Date posted: December 2, 2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.164
Questions?
Contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Public Programs at 202-606-8269 and
publicpgms@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired
applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
As part of the NEH’s
We the People program, Interpreting America’s Historic Places grants support public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture, including those that advance knowledge of how the founding principles of the United States have shaped and been shaped by American history and culture for more than two hundred years. Interpreting America’s Historic Places projects may interpret a single historic site or house, a series of sites, an entire neighborhood,
a town or community, or a larger geographical region. The place taken
as a whole must be significant to American history, and the project
must convey its historic importance to visitors. The audience for
Interpreting America’s Historic Places projects is the general public.
(For other public humanities projects that may not focus so closely
on historic places, refer to the implementation grant guidelines for
America’s
Historical and Cultural Organizations.)
The goals of Interpreting America’s Historic Places
are to
enhance lifelong learning in American history by connecting nationally significant events, people, ideas, stories, and traditions with specific places;
- foster the development of interpretive programs for the public that address central events, themes, and issues in American history; and
- encourage consultation with humanities scholars and history organizations in the development of heritage tourism destinations.
Interpreting America’s Historic Places projects should
- interpret a place that played a significant role in American history;
- enrich the visitor experience at one or more historic places by interpreting these places in light of broader themes in American history;
- make use of the specific features of one or more historic places—the site, its location, buildings, or other natural or built
features—as integral parts of the proposed interpretation;
- build on sound humanities scholarship;
- involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and implementation;
- approach the subject thematically, analytically, and interpretively through an appropriate variety of perspectives;
- interest broad audiences; and
- employ appealing and accessible program formats that will actively engage the public in learning.
Applicants with experience in developing and implementing humanities programs are encouraged to apply. But applicants without such experience—examples might include economic development agencies and agencies of local, state, or tribal governments—are also encouraged to apply. Such applicants are, however, encouraged to work in close partnership with at least one partner organization that does have experience in developing and implementing humanities programs.
Project formats for Interpreting America’s Historic Places implementation grants might include visitor orientation exhibits, interpretive displays and labeling, revised scripts and education training materials for docents, publications such as brochures or guidebooks, interpretive driving or walking trails or tours, annotated itineraries, trail signage, video or audio displays, on-site interactive media, and digital products.
Applications that make innovative use of emerging technologies are encouraged. Projects should do more than simply provide a digital archive of material. They should offer new ways of contextualizing and interpreting information so as to engage public audiences interactively in exploring humanities ideas and questions. Applications may, for example, include plans to create Web sites, PDA tours and resources, podcasts, virtual environments, wiki formats or others that utilize user-generated content, virtual imaging, GIS mapping, online scholar-led discussions, video on demand, streaming video, games, or other formats. Digital components must rest on sound humanities scholarship and enhance the project’s humanities content in ways that take unique advantage of the proposed formats.
Support is also available for projects that build new programs
around previously funded NEH projects, creating complementary formats
that will add new dimensions to the original project. A film project,
for example, might be enhanced by a project that interprets one or more
historic places. A visitor’s experience of a place might be deepened and
extended to virtual visitors through a content-rich companion Web site.
A well-interpreted historic place might expand its visitor experience
through stronger interpretive connections with other historic places.
Projects that would develop film, radio (including related podcasts),
or television programs as the primary grant product should follow separate
guidelines for
America’s Media Makers.
NEH especially encourages Chairman’s Special Award projects that promise to reach exceptionally
large audiences. Such projects might
- combine diverse and wide-ranging interpretive formats that attract new audiences or expand and deepen in new ways an audience’s engagement with American history and culture;
- tie a variety of historic places together coherently within a broad, multithematic interpretive framework; or
- build on collaboration among statewide or regional agencies
or organizations (e.g., parks and recreation systems, heritage areas, state
humanities councils, etc.).
The following are possible examples of these kinds of projects:
The historic home of a U.S. president reconceptualized its site interpretation in a new visitors center and Web site that situated the house within a broader context. In addition, a small traveling exhibition concerning the house and the president’s legacy was created, to reach venues throughout the country. The Web site was enhanced to include virtual tours and significant historical background.
