DFG/NEH Bilateral Digital Humanities Program Enriching Digital Collections | Apply Online

FAQs: DFG/NEH Bilateral Digital Humanities Program: Enriching Digital Collections

What is the DFG/NEH Bilateral Digital Humanities Program: Enriching Digital Collections?

It is a joint grant opportunity offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the United States and the German Research Foundation (DFG) to support major digitization and digital humanities work in the humanities. The program focuses on strengthening and expanding high-value digital collections and the tools needed to use them, with a strong emphasis on cross-border collaboration between U.S. and German partners.

What is the main goal of this program?

The program is designed to build long-term scholarly resources by supporting significant digitization projects and the development of tools and infrastructure that improve how digitized humanities resources are discovered, accessed, used, and sustained. It emphasizes outcomes that benefit scholarly communities in both the United States and Germany.

What types of projects does the program fund?

The program funds up to three years of development work in several closely related areas, including new digitization projects, pilot projects testing digitization approaches or workflows, substantial expansions to existing digitization projects, and the development of tools and infrastructure that improve discovery, access, interoperability, analysis, or usability of digitized humanities resources.

Does the program support entirely new digitization projects?

Yes. The program supports entirely new digitization projects in the humanities.

Are pilot projects eligible under this opportunity?

Yes. The program supports pilot projects that test approaches, workflows, or technologies for humanities digitization.

Can an existing digital collection apply to add more materials?

Yes. The program supports efforts that add significant new materials to already existing digitization projects, including expansions in scope or depth, when the added content is important for research and teaching.

Does the program fund software tools or technical infrastructure?

Yes. It funds the development of tools and infrastructure that improve discovery, access, interoperability, analysis, or overall usability of digitized humanities resources, especially when those improvements enable international digitization work or increase cross-border value.

Is this program focused only on digitizing content, or also on improving how content is used?

It supports both. The opportunity is aimed at creating digitized materials and collections and at improving the ecosystem around that content, such as technical platforms, standards-based workflows, and user-facing functionality.

What is meant by "bilateral collaboration" in this program?

Bilateral collaboration is a core requirement. Every application must include at least one eligible German individual or institution and at least one eligible U.S. institution, and the project must name a project director from each country. Projects are expected to be jointly conceived and jointly executed.

Does the application need leadership in both countries?

Yes. The project must name a project director from the United States and a project director from Germany.

Can a project be primarily run in one country with minimal involvement from the other?

The program structure indicates that projects are expected to be jointly conceived and jointly executed rather than hosted in one country with minimal involvement from the other. The bilateral design implies coordinated work plans, shared standards, and outcomes that benefit both countries.

Who can apply on the U.S. side?

Eligible U.S. applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions), and government entities such as state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

Are nonprofit organizations eligible applicants in the United States?

Yes. Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions) are eligible on the U.S. side.

Are government entities eligible applicants in the United States?

Yes. State governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments are listed as eligible U.S. applicants.

Which NEH office administers this opportunity?

On the U.S. side, the opportunity is administered by the NEH Office of Digital Humanities.

What is the CFDA listing for this program?

The opportunity is associated with CFDA 45.169, Promotion of the Humanities.

How long can a funded project last?

The program funds up to three years of development work.

What is the funding range for awards?

The posted materials indicate an award floor of $100,000 and an award ceiling of $350,000.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is specified for this program, meaning applicants are not required to provide matching funds as a condition of the award.

When was the opportunity posted and what were the key dates listed?

The opportunity was posted on July 2, 2009. The application deadline (closing date) was October 8, 2009, and the archive date was November 7, 2009.

Where can applicants find the official guidelines and application instructions?

The announcement points to an NEH information page at http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/DFGEDC.html for more detailed guidance, including program rules and application instructions.

Who can be contacted for help accessing the full announcement?

Applicants needing help accessing the full announcement were directed to contact the NEH Office of Digital Humanities at odh@neh.gov.