How to Apply for this Grant
- Read this Announcement
- Read the Application Instructions
- Download the Application from Grants.gov
Questions?
- Contact the NHPRC
E-mail:
nhprc@nara.gov* 
Telephone: 202-357-5010 
Fax: 202-357-5914
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Grant Announcement:
Publishing Historical Records-Founding Era
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission promotes the preservation and use of America's documentary heritage essential to understanding our democracy, history, and culture.
The following grant application information is for Publishing Historical Records-Founding Era.
- See also Publishing Historical Records grants and Publication Subvention grants.
NHPRC support begins no earlier than December 1, 2008.
See the Application Cycle for additional information.
The deadline for this opportunity has passed. New guidelines will be available in 2009. These guidelines may be used for reference, but should NOT be used to prepare an application.
Grant Program Description
These grants are available only to those projects currently funded for work on the papers of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and the documentary histories of the Ratification of the Constitution, and the First Federal Congress.
All other publishing projects should see our separate announcement for Publishing Historical Records.
Grants are awarded for collecting, describing, preserving, compiling, editing, and publishing documentary source materials.
The NHPRC does not fund proposals to purchase historical records.
Eligible Activities Include:
- Scholarly documentary editions in printed and bound volumes.
- Scholarly documentary editions in online, compact disc, and other formats.
- Image editions in online, compact disc, microfilm, and other formats.
- Conversion of existing print and microfilm editions to electronic publications.
- Combinations of the above.
Founding Era projects may apply for a grant for a new stage of their projects. These proposals will be judged by the same criteria as others in the grant competition. Budget and performance objective information in single-year proposals must be current. In the case of multi-year proposals, applicants are responsible for seeing that such information is updated as necessary, including, when appropriate, revision of budgets and performance objectives.
Award Information
Awards normally are for one, two, or three years and have ranged between $100,000 and $250,000. Founding Era projects are also eligible for Publication Subventions. For Founding Era projects, the Commission will supply up to 50 percent of a project's total (direct and indirect) costs.
Eligibility
Only currently funded organizations undertaking Founding Era projects are eligible to apply in this category.
How to Prepare an Application
You must submit your application via Grants.gov. See How to Apply for information on how to fill out the application forms.
Founding Era projects anticipating major changes in sponsorship, staffing, editorial policy, or method of publication, should submit a draft proposal at least 2 months before the deadline. In such cases, applicants are encouraged to contact the Director for Publication Projects at the NHPRC who may:
- Advise the applicant about the review process;
- Answer questions about what activities are eligible for support;
- Supply samples of successful applications; and
- Read and comment on a preliminary draft.
Completing the Application
A complete application includes a Project Narrative, Summary, Supplementary Materials, and Budget.
- We strongly suggest that before beginning the process, applicants consult the Federal grant administration rules and regulations governing grants from the NHPRC listed in the Administering an NHPRC Grant section.
The Project Narrative
The Project Narrative is a description of the proposal. It should be no more than 20 double-spaced pages in 12-pt type with standard margins. Address the requirements listed above, as well as the following questions:
Question 1: What is the purpose of the project and what are its goals?
Begin by making the case for the significance of
the documentary source materials you wish to publish. Show how their publication
will increase public understanding of history, culture, and the national
experience.
Question 2: What is the significance of the project in relation to the NHPRC's programs and goals?
Explain how the
project relates to the Commission's overall mission, vision, and goals,
particularly the Commission's goals. Describe the historical importance of
individuals, events, developments, organizations, and places whose history would
be documented by the project. For background, applicants may want to review the Commission's Strategic Plan.
Question 3: What is the plan of work for the grant period?
Please provide ample evidence of preliminary planning.
Applicants should have a realistic idea of the scope of work over the proposed
time period. Please describe which part(s) of the process for which you seek
funding, e.g., document collection, selection and arrangement, transcription,
annotation, indexing, and publication.
Outline each stage of the planned work within the grant period, and clarify complex work plans with a time chart identifying anticipated activities.
The Commission supports projects that adhere to generally accepted professional standards and procedures. For example, if the project involves electronic publication, please identify the technical standards you will use. Specify the methods you will use for document collection, selection and arrangement, transcription, annotation, and indexing.
The Commission expects documentary publishing projects, including electronic versions, to be maintained in their entirety in a non-software-dependent format for long-term access. Explain how the project will comply with archival preservation requirements.
Question 4: What publications will be produced during the grant period?
Describe the total number of volumes or other
products you plan to produce for both the grant period and the completed
project; indicate the project's anticipated year of completion; and explain any
changes in previous projections in these areas.
In accordance with Federal regulations, the Commission reserves, for Federal Government purposes, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work and authorize others to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work.
The Commission requires that you acknowledge NHPRC grant assistance in all publications and other projects that result from grant support.
Question 5: What are the qualifications of the personnel?
In the supplementary materials, please provide vitae of not more than two pages per person
for all staff named in the project budget. For those staff to be hired for the
project, provide job descriptions, specify the qualifications that will be
sought in candidates for vacant positions, and describe the roles to be played
by all project staff, consultants, and contractors. Explain any special training
planned for personnel.
The Commission encourages using advisory boards as a source of special expertise. If you have an advisory board, identify the members and give their qualifications, and share copies of the grant application with them.
Question 6: What are your performance objectives?
A list of Performance Objectives - measurable outcomes of your Federally-funded work - should also be included in the proposal. This list should include four to seven quantifiable objectives by which the project can be evaluated following the closing of the grant. You must also describe how your project met the objectives of its most recent grant period.