A state historical agency coordinated efforts to link state historic sites together in order to explore common themes and ideas on the occasion of the sesquicentennial of the U.S. Civil War. During the sesquicentennial year, sites will be linked statewide via a Web site that offers information on the individual programs, suggestions for driving tours, and additional content that helps contextualize the sites as they relate to larger historical events.
Each project should be guided by a team of advisers who have helped develop the project’s concepts and themes. The advisory team’s expertise normally complements that of the applicant’s staff. The team must include humanities scholars. As needed, it may also include others with experience and knowledge appropriate to the project’s formats or technical requirements. Competitive proposals have a variety of scholars representing a wide range of humanities perspectives. In contrast, projects that rely on a single consultant are not competitive.
Applicants for implementation grants should already have done most of the detailed planning for their projects, including consultation with scholars and programming advisers, elaboration of the key humanities themes, articulation of program components, and performance of relevant research.
Support is available for all typical activities connected with the implementation of a project, including
- final collaboration with scholars or other advisers,
- final design and fabrication of exhibits and signage,
- development of Web sites and multimedia products,
- completion of interactive components,
- publication of interpretive materials for the general public,
- publicity and promotion,
- staff training specifically for the project’s interpretive programs,
- development of teachers’ guides and curriculum materials,
- presentation and distribution of public programs and related materials, and
- audience evaluation.
Implementation grants may not be used for the following types of programs or activities:
single-site temporary exhibitions;
purchase of art, artifacts, or collections;
dramatic adaptations of literary works;
professional development;
expenses for program venues in foreign countries;
projects that will satisfy requirements for educational degrees or formal
professional training;
programs primarily for students in formal learning environments;
general operations, renovation, restoration, rehabilitation, or construction;
projects primarily devoted to basic background research on the subject, as opposed to actual refinement of the interpretive ideas and formats;
projects for preservation, cataloging, or archiving;
projects that seek to persuade participants of a particular political, philosophical, religious, or ideological point of view;
projects that advocate a particular program of social action; or
print publications that are not an integral part of a larger set of interpretive activities for which funding is being requested.
Providing Access to Grant Products
As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, NEH endeavors to make the products of its awards available to the broadest possible audience. Our goal is for scholars, educators, students, and the American public to have ready and easy access to the wide range of NEH award products. Such products may include traveling exhibitions, reading and discussion programs, long-term museum installations, historic site interpretation, community programs in the humanities, digital tools, Web sites, and the like. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
Successful applicants will be awarded a grant in outright or matching funds,
depending on the applicant's preference and the availability of NEH funds.
Awards are usually made for a period of eighteen to thirty-six months. Awards typically do not exceed $400,000.
However, awards of up to $1,000,000 are available for Chairman’s Special Award projects that
would have exceptional significance and exceptionally wide reach to audiences through any of the following:
- collaboration with multiple institutional partners;
- a wide-ranging combination of diverse formats (i.e., exhibitions, reading and discussion programs, digital formats,
lecture series, symposia, neighborhood tours, curriculum guides, publications, and broadcast media); or
- programming at a large number of venues.
Please note that NEH support for a project in an early stage does not imply commitment for ongoing support. Proposals for successive phases of a project must be submitted separately and are evaluated independently.
Cost Sharing
Although cost sharing is not required, NEH is rarely able to support the full costs of projects approved for funding. In most cases, NEH grants cover no more than 50-60 percent of project costs.
(
Learn more about different types of grant funding.)
Any U.S. nonprofit organization with IRS 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies.
Individuals are not eligible to apply.
NEH generally does not award grants to other federal entities or to
applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity
that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own
authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using grant
funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities
in their projects.
If an application for a project is already under review, another application
for the same project cannot be accepted.
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
Application advice and proposal drafts:
Prior to submitting a proposal, you are encouraged to contact program officers who
can offer advice about preparing the proposal, supply samples of funded applications,
and review preliminary proposal drafts. NEH recommends that drafts be submitted at least six weeks
before the deadline so that staff will have adequate time to respond. Staff comments are not
part of the formal review process and have no bearing on the final outcome of the proposal,
but previous applicants have found them helpful in strengthening their application.
