

• pages no larger than standard letter (8 ½" x 11”) https://nehemail.sharepoint.com/teams/nofo/Shared%20Documents/NOFOs/Special%20Initiatives%20and%20Agency%20Wide%20Programs/2023/AI%20Initiatives%202023/Research%202023%20AI%20NOFO/Disclosure#_Standard_Form-LLL,_

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

• a font no smaller than 11 points

In addition, NEH encourages you to format your components consistent with the following:

• single-spacing

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

• any standard citation style (include citations in page counts)

Application Component Table Application Component File Name Designation Page limit Attachments 1: Project team team.pdf Required 2 pages

(mandatory) 2: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 10 pages

(mandatory) 3: Work plan workplan.pdf Required 2 pages

(mandatory) 4: Résumés for project team members resumes.pdf Required 2 pages per person (suggested)

5: Bibliography bibliography.pdf Required 3 pages (mandatory)

6. Letters of commitment and support commitment.pdf Required

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7: Appendices appendices.pdf Required 10 pages (suggested)

8: Statement of funding received and requested funding.pdf Conditionally required

2 pages (suggested)

9: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally required

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

11: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally

Grants.gov forms SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational

Required

Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs

Required

Project/Performance Site(s) Location Form

Required

Research and Related Budget and Budget Justification

Required

Attachments Form Required Certification Regarding Lobbying Required for recipients

Standard Form-LLL “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities”

Required for recipients

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: Project team (required) List the members of the project team, surname first. Designate the project director and any co-directors, then group other team members by institutional affiliation. Explain how each team member will contribute to the creation and/or operation of the Center. For those not affiliated with a nonprofit educational institution, provide occupation and employer; if none, list city and state of residence.

The names on this list must match the names mentioned in the Collaboration and institutional context section of the narrative, as well as personnel listed in the budget. After you list the project team, list any advisors or additional personnel, if applicable.

The project team list must not exceed two pages. Name the file team.pdf.

Attachment 2: 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.

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

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

Project overview (about one paragraph) Provide a concise statement about your Center written for a non-specialist audience. Describe the proposed activities and outcomes of the Center, and who will lead and take part in these activities. Include a long-term vision and potential impact for the Center (this may extend beyond the end date of the period of performance).

Thematic focus and significance (about three pages; aligns with review criterion 1.

Significance and review criterion 5. Dissemination plans and long-term vision) Provide a summary of the thematic focus of your Center, noting how it relates to the goals of the Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence program (see Purpose section). State the overall vision, mission statement, and long-range research goals of the Center. Situate your project in the context of existing research on AI and connect it to larger topics in the humanities beyond your specific thematic focus. Describe the anticipated impact of your Center on the thematic focus and on future scholarship. Discuss the relationship of the Center’s research focus to ongoing work in the field by identifying related projects and relevant literature. You will provide a more extensive list of relevant primary and secondary sources in Attachment 5:

Bibliography.

Proposed activities (about two pages; aligns with review criterion 2. Activities and execution and review criterion 3. Participants) Describe your Center’s two or more planned activities during the period of performance and who will be responsible for their successful completion. Discuss your rationale for choosing particular activities and how those activities will contribute to the creation and the larger research goals of the Center. Explain the motivations for creating the Center, what experience you have in conducting similar activities, and the feasibility of launching the Center and sustaining it long-term. Describe any education or outreach activities designed to build the next generation of scholars and promote a more informed public and scholarly discourse about AI.

If you have previously received NEH funding for any phase of the proposed research activities, discuss how the previously funded project met, or did not meet, its goals according to its original or amended work plan.

Collaboration and institutional context (about three pages; aligns with review criterion 3. Participants) Summarize the specific qualifications and responsibilities of the project team members (those named in Attachment 1: Project team). Describe their contributions to the Center’s proposed activities and estimate how much time they will spend on them — for example, part-time during the academic year and full-time during the summer (see Budget Justification). Specify the Center’s leadership structure (e.g., a single director or an advisory board) and how the project team will create and disseminate a mission statement. For any convenings or lecture series, explain the benefits of bringing together these particular scholars. For project team members providing technical support, explain how their activities are important for achieving the project’s goals. Describe how the Center will function as a nexus for collaborative efforts, including plans

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to link organizations, people, ideas, problems, and humanities methods and technical approaches for maximum impact. Demonstrate how the project team represents the diverse perspectives necessary to address its research questions, including but not limited to perspectives on race, gender, and disability. If relevant, mention any partnerships with or participants from minority-serving institutions.

Work plan (about one page; aligns with review criterion 4. Work plan and completion) Summarize, rather than duplicate, the detailed work plan you provide in Attachment 3. Provide an overview of what you will accomplish, identifying major phases, milestones, and performance indicators. Discuss how you will use NEH funds to advance these goals. Describe a set of activities for each phase and specify the project team members involved. For multi-institutional collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities across each institution.

