Opportunity Information: Apply for 20160621 PR
Apply for 20160621 PR
- The NEH in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "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.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 18, 2016 and posted on Apr 18, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 21, 2016. (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 $350,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Research and Development grant program is a discretionary funding opportunity designed to support projects that tackle major, field-wide problems in preserving and providing access to humanities collections and resources. The core purpose is to push forward new methods, tools, or approaches that help libraries, archives, museums, and related cultural heritage organizations better care for and make discoverable the materials that underpin humanities scholarship and public knowledge. Rather than focusing on routine preservation work, the program emphasizes solutions to complex, persistent challenges that affect the broader cultural heritage community.
A central concern of the opportunity is the long-term preservation of culturally significant materials across many formats. This includes fragile physical items such as artifacts and manuscripts, as well as at-risk media like analog audio and video recordings. It also explicitly addresses digital preservation problems, especially the reality that digital files, storage media, and software environments can become unusable as technologies change. In parallel with preservation, the program prioritizes improved access, meaning projects that develop more advanced ways to organize, search, discover, and use humanities materials. The intent is not only to keep collections safe, but to make them meaningfully usable for research, teaching, and public programming.
Because these challenges often sit at the intersection of disciplines, NEH highlights the need for interdisciplinary project teams. Competitive projects are expected to bring together expertise from the humanities and from preservation fields, while also drawing on skills from information science, computer science, and the natural sciences when appropriate. This reflects the program's focus on research-and-development style work, where effective innovation often depends on combining domain knowledge about cultural materials with technical or scientific methods for analyzing, stabilizing, describing, or delivering them.
All proposed work must clearly show how the resulting advances in preservation and access will benefit the cultural heritage community. In practical terms, applicants need to connect their R&D outcomes to real-world humanities use cases, demonstrating how the project would strengthen or expand humanities research, improve teaching and learning, or enhance public-facing interpretation and programming. The program is oriented toward solutions with relevance beyond a single institution, implying that the most compelling projects are those whose methods, findings, or tools can be adopted, adapted, or scaled by others working with similar collections and constraints.
This opportunity was issued by NEH under Funding Opportunity Number 20160621 PR and is categorized under the Humanities (CFDA 45.149). The funding instrument is a grant, with an award ceiling of $350,000. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations, including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education). The original and current closing date listed for this posting was June 21, 2016, and the opportunity was created and posted on April 18, 2016.
NEH Research and Development Grants (Funding Opportunity Number 20160621 PR) - FAQs
1) What is the NEH Research and Development grant program?
The NEH Research and Development grant program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). It supports projects that address major, field-wide problems in preserving and providing access to humanities collections and resources, with an emphasis on research-and-development style work rather than routine preservation activities.
2) What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?
The program is designed to push forward new methods, tools, or approaches that help libraries, archives, museums, and related cultural heritage organizations better care for and make discoverable the materials that support humanities scholarship and public knowledge.
3) What types of challenges is the program trying to solve?
The program targets complex, persistent challenges that affect the broader cultural heritage community. It is focused on solutions to field-wide problems in long-term preservation and improved access, especially where innovation is needed.
4) Does this program fund routine preservation work?
No. The opportunity description emphasizes that the program is not focused on routine preservation work. Instead, it supports research-and-development efforts aimed at solving larger, more complicated preservation and access problems that matter to the field as a whole.
5) What kinds of materials are covered by the preservation focus?
The preservation focus includes culturally significant materials across many formats, including fragile physical items such as artifacts and manuscripts, at-risk media such as analog audio and video recordings, and digital materials that face long-term preservation risks.
6) How does the program address digital preservation?
The program explicitly recognizes that digital preservation is difficult because digital files, storage media, and software environments can become unusable as technologies change. Projects that develop approaches to address these kinds of technology-driven obsolescence issues align with the program priorities.
7) What does the program mean by "improved access" to humanities collections?
Improved access includes developing more advanced ways to organize, search, discover, and use humanities materials. The goal is not only to keep collections safe, but to make them meaningfully usable for research, teaching, and public programming.
8) What kinds of project outcomes is NEH looking for?
NEH is looking for advances such as new methods, tools, or approaches that strengthen preservation and access. The program framing suggests that strong projects will produce results that can be adopted, adapted, or scaled by others beyond the applicant institution.
9) Why does NEH emphasize interdisciplinary teams?
The opportunity highlights that many preservation and access challenges sit at the intersection of disciplines. Competitive projects are expected to combine expertise from the humanities and preservation fields, and may also incorporate information science, computer science, and the natural sciences when appropriate.
10) Who is expected to benefit from the funded work?
Projects must clearly show how the resulting advances will benefit the cultural heritage community. The opportunity is oriented toward solutions with relevance beyond a single institution, implying broader applicability across similar organizations and collections.
11) How should applicants connect the project to humanities use?
Applicants are expected to connect their research-and-development outcomes to real-world humanities use cases. This includes demonstrating how the project would strengthen or expand humanities research, improve teaching and learning, or enhance public-facing interpretation and programming.
12) What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?
The funding instrument is a grant.
13) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling for this opportunity is $350,000.
14) What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this program?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 20160621 PR.
15) What category and CFDA number does this opportunity fall under?
This opportunity is categorized under the Humanities and is listed under CFDA 45.149.
16) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education).
17) Are Native American tribal governments eligible?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are listed as eligible applicants.
18) Are institutions of higher education eligible?
Yes. Both public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are listed as eligible applicants.
19) Are nonprofit organizations eligible if they do not have 501(c)(3) status?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations without 501(c)(3) status are included as eligible applicants, provided they are not institutions of higher education.
20) What kinds of organizations are the intended users of the solutions developed?
The program description highlights libraries, archives, museums, and related cultural heritage organizations as key audiences for innovations that improve preservation and access to humanities collections.
21) What was the original and current closing date listed for this posting?
The original and current closing date listed for this posting was June 21, 2016.
22) When was this opportunity created and posted?
The opportunity was created and posted on April 18, 2016.
23) What makes a project a strong fit for this program based on the description?
Based on the description, strong-fit projects focus on research-and-development solutions to major, persistent preservation and access challenges; use interdisciplinary expertise; address long-term risks across physical, analog, and digital formats; and demonstrate benefits that extend beyond one institution by supporting humanities research, teaching, learning, or public programming.
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