Drafts should not be submitted via Grants.gov.
Your application should consist of the following parts:
- Table of contents
List all parts of the application with corresponding page numbers.
- Budget
Using the
instructions, complete the
budget form (14-page PDF). If you wish,
you may attach separate pages with notes to explain any of the budget items in more detail.
Applicants are advised to retain a copy of the PDF containing their budget form.
- Narrative
The narrative should not exceed ten single-spaced pages, with one-inch margins. At least 11-point type should be used. Narratives for Chairman’s Special Award projects should not exceed fifteen pages. The narrative should contain the following information, in this order:
- The nature of the request
Briefly summarize your project in one or two paragraphs. Describe the subject,
the interpretive format(s), and the main themes. State the amount of money requested
from NEH and the total project budget. Identify any related public programs
that are part of the project. Explain the appropriateness of the project
for your organization.
Applications that build on previously funded NEH projects by adding new program formats must describe
the previous project’s components, explain what the new formats would be, indicate how they would effectively
enhance the previous project, and explain how new audiences would be reached and what new interpretive
possibilities would be added.
For exhibitions, outline the expected size (i.e., square footage and
approximate number of objects), anticipated opening date, and venues.
- Project introduction
Identify the place to be interpreted and explain what makes it nationally significant.
What happened there and why is it important? What central themes or issues in American
history will the project address? Identify the historical subject matter of the project,
its interpretive approach, and its use of significant humanities themes. Discuss the
relationship of the themes to relevant humanities scholarship.
Explain why the project will appeal to the public and what you expect
people to learn. How will the specific attributes of the place—the site,
its location, buildings, landscape, or other natural or built features—be made
an integral part of the visitor’s learning experience?
Indicate whether the place has received a “Preserve America,” “Save America’s Treasures,” or
“America’s Heritage Rivers” designation, and note briefly how national historic significance
or interpretation was part of that designation.
Note other significant awards or designations (e.g., National Historic Landmark, National Heritage area, state-designated historic landmark or heritage area).
Give a brief history of the project to date (e.g., any previous funding from any other sources, development activities, research already completed, consultation with scholars or other advisers, contacts with partner organizations, and other related activities). If appropriate, describe the relationship of the project to others on the topic, and explain what its unique
contribution would be. How does this proposed interpretation differ from what was previously available at this historic place?
- Description
Describe the assets of the site(s) (e.g., buildings, natural features, landscape, collections of objects, images, documents) and how they will be used effectively to convey the
project’s themes.
If necessary, discuss how permission or rights will be obtained for key materials and the likely costs of obtaining those rights.
If your application is for the higher Chairman’s Special Award level of funding, explain why the institutional collaborations, number of program formats,
or broad reach to audiences make the project a good candidate for additional implementation funds. Explain why it would be unusually significant and appealing, and why it would have exceptionally broad reach throughout the country.
- Audience
Discuss how the project will broaden public understanding of American
history and culture. Describe, to the extent possible, the expected
audiences for each project component or site, including any targeted or
hard-to-reach groups. Explain your plans for publicizing the project.
Outline audience evaluation strategies, including any formative
or summative evaluation, whether proposed or completed.
- Organization History
Provide a short profile of your organization and other major partner organizations.
These descriptions should include the
-
institutional mission, origin, and size;
annual operating budget;
-
annual number of visitors;
-
special characteristics and current activities; and
-
humanities resources (such as collections or staff).
Limit this profile to one page for major partners and a half page
for each of the other collaborating organizations. If the institutions involved have
any prior experience in cooperating with one another, describe that experience and
the nature of those partnerships.
Project team
Describe the key members of the project team, including staff members, scholars,
technical advisers, and other program experts (curators, educators, heritage tourism
professionals, etc.). Use two or three lines each to describe the qualifications and
contributions of each project team member. Organize this information into two sections:
one for staff from your institution and one for outside consultants.
Include specific details on the responsibilities of each collaborating organization when appropriate.
Résumés (two pages or less) for each person listed and letters of commitment from consultants should be included in the appendices.
- Work Plan
Provide a detailed month-by-month schedule of the specific tasks and the individuals responsible for them. It is often helpful to present this section in a grid format. Clearly indicate when the planning team will meet; explain the expected results of each meeting.
