Date posted: October 5, 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.163

Questions?

The National Endowment for the Humanities invites proposals for workshops that offer academically rigorous professional development programs for K-12 educators seeking to use digital resources to strengthen the teaching of the humanities. Workshops must have a cohesive course of study, address well-defined topics, and foster deeper and more informed engagement with the content-rich resources of the Internet, particularly the materials and lesson plans available through NEH's EDSITEment, a nationally recognized gateway to the best humanities materials on the World Wide Web.

The goals of the Digital Humanities Workshops are:

• to provide training and experience in the use of new technologies to strengthen the teaching of significant themes and topics in the humanities;
• to engage teachers in deepening their knowledge and understanding of the humanities through the use of online archives and other digital materials;
• to give teachers opportunities to observe and share models for effective use of digital resources in the K-12 classroom; and
• to encourage collaboration with humanities scholars who bring appropriate expertise on the topic of the project and on the use of new technologies in humanities teaching.

Workshops should be designed to offer a minimum of four full days of instruction, or the equivalent amount of hours spread over a longer period of time. As appropriate, workshops could, for example, be designed for one consecutive four-day session, or for a series of one-day or half-day sessions held at regular intervals over one or more months. Workshops must accommodate a minimum of 20 teachers at each session, not including any teachers served by a distance learning component. Participating teachers may be identified in the application or after the proposal is funded, as appropriate. Projects should feature humanities scholars who have expertise relevant to the workshop topic and appropriate experience in the use of new technologies in their teaching. Faculty for the workshop must be identified in the proposal, with evidence of their commitment to participate included in the application.

Projects serving 20 or more teachers from a single institution are eligible for funding up to $30,000. Projects serving a cluster of institutions and a larger number of teachers are eligible for funding up to $100,000. These larger projects also should explore distance education delivery through video, web-conferencing, or digital platforms. NEH expects that all programs to be held at locations that offer suitable technological infrastructure to support the proposed activities. Funds may be used to pay for visiting scholars, books and other materials, logistical support, and appropriate release time for project staff. Participants who complete the workshop will receive a stipend.

Proposals to provide workshops for teachers with limited access to professional development in the humanities are encouraged. These workshops may include classroom teachers in public, private, parochial, and charter schools, as well as home schooling parents. Project directors are encouraged to make arrangements with the appropriate state agency for participants to receive continuing education units (CEUs) or in-service credit.

Projects must have a plan for appropriate evaluation that will provide firm evidence of increased knowledge and skills on the part of the participants. Workshops must produce evidence of each participating teacher's new knowledge and increased skills, such as new lesson plans, course materials, or a research project. Master teachers may be involved to assist participants in carrying out individual projects or constructing new learning resources.

Providing Access to Grant Products

Types of Projects NOT Supported

• large-scale acquisition of computer equipment by schools or colleges;
• empirical social scientific research;
• specific policy studies;
• educational or technical impact assessments;
• work undertaken in the pursuit of an academic degree;
• the preparation or publication of textbooks;
• projects that focus on pedagogical theory, research on educational methods, tests, or measurements;
• cognitive psychology; or
• projects devoted to advocacy.

The Endowment currently sponsors one agency-wide program, We the People, and two initiatives, Rediscovering Afghanistan and the Digital Humanities Initiative. Below is information on each. The NEH encourages applications in these three special areas of interest.

We the People Grant Program

Rediscovering Afghanistan

Digital Humanities Initiative

Digital Humanities Workshops can be funded up to $30,000 in outright funds for projects serving a single institution; regional or multi-institutional programs may receive awards of up to $100,000. The grant period may run between twelve and eighteen months, depending on the project.

Any U.S. nonprofit organization or institution with IRS 501(c)(3) status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible to apply.

How to Prepare your Application

Application advice and proposal drafts

1. Table of contents Include all parts of the application, with page numbers.
2. Summary Provide a one-page, single-spaced summary of the narrative.
3. Narrative The narrative is an extended discussion of the project's content, activities, and intended beneficiaries. Narrative descriptions are limited to fifteen double-spaced pages. The font size should be no smaller than eleven point, and all pages should have one-inch margins. The narrative should refer to items included in the appendices. It must include the following:

   Intellectual Rationale

   The intellectual rationale must justify in a clear and persuasive manner the specific content, activities, and topics set forth in the project's plan. Describe which online resources will form the core of the study and why; explain the significance of the topics for the Digital Humanities Workshop. Place the project in its scholarly and educational context, and identify the intended impact on school teachers and their students.

   Content of the Project

   Explain the nature and structure of the digital resources to be used and how they are appropriate to learning the subject. Describe the approach, including presentation and discussion topics, and, in an appendix, provide a detailed work plan. Describe how the program will be structured and what will be expected of the participants. Describe plans for facilitating participants' individual projects, such as lesson plans, new curricula, or research papers.

   Project Faculty and Staff

   Identify, as appropriate, principal faculty, visiting lecturers, master teachers, and support staff. Describe their qualifications and responsibilities, and define the role that each member of the project team will have in ensuring successful completion of project goals. Enumeration of personnel should be supported in an appendix by up-to-date letters of commitment and brief résumés (two pages). The persons who bear primary intellectual responsibility for the workshop should submit full résumés in an appendix.

   Selection of Participants

   Include, when appropriate, information on how participants will be chosen. If participants are already selected, provide relevant information about them.

   Professional Development of Participants

   When appropriate, describe how the project will help teachers meet applicable curriculum frameworks and academic and technology standards. NEH recognizes that many participants will want to obtain continuing education units (CEUs) or in-service credit for their participation in a workshop. If the workshop has the potential for conveying professional development credit equivalency, then the application should discuss how the program will provide documentation for teachers interested in obtaining such credit from their school district or state.

