Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NEH Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities

What is the NEH "Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities" opportunity?

It is a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant opportunity that funds intensive training institutes in the digital humanities. The focus is on structured, hands-on learning programs (national or regional/multi-state) that help humanities scholars and advanced graduate students build advanced digital humanities skills.

What is the main purpose of this program?

The core purpose is capacity-building: increasing the number of humanities researchers and teachers who can confidently use digital technologies in scholarship and teaching, and spreading practical knowledge of advanced tools, methods, and emerging approaches that matter to humanities work.

Is this funding meant to support a single research project?

No. These grants are aimed at institute-style training programs rather than supporting a single research project. NEH is looking for learning experiences substantial enough to meaningfully change how participants conduct research or teach.

Who are the intended participants for the institutes?

The institutes are designed for humanities scholars and advanced graduate students who want to deepen their digital humanities skills.

What kinds of topics or activities can an institute cover?

Supported institutes help participants move beyond basic digitization into more advanced digitally enabled humanities work. Examples described include computational analysis of texts, sophisticated image or multimedia analysis, data modeling, digital mapping, platform-based scholarship, and other advanced methods that reshape traditional humanities questions and approaches.

Why does NEH emphasize advanced digital training for humanities scholars?

NEH highlights that modern humanities scholarship increasingly depends on complex digital data and the ability to interpret it. Humanities datasets can include digitized historical records, high-quality image collections, and multimedia materials, all of which are growing rapidly due to large-scale digitization and cheaper storage.

What kinds of digital materials and data does NEH mention as relevant to this program?

NEH specifically points to digitized historical records, high-quality image collections, and multimedia materials, as well as the broader growth of digital cultural content enabled by digitization initiatives and modern computing and networking environments.

What are the main goals NEH lays out for these institutes?

NEH describes several linked goals: (1) bringing humanities scholars together with digital technology specialists to exchange methods that advance humanities research and teaching; (2) helping participants think critically about new digital media and computing technologies and integrate them responsibly into scholarship; (3) developing skills so participants can design, develop, and use cyber-based tools and environments (not only as end users but also as informed collaborators); and (4) encouraging innovation and model-building that other humanities researchers can learn from.

Does NEH expect collaboration across disciplines?

Yes. The program strongly emphasizes multidisciplinary and collaborative training environments and encourages proposals built by teams that collectively provide the intellectual, technical, and practical expertise needed.

Who might be involved in delivering or supporting an institute?

NEH envisions institutes that bring together humanities faculty, advanced graduate students, computer scientists, and other relevant experts. The opportunity also notes that partnerships can involve public and private sector collaborators.

Can collaborators be based outside the United States?

Yes. The opportunity states that collaborators may include appropriate specialists based outside the United States, reflecting the international nature of digital scholarship and digital cultural heritage work.

What organizations can host an institute?

A wide range of organizations can host, including colleges and universities, learned societies, centers for advanced study, libraries or other repositories, and cultural or professional organizations.

What does NEH mean by a "suitable" host site?

NEH stresses that the host site or sites must be suitable for the project, meaning they should support serious scholarly work and collegial interaction among participants and instructors.

Does NEH allow flexibility in institute format and scheduling?

Yes. A project may be offered once or multiple times to different audiences, and it may be held more than once at different locations, as long as the duration and structure provide a complete and rigorous treatment of the topic rather than a superficial overview.

What is the maximum award amount for this opportunity?

The award ceiling is $250,000.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity states there is no required cost sharing or matching.

What type of award is this?

These are discretionary awards made in the form of grants.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants include federally recognized Native American tribal governments, state and local governments (including city or township governments), public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education).

What is the CFDA number and program name associated with this opportunity?

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

What is the Funding Opportunity Number?

The Funding Opportunity Number is 20090218 HT.

When was this opportunity posted, and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted on December 2, 2008, and the closing date was February 18, 2009.

Is this opportunity still active?

No. It is archived as of March 20, 2009. The description, however, still provides a clear picture of the program goals and the institute-based training model NEH was seeking to support.

Where did NEH provide additional guidance for applicants?

NEH provided guidance at http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/IATDH.html.

Which NEH office is associated with this program, and how can someone contact them?

The Office of Digital Humanities is the contact point, and the email listed is odh@neh.gov.

How does NEH describe the broader context driving this program?

NEH points to the rapid growth of humanities digital datasets and the expanding ability to access, share, and analyze digital materials due to newer networking and computing environments, middleware, and collaboration platforms. The institutes are meant to help scholars keep pace with and thoughtfully use these developments in humanities work.

What does NEH mean by "cyber-based tools and environments" in this context?

In this opportunity, NEH uses that phrase to describe digital tools, platforms, and computing environments used for scholarship, along with the skills needed to design, develop, and use them as part of humanities research and teaching.

What distinguishes an NEH-supported institute from a basic workshop or overview session?

NEH emphasizes that the institute must be intensive and substantial, offering thorough, hands-on exposure to a topic. The duration and structure should support a complete and rigorous treatment rather than a superficial overview.