- Fund raising plans
If the applicant institution intends to share some of the costs, explain how it
will meet its share of the costs and outline the fund raising plan. Note that
NEH is rarely able to support full costs of projects approved for funding.
- Special requirements
In this section of the proposal you are asked to demonstrate how the humanities content of your project will be communicated to the public. You may use up to fifteen single-spaced pages to provide this information. Graphics and interpretive text samples are not included in this fifteen-page limit.
- Information on admission (required of all applicants)
Institutions hosting NEH-supported projects must provide several hours of free admission each week. Provide a statement of general admission policies for your institution as well as the proposed admission policy for all anticipated sites. If admission fees will be used to defray costs of the project, include the anticipated amount
of revenue under “Project Income” in Section B of the budget.
- Visitor walkthrough (required)
Provide a map or site plan of the place to be interpreted and a “descriptive
tour” detailing how a typical visitor might experience it
as a whole, feature by feature.
-
Provide a description of each component of the project (exhibit, trail, docent tour, brochure,
podcast, etc.).
- Explain why the proposed components are appropriate interpretive tools for this place and your anticipated audience(s). For each component, explain how it will help illuminate the interpretive themes for the visiting public. Make specific references to one or more assets of the place: for example, a house, a room, an artifact, the landscape, or the geographic location. Explain how each component will make the visitor’s experience of the place different from what it is now.
- Provide images of houses, fields, bridges, artifacts, rooms, and other features that are important
to the story to be told.
- Include samples of interpretive aids from each interpretive component, such as
- text for labels, signs, or brochures;
- scripts for docent tours or living history presentations;
- video or multimedia segments; or
- proposed trail signage, if the project involves heritage trails or walking tours.
- Exhibition walkthrough (if applicable)
If one of your project components is an exhibition or house tour,
explain the interpretive strategies and the design philosophy for
the exhibition.
- Provide a “descriptive tour,” showing how a typical visitor would experience it section by section.
- Explain how the takeaway messages will be conveyed.
- Include five to ten sample illustrations of objects or images, sample text for four to five labels, and two to three panel texts as part of the walkthrough.
- Provide a complete exhibition floor plan and elevations of at least two sections of the exhibition.
- Public Programs (if applicable)
Describe any ancillary programs that are part of your project, including conferences,
lectures, and other one-time or occasional events. Specify the topics, identify
participating speakers, and describe the expected audiences.
- Publications (if applicable)
Describe the content (including brief abstracts of essays), author(s), format, estimated print run,
distribution plans, and sale price of any publications for which funding is requested. Explain how
these publications will enhance the learning experience of the general public visiting the place.
- Audiovisual and multimedia components (if applicable)
Provide a description of each video or multimedia component of the project,
including Web sites. If possible, include a script or story line and a description
of the images that will be used. Explain how the multimedia components will enhance
the visitor’s experience of the place.
If a Web site or other product involving new technologies will be a critical
interpretive tool and will represent a large portion of the funds requested
from NEH, applicants should provide the following information:
- Describe the user experience. Outline the proposed pathways that would guide a “virtual visitor” through the material. Explain how the images, audio, text, and interactivity would enhance and contextualize the user’s understanding of the place and the project’s interpretive themes. Include screen shots.
- Describe how the user front-end evaluation and beta-testing will take place.
- Describe the technical plan and outline the specific material, both audio and visual, that will be used. Explain how this material will be formatted and processed.
- Describe the hardware and software to be used and the reasons for the choices.
- Include evidence that appropriate permissions have been or can be secured for the materials that will be included.
- Describe the distribution or marketing plan, explaining how the product will be publicized and made available to audiences.
- For Web sites, provide plans for regular site management, including updating the humanities content, server maintenance and security, monitoring of traffic, and collecting user feedback.
- For Web sites, include a working prototype on a disk or via a functioning URL; for a CD-ROM or DVD, provide a working prototype on disk. The prototype should provide working links to all major sections of the proposed product and should present one representative section in detail.
Include samples of previous related work. If members of the digital team have not worked together before, separate samples should be submitted for each principal member. (See instructions below on “
How to Submit Supplementary Materials.”)