   Institutional Context

   Briefly describe how the resources (e.g., faculty, digital humanities centers, libraries, archival or museum holdings) of the participating institution(s) support the project. Provide, in an appendix, a letter of commitment from an academic administrator that demonstrates institutional commitment to the implementation of the project.

   Dissemination and Evaluation

   Describe how the workshop will generate follow-up activity, maintain and extend a community of inquiry, and disseminate project materials. All other considerations being equal, NEH will give preference to projects that provide free, online access to digital materials produced with grant funds.

   Describe how the workshop will be evaluated. Directors should conduct their own formative and summative evaluations without the involvement of an outside evaluator.

4. Project Budget Using the instructions, complete the budget form (PDF). Review the following budget instructions in addition to those accompanying the budget forms. 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.
• Salaries and Wages Include all project personnel except participants and consultants who are not employees of the applicant institution. Calculations for faculty compensation should be based on a percentage of academic year or annual salary. NEH funds may not be used to hire replacement teachers or compensate faculty members for performing their regular duties. Compensation for support staff may be calculated as a percentage of salary or based on an hourly rate. Participants and consultants not employed by the applicant institution should be listed respectively under Other Costs and Consultant Fees.

  Salary compensation for employees of the applicant institution should be shown in the project budget as follows:

  • For project directors during the academic year, released time normally should not exceed one course per semester, or the equivalent.
  • For project directors during the summer, compensation is based on a percentage of the director's academic year salary. For example, one month of full-time work would equal one-ninth or 11.1 percent of a nine-month academic year salary. Each co-director receives 80% of these amounts.
• Consultant Fees List individuals contributing to the project as visiting lecturers and leaders of faculty study sessions. The honoraria for visiting scholars range from $350 to $500 per person per day. (Travel and subsistence costs should be entered in budget section 4.)
• Travel Travel and subsistence costs, including consultant, staff, and participant travel, should be calculated in conformity with institutional policy.
• Other Costs Stipends for workshop participants should be listed here. Stipends not to exceed $125 per day should be awarded to participants. Stipends should be commensurate with the time commitment expected of the participants. (College or university credit may be awarded to participants seeking it at the discretion of the applicant institution. If any filing fee or tuition is charged, it should be charged directly to those participants wishing to receive credit and should be fixed at the lowest possible rate. Such fees may not be deducted from the participant's stipend.)
• Inadmissible Budget Items The following costs are not allowable and may not appear in project budgets:
  • cost of substitute teachers or compensation for educators performing their regular duties;
  • costs related to the regular activities of the institution;
  • rental of recreational facilities and costs related to social events such as banquets, receptions, and entertainment;
  • tuition fees for participants (See above on "Other Costs");
  • travel associated with independent scholarly research; and
  • development of education technologies or materials that are solely pedagogical.
• Budget narrative (optional) If needed, include a brief supplement to the narrative explaining projected expenses or other items in the financial information provided on NEH's budget form.
5. Appendices Include only relevant supplementary materials, such as detailed agendas and workplans, reading lists, brief résumés (two pages), and letters of commitment. Each appendix should be identified clearly, listed in the table of contents, and numbered consecutively. The proposal narrative should refer to items included in the appendices.

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1. 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.
2. Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs -- this form asks for additional information about the project director, the institution, and the budget.
3. NEH Attachment Form -- this form allows you to attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.

1. Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically with "National Endowment for the Humanities."
2. 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.
3. Date Received: Please leave blank.
4. Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
5. 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 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.)
6. Project Information: Provide the title of your project. Your title should be brief, descriptive, and substantive. It should also be informative to a non-specialist audience. Provide a brief description of your project. The description should be written for a non-specialist 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
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: http://www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport.

1. Project Director: Use the pull down menu to select the major field of study for the project director.
2. Institution Information: Use the pull down menu to select your type of institution.
3. 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.
4. 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 (applicants should discuss their request with an NEH program officer before submitting such an application). 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.

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 summary. Please name the file "summary.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your narrative. Please name the file "narrative.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your budget. Please name the file "budget.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your detailed work plan, including the reading list for participants, the letters of commitment, and résumés. Please name the file "appendix.pdf".

If you are submitting a large number of appendices, please bundle them together and send them as a single attachment. If you are concerned about the file size, you can group your appendices into multiple attachments. In this case, please name your attachments appendix1.pdf, appendix2.pdf, appendix3.pdf, etc. Please note that you are limited to 15 attachments total for your entire application.

Do not embed any additional .pdf files within any of the attachments.

How to submit supplementary materials

Deadlines

Proposals for the Digital Humanities Workshops program are evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Intellectual Quality and Significance
   • Is the proposal's intellectual rationale clear and persuasive?
   • Does the study engage topics and texts important for understanding the humanities?
   • Does the project use online resources that are grounded in sound and current humanities research?
   • Do the principal faculty members have strong scholarly credentials and a demonstrated understanding of the role of digital resources in excellent humanities teaching?
2. Design and Feasibility
   • Are project activities well planned and described in adequate detail?
   • Are the project personnel qualified to carry out their proposed responsibilities?
   • Do letters from program directors, scholars, and master teachers demonstrate interest and commitment?
   • Does the institutional setting support the project's objectives, both in terms of intellectual resources and technological resources?
   • Are the plans for administration sound and well developed?
   • Are the costs of the project reasonable in view of its design and likely results?
3. Impact
   • Will the project strengthen the teaching of significant, well-defined topics in the humanities?
   • Will the experience stimulate teachers intellectually and professionally?
   • Will the project actively engage participants in the use of significant digital humanities resources?
   • Are there plans to disseminate the results of this project to those who will find them most useful?

Review and Selection Process

Administrative requirements

Award conditions

Reporting requirements

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Privacy Policy

Application Completion Time

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.