Future plans (about one page; aligns with review criterion 5. Dissemination plans and Long-term vision) Explain the long-term vision for the Center after the period of performance is completed, including how the institution would support the Center after the grant period. Summarize your plans to disseminate the results of the Center’s activities to scholarly audiences, the general public, or both. Describe plans to include diverse audiences and underrepresented groups, including women and persons with disabilities, in all organizational levels of Center activities.

Cite relevant literature on effective practices. Describe any planned publications or research tools.

Your narrative must not exceed ten pages. Name the file narrative.pdf.

Narrative Alignment

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

Narrative Section Review Criteria

Project overview 1. Significance

Thematic focus and significance

1. Significance and 5. Dissemination plans and

Long-term vision

Proposed activities 2. Activities and execution and 3. Participants

Collaboration and institutional context 3. Participants

Work plan

4. Work plan and completion

Future plans 5. Dissemination plans and Long-term vision

Attachment 3: Work plan (required) Your work plan should reflect the major activities you describe in your narrative and the project dates on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational and your Research and Related Budget.

Provide a detailed description, preferably in table form, of what will be accomplished during the period of performance, indicating major tasks and milestones. Describe each six-month period.

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For each period, identify the relevant collaborators involved and state their specific tasks, including approximate time commitments in percentages or days. Describe the performance indicators you will use to measure the project’s success at each stage.

The work plan must not exceed two pages. Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 4: Résumés for project team members (required) Include two-page résumés for each project team member named in Attachment 1: Project team, excluding any advisory committee members. Résumés should include mailing and email addresses, the highest degree earned, the name of the institution awarding the degree, professional positions held, institutional affiliations, and major publications. You do not need to include résumés for undergraduate and graduate research assistants.

Résumés should not exceed two pages per person. Name the file resumes.pdf.

Attachment 5: Bibliography (required) Your bibliography should consist of primary and secondary sources that relate directly to the project. Include works that pertain to both the project’s substance and its theoretical or methodological approaches. If applicable, indicate publications that resulted from previous NEH funding.

The bibliography must not exceed three pages; any standard format is acceptable.

Name the file bibliography.pdf.

Attachment 6: Letters of commitment and support (required) Include at least one letter from leadership (such as the president, provost, or dean) at the applicant institution. The letter should support the formal designation of the Center, mention any relevant approval processes, and explain the project’s significance within the institution’s mission.

NEH also encourages you to include letters or emails of commitment from other individuals or organizations involved in the project, such as chairs or deans of the departments or schools whose faculty will be collaborating during the grant period.

Elected government officials, NEH staff, and current members of the National Council on the Humanities may not serve as letter writers.

Name the file letters.pdf.

Attachment 7: Appendices (required) Use this attachment to provide essential supplementary materials. Do not include letters of recommendation or assessments of previous applications. Materials in the appendices for all application categories should include, as relevant: illustrations, maps, and other explanatory graphics; letters of support from archives or other research venues; and permissions to publish materials under copyright.

Appendices should not exceed ten pages. All charts, letters, graphics, maps, etc. count toward the page limit.

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Name the file appendices.pdf.

Attachment 8: Statement of funding received and requested (conditionally required) If the project has received prior support from any federal or nonfederal sources, including NEH;

if it is currently receiving such support; or if you are applying for or planning to apply for such support, provide a list of the sources, dates, federal award identification numbers, and amounts of these funds. List NEH awards already received, year by year. Include fellowships and individual awards received by project participants, if relevant to the current project. If there is a long history of non-NEH support, you may group and summarize the sources and contributions.

This attachment should not exceed two pages. Name the file funding.pdf.

Attachment 9: Subrecipient budget(s) (conditionally required) If your project includes subawards, you must provide a separate Research and Related Budget and budget justification for each subrecipient.

Download a fillable PDF of the Research and Related Budget form from the NEH website for each subrecipient. You must open and complete this form in Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher rather than in your web browser.

Prepare a budget and budget justification for each subrecipient using the same instructions in this notice, with a few exceptions:

• Enter the subrecipient’s Unique Entity Identifier, organization name, and period of performance start and end date (these fields will not prepopulate).

• For “budget type,” check “Subaward/Consortium.”

If your subrecipients have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, you must honor it. If they do not have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, they may negotiate a rate with you consistent with 2 CFR § 200.414 or use the de minimis rate.

Rather than attaching related documents (budget justification, additional personnel, additional equipment) to the form itself, you will separately convert each document into a PDF and combine all subrecipients’ budget forms and related documents into a single document. Do not attach portfolios containing multiple PDFs.

NEH cannot accept security-enhanced PDFs (e.g., XFA files, PDFs that include password-protection, encryption, digital signatures). Remove these features (or “flatten” these files) before merging them into a single PDF and uploading it to the Attachments Form.

