Opportunity Information: Apply for 20110616 HJ
Apply for 20110616 HJ
- The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Digging into Data Challenge" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.169 Promotion of the HumanitiesOffice of Digital Humanities.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 14, 2011 and posted on Mar 16, 2011.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 16, 2011. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $175,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- This competition is open only to international research projects. Each project represents a collaboration among 2 4 teams, each team representing one of the competition s participating countries. See the Digging into Data RFP for details.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Digging into Data Challenge was a discretionary grant opportunity run by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Office of Digital Humanities, designed to push humanities and social science research further into the world of large-scale, data-intensive methods. The central idea behind the program was that "data-driven inquiry" (often called cyberscholarship) had already transformed discovery in fields like genetics and astronomy, largely because researchers gained access to huge volumes of digital data and the computing techniques needed to analyze it. This competition aimed to bring similar computational approaches to questions grounded in the humanities and social sciences, especially where researchers could use massive digital collections to spot patterns, test hypotheses at scale, find connections across sources, and uncover inconsistencies that would be difficult or impossible to detect through traditional close-reading or small-sample approaches alone.
A major motivation for the program was the accelerating "data deluge" coming from two directions at once. On one side were modern, continuously generated datasets tied to everyday life and systems, such as internet searches, consumer transactions, cell phone records, smart meters, and sensor networks. On the other side was rapid, large-scale digitization of cultural and scholarly materials, including books, newspapers, journals, films, artworks, and sound recordings. The opportunity highlighted that meaningful research could emerge from linking and analyzing diverse sources, such as survey and economic data alongside digitized newspapers or books, or combining cultural heritage collections with other structured datasets. The broader question driving the competition was straightforward but ambitious: how can large-scale data analysis help scholars ask genuinely new questions and produce new insights about society, history, culture, and human behavior?
The challenge was organized as a joint international grant competition involving eight international research organizations, with an explicit focus on collaboration across disciplines and across national borders. The program emphasized that real progress in this area tends to happen when domain experts (humanists and social scientists) work closely with specialists in areas like computer science, information science, library and archival science, and related technical fields. In other words, the grant was not just about applying existing tools to humanities questions, but also about advancing or adapting methods of text and data analysis so they work well for humanities and social science materials, which are often messy, multilingual, historically uneven, and shaped by complicated provenance and rights constraints.
The opportunity laid out four core goals. First, it sought to promote the development and deployment of innovative large-scale data analysis techniques specifically suited to humanities and social science research. Second, it aimed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers spanning humanities, social sciences, computer sciences, and the library, archival, and information science communities, particularly around text and data analysis problems. Third, it was intended to strengthen international collaboration not only among researchers but also among funding organizations, reflecting the reality that key datasets and expertise are distributed globally. Fourth, it aimed to improve access to and sharing of research materials by encouraging work with data repositories and institutions that hold large digital collections, recognizing that data access, interoperability, and responsible reuse are often major bottlenecks.
In practical grant terms, the funding opportunity number was 20110616-HJ, and it fell under CFDA 45.169 (Promotion of the Humanities). NEH expected to make about 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $175,000 and no cost sharing or matching requirement. The posted date was March 16, 2011, with an application closing date of June 16, 2011 (archived July 16, 2011). Eligibility was restricted in an important way: it was open only to international research projects, and each proposed project had to be a collaboration among 2 to 4 teams, with each team representing one of the participating countries in the competition. The full details and participating-country requirements were referenced in the Digging into Data request for proposals. Additional information was available through the program website, and NEH provided a direct contact point through its Office of Digital Humanities for access issues or questions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Digging into Data Challenge?
The Digging into Data Challenge was a discretionary grant opportunity run by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Office of Digital Humanities. It was designed to push humanities and social science research further into large-scale, data-intensive methods (often called data-driven inquiry or cyberscholarship).
What problem or need was this grant program trying to address?