Append a page to the end of the narrative, describing the sample or samples of the companion digital component and indicating the roles played by each person on the digital team. In addition, please specify the platform on which the sample component is designed to operate.
If the digital work is on a Web site, provide the URL and clearly indicate that this Web site is your work sample. If the sample work is on a DVD or CD, follow the instructions
in the “
How to Submit Supplementary Materials” section below.
If you have questions about the appropriate amount of information that needs to be included in this section of the proposal, contact a program officer for specific guidance.
Web sites should be designed in accordance with accepted standards for accessibility and usability by members of the general public, including those with visual and other disabilities.
- Oral history components (if applicable)
If the project uses oral histories, the applicant should provide the following:
- a statement that the oral histories have been or will be conducted according to the guidelines of the
Oral History Association,
- an outline of proposed topics for the interviews,
- a list of the people to be interviewed or a description of the criteria for their selection and the plans for their recruitment,
- the qualifications of the interviewers,
- a discussion of how the interviews will complement the project’s other resources, and
- a copy of the permission or release form.
- Appendices
The following information should appear in the application’s appendices:
- résumés (two pages or less) of all key project staff and consultants;
- letters of commitment from consultants and collaborating organizations;
- a bibliography of sources;
- documentation of awards and designations; and
- if appropriate, a description of the collections or archives upon which the project is based, if not already covered in the narrative.
- Supplementary materials
Applicants may include supplementary materials, such as slides
(up to ten, with brief captions), photographs, catalogs, or sample
work for presentation at the panel meeting. See the instructions below
on how to submit these materials.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION VIA GRANTS.GOV
Register or Verify Registration with Grants.gov
Applications for this program must be submitted via
Grants.gov. Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register with the Web site to create an institutional profile. Once registered, your organization can then apply for any government grant on the Grants.gov Web site.
If your organization has already registered and you have verified that your registration is still valid, you may skip this step. If not, please see our handy
checklist to guide you through the registration process.
We strongly recommend that you complete your registration at least two weeks before the application deadline, as it takes time for your registration to be processed.
If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.
Download the Free Adobe Reader software
To fill out a Grants.gov application package, you will need to download
and install the current version of Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader,
which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular
operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe Web site
(
www.adobe.com).
Once installed, the current version of Adobe Reader will allow you to view and fill out Grants.gov
application packages for any federal agency. If you have a problem installing Adobe Reader, it
may be because you do not have permission to install a new program on your computer. Many
organizations have rules about installing new programs. If you encounter a problem, contact
your system administrator.
Download the Application Package
To submit your application,
you will need to download the application package from the Grants.gov
Web site. You can download the application package at any time.
(You do not have to wait for your Grants.gov registration to
be complete.) Click the button at the right to download the
package.
Save the application package to your computer’s hard drive. To open the application package, select the file and double click. You do not have to be online to work on it.
You can save your application package at any time by clicking the “Save” button at the top of your screen.
Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you may receive an error
message indicating that your application is not valid if all of the forms have not been completed. Click “OK” to save your work and complete
the package another time. You can also use e-mail to share the application package with members of your organization or project team.
The application package contains three forms that you must complete in
order to submit your application:
- Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - Short
Organizational (SF-424 Short)—this form asks for basic
information about the project, the project director, and the
institution.
- Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs—this form asks for additional information about the project director,
the institution, and the budget.
- NEH Attachment Form—this form allows you to
attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE
APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE SF-424 SHORT FORM
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please
provide the following information:
- Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in
automatically with “National Endowment for the Humanities.”
- Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This
will be filled in automatically with the CFDA number and title of the
NEH program to which you are applying.
- Date Received: Please leave blank.
- Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in
automatically.
- Applicant Information: In this section, please
supply the name, address, employer/taxpayer identification number
(EIN/TIN), DUNS number, Web site address, and congressional district of the institution.
Also choose the “type” that best describes your
institution (you only need to select one).
If your institution is located, for example,
in the 5th Congressional District of your state, put a “5.”
If your institution doesn’t have a congressional district (e.g.,
it is in a state or U.S. territory that doesn’t have districts
or is in a foreign country), put a “0” (zero).
