Opportunity Information: Apply for 20140501 PR
Apply for 20140501 PR
- The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Preservation and Assistance Research and Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.149 Promotion of the HumanitiesDivision of Preservation and Access.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 25, 2014 and posted on Feb 25, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 1, 2014. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education City or township governments Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Private institutions of higher education Special district governments County governments State governments.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Preservation and Access Research and Development grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 20140501 PR) is a discretionary grant program from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), administered through its Division of Preservation and Access under CFDA 45.149 (Promotion of the Humanities). Its purpose is to fund research and development projects that tackle major, field-wide problems in preserving humanities collections and improving access to them. The program is geared toward practical innovation: it supports efforts to create, test, and evaluate new methods, tools, workflows, or standards that help institutions and researchers protect cultural heritage materials and make them more usable over time.
The central focus is on addressing preservation and access challenges affecting materials that are vulnerable due to fragility, format instability, or technological change. This includes traditional physical items such as artifacts, rare books, archival records, manuscripts, photographs, and other paper-based or mixed-media objects, as well as time-based and audiovisual media like analog audio recordings. It also strongly emphasizes born-digital and digitized materials that face risks of technological obsolescence, including outdated file formats, aging storage media, and shifting software or hardware ecosystems. Alongside preservation, the opportunity highlights the need for better ways to search, discover, and use humanities resources, which can include improved discovery systems, metadata approaches, computational methods, and other advanced access strategies.
Applicants are expected to frame their proposal around a clearly defined, specific problem that has significance beyond a single organization. A competitive project would typically lay out the problem context, explain why current approaches are insufficient, and then propose a research-and-development plan that includes procedures for exploring potential solutions. The announcement stresses the importance of evaluation, meaning applicants should explain how they will assess whether their approach works, how they will measure outcomes, and what evidence will demonstrate improvement over existing practice. Equally important is dissemination: project teams should describe how they will share results so others can adopt, adapt, or build on them, whether through reports, publications, presentations, open tools, guidelines, datasets, or other forms of knowledge transfer. A key requirement is that the results must serve the needs of a significant number of humanists, signaling that NEH is looking for work with broad benefit to humanities scholarship, teaching, and cultural stewardship, not solutions tailored only to a narrow internal use case.
The funding details indicate an award floor of $1 and an award ceiling of $400,000, with no cost sharing or matching requirement. That structure allows proposals to range from small exploratory or pilot efforts to larger, more comprehensive development and testing projects, depending on scope and demonstrated need. The program is open to a wide set of eligible applicants, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including those with 501(c)(3) status and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education), as well as state, county, city/township, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. This breadth reflects the fact that humanities collections and preservation responsibilities are distributed across universities, libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and public-sector cultural institutions.
For the specific competition described in the source data, the opportunity was posted and created on February 25, 2014, with an original and current closing date of May 1, 2014. Additional program information was provided through the NEH website at http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation and access research and development. Applicants needing help accessing the full announcement were directed to contact the program at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, DC 20506, by phone at 202-606-8570 or by email at preservation@neh.gov.
Preservation and Access Research and Development (NEH) Grant FAQs
What is the Preservation and Access Research and Development grant?
It is a discretionary grant program from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), administered by the Division of Preservation and Access. It funds research and development projects that address major, field-wide problems in preserving humanities collections and improving access to them.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this program?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 20140501 PR.
Which NEH office administers this opportunity?
The program is administered through NEH's Division of Preservation and Access.
What is the CFDA number and program title associated with this grant?
This opportunity is listed under CFDA 45.149, Promotion of the Humanities.
What is the main purpose of the grant?
The purpose is to support practical innovation through research and development that creates, tests, and evaluates new methods, tools, workflows, or standards for preserving humanities materials and improving long-term access and usability.
What kinds of problems is NEH looking for projects to solve?
Projects should tackle significant preservation and access challenges that matter beyond one institution. The focus is on materials at risk due to fragility, format instability, or technological change, and on improving discovery and use of humanities resources.
What types of collections and materials are included?
The opportunity covers both physical and digital materials, including artifacts, rare books, archival records, manuscripts, photographs, paper-based or mixed-media items, and time-based/audiovisual media such as analog audio recordings. It also emphasizes born-digital and digitized materials threatened by obsolescence (outdated formats, aging storage media, and changing software/hardware environments).
Does the program support work focused on born-digital or digitized content?
Yes. The announcement strongly emphasizes born-digital and digitized materials facing risks from technological obsolescence, including obsolete file formats, aging storage media, and shifting software or hardware ecosystems.
Is the grant only about preservation, or does it include access improvements too?
It includes both. Alongside preservation, the opportunity highlights improved ways to search, discover, and use humanities resources. Examples mentioned include discovery systems, metadata approaches, computational methods, and other advanced access strategies.
What does NEH mean by "practical innovation" in this program?
It refers to R&D efforts that produce implementable improvements such as new or improved methods, tools, workflows, or standards, with testing and evaluation to show whether they work and how they improve on current practice.
How specific does the project problem statement need to be?
Applicants are expected to frame the proposal around a clearly defined, specific problem and explain why it is significant beyond a single organization.
Do projects need to have benefits beyond the applicant organization?
Yes. The opportunity stresses field-wide significance and indicates that results must serve the needs of a significant number of humanists, not just a narrow internal use case.
What should a competitive proposal include?
Based on the announcement description, a competitive project would typically (1) describe the problem and context, (2) explain why existing approaches are insufficient, (3) present an R&D plan with procedures for exploring solutions, (4) include an evaluation plan, and (5) include a dissemination plan for sharing results so others can adopt, adapt, or build on them.
Is evaluation required, and what is NEH expecting?
Evaluation is emphasized. Applicants should explain how they will assess whether the approach works, how outcomes will be measured, and what evidence will demonstrate improvement over existing practice.
Is dissemination required, and what kinds of dissemination are mentioned?
Dissemination is emphasized. Project teams should describe how they will share results so others can use them, such as through reports, publications, presentations, open tools, guidelines, datasets, or other knowledge-transfer methods.
What is the minimum award amount (award floor)?
The award floor is $1.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling is $400,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
What project sizes or phases can this funding support?
Because the award structure allows a wide range (from $1 up to $400,000) and there is no matching requirement, proposals may range from small exploratory or pilot efforts to larger development and testing projects, depending on scope and need.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) nonprofits and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education); state, county, city/township, and special district governments; and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.
Are government entities eligible applicants under this program?
Yes. State governments, county governments, city/township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments are listed as eligible.
Where can applicants find additional program information online?
Additional program information is available through the NEH website at http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation and access research and development
When was this opportunity posted?
For the competition described, the opportunity was posted and created on February 25, 2014.
What was the closing date for this specific competition?
The original and current closing date listed for this competition is May 1, 2014.
Who can applicants contact for help accessing the full announcement?
Applicants were directed to contact the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, DC 20506, by phone at 202-606-8570 or by email at preservation@neh.gov.
What is the best email address for program questions listed in the announcement?
The email address provided is preservation@neh.gov.
What phone number is listed for the program?
The phone number provided is 202-606-8570.
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