The program responded to an accelerating "data deluge" from two directions: (1) continuously generated modern datasets (for example, internet searches, consumer transactions, cell phone records, smart meters, and sensor networks), and (2) rapidly expanding digitized cultural and scholarly materials (for example, books, newspapers, journals, films, artworks, and sound recordings). The goal was to help scholars use large-scale data and computing techniques to ask new questions and produce new insights about society, history, culture, and human behavior.
What types of research approaches did the Challenge encourage?
The Challenge encouraged large-scale computational approaches that could work across massive digital collections to spot patterns, test hypotheses at scale, find connections across sources, and uncover inconsistencies that would be difficult or impossible to detect through traditional close-reading or small-sample methods alone.
Was this program limited to humanities, or did it include social sciences too?
It explicitly targeted both humanities and social science research, with the aim of bringing data-intensive methods to questions grounded in those fields.
What kinds of data sources could be used in projects?
The opportunity highlighted research that could link and analyze diverse sources. Examples included combining survey and economic data with digitized newspapers or books, or connecting cultural heritage collections with other structured datasets.
Did the program require interdisciplinary collaboration?
Yes. A central emphasis was that progress often happens when domain experts (humanists and social scientists) work closely with specialists in fields like computer science, information science, and library and archival science, especially on text and data analysis challenges.
Was this grant about using existing tools, or developing new methods too?
It was not only about applying existing tools. The program also emphasized advancing or adapting text and data analysis methods so they work well for humanities and social science materials, which may be messy, multilingual, historically uneven, and shaped by complex provenance and rights constraints.
What were the core goals of the Digging into Data Challenge?
The opportunity described four core goals: (1) promote innovative large-scale data analysis techniques suited to humanities and social science research; (2) foster interdisciplinary collaboration across humanities, social sciences, computer sciences, and library/archival/information science communities; (3) strengthen international collaboration among researchers and among funding organizations; and (4) improve access to and sharing of research materials by encouraging work with data repositories and institutions that hold large digital collections.
Was this a US-only program or an international competition?
It was a joint international grant competition involving eight international research organizations, with an explicit focus on collaboration across disciplines and across national borders.
How many awards did NEH expect to make?
NEH expected to make about 10 awards.
What was the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling was $175,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated that there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.
What was the funding opportunity number for this grant?
The funding opportunity number was 20110616-HJ.
What CFDA program did this fall under?
It fell under CFDA 45.169, Promotion of the Humanities.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The posted date was March 16, 2011. The application closing date was June 16, 2011. The listing was archived on July 16, 2011.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was restricted to international research projects. Each proposed project had to be a collaboration among 2 to 4 teams, and each team had to represent one of the participating countries in the competition (as specified in the Digging into Data request for proposals).
How many teams were required in each project?
Each proposed project had to include 2 to 4 collaborating teams.
Did teams have to come from specific countries?
Yes. Each team had to represent one of the participating countries in the competition, with the specific participating-country requirements referenced in the Digging into Data request for proposals.
Did the program emphasize working with data repositories or collection-holding institutions?
Yes. One of the core goals was to improve access to and sharing of research materials by encouraging work with data repositories and institutions holding large digital collections, recognizing that access, interoperability, and responsible reuse can be major bottlenecks.
Why did the Challenge emphasize international collaboration?
The opportunity noted that key datasets and expertise are distributed globally, and it aimed to strengthen international collaboration both among researchers and among funding organizations.
What kinds of scholarly questions was the program aiming to enable?
The driving question was how large-scale data analysis can help scholars ask genuinely new questions and produce new insights about society, history, culture, and human behavior.
Where could applicants find full details about participating organizations and requirements?
The opportunity referenced the Digging into Data request for proposals for full details, including participating-country requirements, and noted that additional information was available through the program website.
Who could be contacted for access issues or questions?
NEH provided a direct contact point through its Office of Digital Humanities for access issues or questions.
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