All institutions applying to federal grant programs are required to
provide a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, as part of their
application. Project directors should contact their institution’s grant
administrator or chief financial officer to obtain their institution’s
DUNS number. Federal grant applicants can obtain a DUNS number free of
charge by calling 1-866-705-5711. (
Learn more about the
requirement.)
- Project Information: Provide the title of your
project. Your title should be brief, descriptive, and substantive. It
should also be informative to a nonspecialist audience. Provide a brief
description of your project. The description should be written for a
nonspecialist audience and clearly state the importance of the proposed
work and its relation to larger issues in the humanities. List the
starting and ending dates for your project.
- Project Director: Provide the Social Security
Number, name, title, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and
fax numbers for the project director. Disclosure of Social Security
Numbers is optional. NEH uses them for internal application processing
only.
- Primary Contact/Grants Administrator: Provide the
contact information for the official responsible for the administration
of the grant (e.g., negotiating the project budget and ensuring
compliance with the terms and conditions of the award). This person is
often a grants or research officer or a sponsored programs official.
Normally, the Institutional Grants Administrator is not the same person
as the Project Director. If the project director and the grant
administrator are the same person, skip to item 9.
- Authorized Representative: Provide the contact
information for the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) who is
submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person,
often called an “Authorizing Official,” is typically the president, vice
president, executive director, provost, or chancellor. In order to
become an AOR, the person must be designated by the institution’s
E-Business Point of Contact. For more information, please consult the
Grants.gov user guide, which is available at: www.Grants.gov/CustomerSupport.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE SUPPLEMENTARY COVER SHEET FOR NEH GRANT PROGRAMS
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please
provide the following information:
- Project Director: Use the pull-down menu to select
the major field of study for the project director.
- Institution Information: Use the pull-down menu to
select your type of institution.
- Project Funding: Enter your project funding
information. Note that applicants for Challenge Grants should use the
right column only; applicants to all other programs should use the left
column only.
- Application Information: Indicate whether the
proposal will be submitted to other NEH grant programs, government
agencies, or private entities for funding. If so, please indicate where
and when. NEH frequently cosponsors projects with other funding sources.
Providing this information will not prejudice the review of your
application.
For Type of
Application, check “new” if the application requests a new period of funding, whether for a new project or the next phase of a project previously funded by NEH. Check “supplement” if the application requests additional funding for a current NEH grant. If requesting a supplement, provide the current grant number. Before submitting an application for a supplement, applicants should discuss their request with an NEH program officer.
For Project Field
Code, use the pull-down menu to select the humanities field of
the project. If the project is multidisciplinary, choose the field that
corresponds to the project’s predominant discipline.
HOW TO USE THE NEH
ATTACHMENT FORM
You will use this form to attach the various files that make up your application.
Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don’t already have software to convert your files into PDFs, there are many low-cost and free software packages available. To learn more, go to
http://www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.
When you open the NEH Attachment Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons, labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order so that we can identify them. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below:
ATTACHMENT 1: To this button, please attach your table of contents.
Please name the file “contents.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your budget. Please name the file “budget.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your narrative. Please name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your special requirements for implementation proposals. Please
name the file “special.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your résumés. Please name the file “resumes.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 6: To this button, please attach your letters of commitment. Please name the file “letters.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 7: To this button, please attach your bibliography. Please name the file “bibliography.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 8: To this button please attach your documentation of awards and designations. Please name the file
“documentation.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 9: To this button, please attach your description of collections or archives. Please name the file
“description.pdf”.
You may include links via URL in these files, but do not embed any additional PDF files within any of the attachment PDF
files.
Use the remaining buttons to attach any additional materials (if appropriate). Please give these attachments meaningful file names and ensure that they are PDFs.
UPLOADING YOUR APPLICATION
TO GRANTS.GOV
When you have completed all three forms, use the right-facing arrow to move each of them to the “Mandatory Documents for Submission”
column. Once they have been moved over, the “Submit” button will activate. You are now ready to upload your application package
to Grants.gov.
During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives).
These AORs typically work in your institution’s Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your
application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that was assigned to
him or her during the registration process.