The Project Summary
The Project Summary should be no more than 3 double-spaced pages in 12-pt type with standard margins, and it must include these sections:
- Purposes and Goals of the Project
- Significance and Relationship to NHPRC Goals and Objectives
- Plan of Work for the Grant Period
- Products and Publications to be completed during the Grant Period
- Names, Titles, Institutions, Phone Numbers, and E-Mail Addresses of the Project Director and Key Personnel
- Performance Objectives
Supplementary Materials
Please attach up to 35 pages of Supplementary Materials to your Narrative, such as:
- Resumes of named staff members (required)
- Examples of position descriptions for staff to be hired with grant funds (required, if applicable)
- Statements of commitment to the project by partners, including records creators
- Your institution's mission, goals, and objective statements
- Publication contracts or expressions of interest from potential publishers
- Reviews of proejct director's books, articles, and other work dealing with subjects closely related to the proposed project
- Samples of work, including facsimiles of originals, annotations, and other materials
If these materials are available on a web site, please provide the URLs.
The Project Budget
A three-column NARA/NEH budget form has been developed for the convenience of those applicants who wish to identify the project costs that will be charged to Federal funds and those that will be cost shared. However, only the third column, Total, is used in determining total project costs. All of the items listed in the project budget, whether supported by grant funds or cost-sharing contributions, must be reasonable and necessary to accomplish project objectives, allowable in terms of the applicable Federal cost principles, auditable, and incurred during the grant period. Applicants should review the appropriate Office of Management and Budget circulars on cost principles.
Commission grants are for a portion of total project costs. The ratio of grant funds to the total project cost is indicated in the Award Information in this Grant Announcement. The balance is the cost sharing and is the responsibility of successful applicants. Cost sharing may include in-kind contributions (including volunteer labor and indirect costs), non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project, but may not include other Federal grants.
General Instructions
- Use the NARA/NEH Budget form found in the Grants.gov application package. Note that the form itself contains additional instructions.
- You may include with your application a narrative budget supplement; for example, to explain the specifications of employees' duties or equipment, the requirement and costs of consultants, or the need for travel funds.
- Charges to the project for items such as salaries, fringe benefits, travel, and contractual services must conform to the written policies and established practices of the applicant organization.
- For some projects, you may request funding for up to 3 years, but if the project will take 18 months or longer, you must provide a budget for each project year or fraction thereof.
- Provide specific budget figures, rounding to the nearest dollar.
Budget Categories
In preparing the budget, please follow the suggestions below in each of the categories:
Salaries: List each staff position and the full salary to be charged to the project and show the percentage of time each staff member will devote to the project. Indicate which positions are to be filled for the proposed project and which personnel are already on the staff of the applicant institution. Grant funds may be used to pay the salaries of only those individuals actually working on the project. You may count the time provided to the project by advisory board members.
Fringe Benefits: Include employee benefits using your organization's standard rates. No separate benefits should be included for positions that are computed at a daily rate or using honoraria.
Consultant Fees: Include payments for consultant services and honoraria. Provide justification for large or unusual consultant fees. Include consultant travel expenses in the "Travel" category.
Travel: Include transportation, lodging, and per diem expenses. The NHPRC does not fund staff travel to professional meetings unless the travel is essential to accomplish the goals of the project.
Supplies and Materials: Include routine office supplies and supplies ordinarily used in professional practices. Justify the cost of specialized materials and supplies in a supplemental budget narrative.
Services: Include the cost of duplication and printing, long-distance telephone, equipment leasing, postage, contracts with third parties, and other services that you are not including under other budget categories or as indirect-cost expenses. The costs of project activities to be undertaken by each third-party contractor should be included in this category as a single line item charge. Include a complete itemization of the costs in a supplemental budget narrative.
Other costs: Include costs for necessary equipment above $5,000, stipends for participants in projects, and other items not included in previous grant categories. The NHPRC does not provide grant funds for the acquisition of routine equipment such as office furnishings and file cabinets, but we may allow for the purchase of archival equipment, such as shelving units, and technical equipment, such as computers and peripherals, essential for a project. Include specifications for equipment over $5,000 in a supplemental budget narrative.
Indirect costs: Include reasonable or negotiated "overheard" costs. See the Budget Form instructions to determine how to calculate indirect costs. You should not include indirect costs that exceed your cost sharing obligation. You may waive indirect costs and instead include specific overhea costs in the appropriate budget categories.
Application Review
The NHPRC staff will acknowledge receipt of the application soon after we receive it. We then begin the evaluation process:
- Commission Staff
Staff make overall recommendations to the Commission based on the appropriateness of the project in meeting the Commission's goals, the proposal's completeness, conformity to application requirements and overall eligibility, and answers to the questions letter. - The Commission
After reviewing proposals, and evaluations by the Commission staff, Commission members deliberate on proposals and make funding recommendations to the Archivist of the United States who has final statutory authority. Throughout this process, all members of the Commission and its staff follow conflict-of-interest rules to assure fair and equal treatment of every application.
Application Cycle
This is a general guide to the Application Cycle and deadlines:
- April 1 – Submit draft to the NHPRC (optional).
- June 2 – Deadline - Final proposal submitted by this date to the NHPRC.
- November – Commission meets.
- December 1, 2008 – Earliest possible starting date for project.
Notification
Grants are contingent upon available appropriated funds. In some cases, the Commission will adjust grant amounts depending upon the number of recommended proposals and total budget. The Commission may recommend to the Archivist to approve the proposal and extend an offer of a grant with applicable terms and conditions, or it may recommend rejections of the proposal.
Grant applicants will be notified within 2 weeks after the Archivist’s decision.
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