Date posted: July 11, 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.164

Questions?
Program questions should be directed to the
We the People program at 202-606-8337 or wtplincoln@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants
can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.

NEH invites proposals for a cooperative agreement to develop and tour nationally a panel exhibition on the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln and to develop and publish supplementary educational materials to be distributed to each of the exhibition’s host sites. NEH expects the exhibition to be circulated to at least forty sites (historical societies or libraries) throughout the United States in 2008-2009. This project is one of several programs through which NEH will encourage public celebration of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. The exhibition tour should be scheduled to include the anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in February of 2009 The exhibition should address the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln broadly. Panels should present significant original documents and artifacts within the framework of a well researched, clear, compelling, and balanced interpretive narrative. The exhibition should provide visitors with a visually appealing and interactive experience and should be accompanied by engaging programs for the public, as well as the use of new, robust technology.

The exhibition should:

• be based on sound scholarship;
• involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and implementation;
• be of interest to broad audiences;
• deepen public understanding of Abraham Lincoln’s life and legacy;
• approach the subject thematically, analytically, and interpretively through an appropriate variety of perspectives; and
• employ appealing and accessible program formats, including new technology that will actively engage the general public in learning.

The project should be guided by a team of advisers whose expertise complements that of the staff of the applicant institution. The team should have helped to refine the project's themes, incorporate a variety of perspectives, draw on relevant scholarship, and develop interpretive approaches. While scholars must be part of the project team, librarians, archivists, educators, and others with experience and knowledge of the humanities, or of the project's technical aspects, should also be included. Competitive proposals will have a range of consultants.

Scope of Work It will be the responsibility of the award recipient, working in consultation with the NEH, to:

• Design and fabricate two copies of the traveling exhibition in cooperation with appropriate scholars and exhibit fabrication specialists.
• Develop companion educational materials in consultation with appropriate scholars and educational outreach specialists.
• Develop and produce promotional and site-support materials for the tour.
• Publicize the availability of the exhibition to eligible host sites, conduct an application process, and select at least forty sites to host the traveling exhibition.
• Plan and conduct an orientation seminar for one staff member from each site selected to host the exhibition. The orientation should help provide the tour site staff with a sense of ownership of the exhibition, stimulate creative approaches to public programs, make them familiar with the humanities themes and approaches underlying the exhibition, and generate confidence in the host staff’s ability to manage the set-up and take-down of the exhibit.
• Manage the tour of the exhibition to host institutions, including shipping, consultation with sites on programming and content, and any necessary repairs to the display itself.
• Manage the evaluation of the tour by host staff.

The Endowment currently sponsors one agency-wide program, We the People, and two special initiatives, Rediscovering Afghanistan and the Digital Humanities Initiative. Below is information on each. The NEH encourages applications in these three special areas of interest. Proposals will be submitted to, and will be evaluated by, NEH's existing grant programs and will not receive special consideration.

We the People Grant Program To help Americans make sense of their history and of the world around them, NEH established the We the People program. NEH encourages applications that explore significant events and themes in our nation's history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America. Learn more about We the People program.

Rediscovering Afghanistan NEH invites applications for projects that focus on Afghanistan's history and culture. The special initiative is designed to promote research, education, and public programs about Afghanistan and to encourage United States institutions to assist Afghanistan in efforts to preserve and document its cultural resources. Learn more about the initiative.

Digital Humanities Initiative NEH is interested in receiving applications for projects that use or study the impact of digital technology. Digital technologies offer humanists new methods of conducting research, conceptualizing relationships, and presenting scholarship. Digital humanities projects deploy these technologies and methods to enhance our understanding of a topic or issue. NEH is also interested in projects that study the impact of digital technology on the humanities—exploring the ways in which it changes how we read, write, think, and learn. Learn more about the initiative.

NEH expects to award one cooperative agreement of up to $400,000. The cooperative agreement can be up to 30 months in length. The estimated award date is December 2007. NEH will notify all applicants of final decisions. No information about the status of an application will be released until all proposals have been reviewed. NEH will work closely with the recipient of the cooperative agreement on the matters and activities set forth in the Scope of Work. (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 government agencies and tribal governments. 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. Ineligible applications will not be reviewed. Cost Sharing No cost sharing is required. NEH, however, is rarely able to support the full costs of projects approved for funding. The award will not exceed $400,000.