To submit your application, your computer must have an active connection to the Internet. To begin the submission process, click the “submit” button. A page will appear, asking you to sign and submit your application. At this point, your AOR will enter his or her username and password. When you click the “sign and submit application” button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov. Please note that it may take some time to upload your application package, depending on the size of your
files and the speed of your Internet connection.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a tracking number, will
appear, indicating that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this
page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail.
NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. That way, should you encounter a
technical problem of some kind, you will still have time to contact the
Grants.gov help desk for support. The Grants.gov help desk is open Monday
to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-518-4726. You
can also send an e-mail to
support@grants.gov.
HOW TO SUBMIT SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
In addition to any required work samples, applicants may also include supplementary materials, such as slides (up to ten, with brief captions), photographs, catalogs, CD-ROMs, etc., for presentation at the panel meeting.
Please provide seven copies of each item. If you are sending supplementary materials, please include in your Grants.gov submission a list of the materials to be sent separately. Send the materials to
Interpreting America’s Historic Places: Implementation Grants
Division of Public Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 426
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20506
202-606-8269
To identify the proposal that the samples accompany, indicate the title of the project, the name of the project director, and the applicant institution.
NEH continues to experience lengthy delays in the delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service, and in some cases materials are damaged by the irradiation process. We recommend that supplementary materials be sent by a commercial delivery service to ensure that
they arrive intact by the receipt deadline.
Samples will not be retained by the Endowment, and they will not be returned to the applicant.
Deadlines
Applications must be received by Grants.gov by January 28, 2009,
for projects beginning in September 2009. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded.
Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted. Supplementary
materials must also arrive at NEH by January 28, 2009, to be considered as part of the application.
Late applications will not be reviewed.
Evaluators are asked to apply the following criteria:
- Intellectual content: How well does the project deal with significant
humanities themes? Is it broadly conceived, based on sound scholarship,
and appropriately analytical?
- Fit with Interpreting America’s Historic Places goals: Is
the place significant to American history? Does the applicant propose to
incorporate attributes of the specific place—the site, its location,
buildings, landscape, or other natural or built features—as an integral
part of the story? Does the proposed interpretation of the place address
central themes and issues in American history?
- Audience interest and reach: Does the applicant demonstrate that
the proposed interpretation is likely to enhance a visitor’s experience
of one or more places? Will the topic have broad public appeal and expand
the public’s understanding of American history? Will the project draw
in and engage audiences effectively? Could it be adapted for other places?
- Justification for higher funding: If the application requests the
higher Chairman’s Special Award level of funding, how convincing
is the case that the project involves a large number of institutional partners,
combines several different program formats, is of unusual public appeal,
or has unusually broad reach?
- Format: Are the program formats appropriate for presenting the
events, ideas, and themes that will convey the national significance of
the place? If the project involves multiple formats, how well do they complement
and support one another? If the project relies substantially on user- or
audience-generated content, is it clear how that material would be reviewed
and made publicly available? If the project expands on a previously funded
NEH project, how well do the new formats complement and expand the original
humanities content, and how well do they reach different audiences?
- Resources: Have the appropriate materials and resources been clearly
identified? Are they the right ones for the project, and are they available?
- Project team: Does it have the necessary expertise, interpretive
experience, and technical skills? Has a team of humanities scholars been
effectively involved?
- Work plan: Is it realistic, clearly outlined, and efficient?
- Budget: Are the project’s costs
realistic, appropriate, and reasonable?
All other considerations being equal, preference will be given to projects that provide free access to materials produced with grant funds.
Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. The Endowment’s staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account
the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.
Award notices
Applicants will be notified by mail in September 2009 of the decision. Institutional grants administrators and project directors of successful applications will also receive at that time award documents by mail. Applicants may obtain the evaluations of their applications by sending a letter or e-mail to NEH, Division of Public Programs, Room 426, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506 or
publicpgms@neh.gov.
Administrative requirements
Award conditions
Reporting requirements
A schedule of report due dates will be included with the award document.
If you have questions about the program, contact:
Division of Public Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 426
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20506
202-606-8269
Privacy Policy
Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.
Application Completion Time
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates the average time to complete this application is fifteen hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application.
Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities,
Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134),
Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond
to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.