Name the file subrecipient.pdf.

Attachment 10: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (conditionally required) If your organization is claiming indirect costs and has a current federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, provide a copy of the agreement. If applicable, provide the indirect cost rate agreements for subrecipients claiming indirect costs. If you and your subrecipients are requesting the de minimis rate, you do not need to submit this attachment.

https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/RR_Budget10_3_0-V3.0.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=d22b09774a679ad264cf0098635dabb8&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1414

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Name the file agreement.pdf.

Attachment 11: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally required) If your organization is delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, explain why. Provide evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, if applicable, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include delinquent payroll or other taxes, audit disallowances, and benefit overpayments. See OMB Circular A-129.

Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.

Application Components: Grants.gov Forms

SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance – Short Organizational (Grants.gov form) This form requests basic information about your institution, the proposed project, and key contacts. Items 1, 2, and 4 will be automatically filled in; leave item 3 blank.

5. Applicant Information a-d. Provide your organization’s legal name, address, and web address. Select the applicant type that best describes your organization from the drop-down menu.

e-f. Provide your organization’s employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), and Unique Entity Identifier assigned by the System for Award Management. If you do not know your identifier, contact your grant administrator or chief financial officer. See D3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.

g. Provide your congressional district with your two-character state abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For example, if your institution is located in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If your institution is in a state or U.S.

jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If your institution is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”

6. Project Information

a. Provide your project’s title. It should be brief (no more than 125 characters, including spaces), descriptive of the project, and easily understood by the general public. If NEH funds your project, the agency may retitle your project for clarity in internal and external communications, including the public announcement of awards. Regardless, you may use your preferred title when carrying out the project.

b. Provide a brief description of your project (no more than 1,000 characters, including spaces).

You should write the description for a nonspecialist audience, clearly stating the importance of the proposed work and its relation to larger issues in the humanities. This description will appear on the cover sheet of your application and is the first description reviewers will see. If funded, this description will also appear in NEH’s database of funded projects.

c. State your project’s period of performance start and end dates. Your project must start on the first day of a month and end on the last day of a month. See B2. Summary of Funding for allowable periods of performance.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a129_rev2013 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a129_rev2013 https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

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7. Project Director Provide the project director’s name, title, and contact information. The project director is responsible for the programmatic aspects and day-to-day management of the proposed project.

You must notify the NEH Office of Grant Management immediately if you need to change project directors.

If the project director is not employed by the applicant organization, you must have a formal written agreement with the project director that specifies an official relationship between the parties even if the relationship does not involve a salary or other form of remuneration.

8. Primary Contact/Grant Administrator Provide the name, title, and contact information for the official responsible for the administration of the award (e.g., negotiating the budget and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the award).

As a matter of NEH policy, the project director and primary contact/grant administrator must not be the same person.

The grant administrator (also called the “institutional grant administrator”) functions as the representative of the recipient organization. This individual should have authority to act on the organization’s behalf in matters related to the administration of the award. The institutional grant administrator must sign or countersign financial reports and prior approval requests such as budget revisions, extensions to the period of performance, and changes in key personnel.

NEH will address official correspondence (for example, the offer letter or Notice of Action) to the institutional grant administrator and copy the project director.

9. Authorized Representative Provide the name, title, and contact information for the authorized organization representative (AOR) who is submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person, often called an “authorizing official,” is typically the institution’s president, vice president, executive director, board chair, provost, or chancellor. The institution’s Grants.gov E-Business Point of Contact must designate the AOR. See the Grants.gov Online User Guide.

Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs (Grants.gov form)

1. Project Director Select the project director’s major field of study from the drop-down menu.

2. Institutional Information Select your institution type from the drop-down menu.

3. Project Funding

• Under “Outright Funds,” enter the amount of outright funds you are requesting.

• Under “Federal Match,” enter the amount of federal matching funds you are requesting.

• Under “Cost Sharing,” enter the required cost share you will provide to release the federal matching funds (dollar-for-dollar). Do not include voluntary cost share.

Learn more about the types of funding NEH offers.

https://apply07.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding

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4. Application Information Indicate whether you or others will submit complementary proposals to other NEH programs, government agencies, or private entities. If so, specify when and to whom. NEH will not consider this information when evaluating the merits of your proposal. See C3. Other Eligibility Information for restrictions regarding overlapping costs.

For type of application, check “new.”

Select the project’s primary discipline from the drop-down menu. If applicable, select the project’s secondary and tertiary disciplines.

Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form (Grants.gov form) Provide the primary location and any other locations where you will conduct project activities during the period of performance.

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

The form has space for 300 sites. If your project includes additional locations, list them in a separate document. Save the document as a PDF named additionallocations.pdf and attach it under “Additional Locations.”

Research and Related Budget (Grants.gov form) You must submit a project budget using the Research and Related Budget form included in the Grants.gov application package and…