APPLICATION ADVICE AND PROPOSAL DRAFTS:
Prior to submitting a proposal, you are encouraged to contact the We the People program at (202) 606-8337 or wtplincoln@neh.gov for advice about preparing the proposal and review of preliminary proposal drafts. Program staff recommends that draft proposals be submitted by August 1, 2007, in order to ensure that the staff has time to respond. A response cannot be guaranteed if the drafts arrive after that date. These staff comments are not part of the formal review process and have no bearing on the final outcome of the proposal. Draft proposals should not be submitted via Grants.gov. NEH-SPECIFIC SECTIONS:

1. Table of contents List all parts of the application and page numbers.
2. Budget Using the instructions, complete the budget form (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.
3. Narrative Description (including “Dissemination”) The narrative should not exceed fifteen single-spaced pages with one-inch margins and at least 11-point type. It should contain the following information, in this order:
   • The request Provide a one- or two-paragraph abstract of the project and its interpretive goals. Describe the format(s), the subject, and main themes, and state the amount of money requested from NEH and the total project budget. Explain why the project is appropriate for your organization. Also explain the project’s timeline, including the opening date, and the number of sites to which the exhibition will travel.
   • Introduction Describe the subject, and discuss the project's interpretive approach and its use of significant humanities themes. Explain why the project will engage the public and what you expect people to learn.
   • Description

     	°	Resources—Describe the particular collections that will be used and documents and/or artifacts that will be examined. Explain the interpretive strategies and the themes that will guide the project.
     	°	Exhibition—Provide a description of the visitor experience, including a “walk-through” that describes the exhibition’s graphics and samples, its key interpretive messages, approximate size, and number and types of images. This description should not exceed six pages. Provide design sketches and samples of interpretive text. (These are not included within the six-page limit.) Provide a list of all proposed exhibition venues or the criteria for selecting the venues. Describe the publicity and program materials that will accompany the exhibition, such as program guides, educational materials, and exhibition brochures.
     	°	Publications—Describe the content (including brief abstracts of essays), format, estimated print run, distribution plans, and sale price for any publications for which funding is requested, and identify the author(s). Explain how the publication will complement the project.
     	°	Public programs—Describe any ancillary public programs for which NEH funding is requested.
     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.

   • Audience Describe how the project will broaden public engagement in the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. Describe, to the extent possible, the expected participants or audiences for each venue, including any targeted groups. Explain the plans for publicizing the project.
   • 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 visitation (for museums and historic sites);
     	°	special characteristics and current activities; and
     	°	humanities resources (e.g., collections or staff).
     Limit this profile to one page for your organization and each of the major partner organizations. Use a half page for each of the other collaborating organizations.

   • Project team Provide a comprehensive overview of the project team, including staff members, scholars, and other program experts (i.e., librarians or other specialists). Using short paragraphs, describe the qualifications and contributions of each project team member. Organize the paragraphs 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 an appendix.
   • Work plan Provide a detailed month-by-month schedule of the specific tasks to be accomplished and the individuals responsible for them. Clearly indicate the dates of major project team meetings and the expected results of each meeting.
   • Fund-raising plan Explain how your organization will supplement, if necessary, the funds provided by NEH in order to cover the total project budget.
4. Appendices The following information should appear in the application's appendices:
   • Résumés (no longer than two pages each) of all key project staff and consultants.
   • Letters of commitment from consultants and participating organizations.
   • Bibliography of sources.
   • A description of the collections or archives upon which the project is based, if appropriate, and not already covered in the narrative.

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Download the Application Package

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 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 organizational profile. Please name the file "profile.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your résumés.. Please name the file "résumés.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 description of collections or archives.. Please name the file "description.pdf".

Use the remaining buttons to attach any additional materials (if appropriate). Please give these attachments meaningful file names and ensure that they are PDFs.

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

How to submit supplementary materials Some materials that cannot be submitted electronically may still be made part of the proposal. Applicants may mail additional materials, such as slides (up to ten, with brief captions), photographs, CD-ROMs, catalogs, or sample work for consideration during review of the proposal. Please provide 4 copies of each item. If you send additional materials, please include in your Grants.gov submission a list of the additional materials you will be sending by mail. Mail the materials to: We the People Program
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 511
Washington, DC 20506
Attn: We the People Lincoln Exhibition
(202) 606-8337 Clearly indicate the name of your institution and your Grants.gov tracking number on the envelope. 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. If you wish to have the materials returned to you, please include a self-addressed, pre-paid mailer.

Deadlines Applications must be received by Grants.gov by August 31, 2007. Grants.gov will date/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 August 31, 2007, to be considered as part of the application.

Evaluation Criteria Evaluators are asked to apply the following criteria in assessing applications:

1. Intellectual Content: How well does the project deal with significant humanities themes? Is it broadly conceived, based on sound scholarship, and appropriately analytical?
2. Response to this Request for Proposals: How well, and how broadly, does the proposed project address the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln? How significant are the documents and artifacts that it makes available to the public?
3. Audience Interest and Reach: Does the applicant demonstrate that its approach to the topic will have broad public appeal and would expand the public's knowledge and understanding of Lincoln’s life and legacy? Will the project draw in and engage audiences effectively?
4. Formats: How well does the proposed exhibition present significant ideas and themes to public audiences? How well do the print materials complement the exhibition? How effectively do the proposed public programs integrate the print materials into the exhibit visitor’s experience?
5. Resources: Have the appropriate materials and resources been clearly identified? Are they the right ones for the project and are they available?
6. Project Team: Does the team have the necessary expertise, interpretive experience, and technical skills? Has a team of humanities scholars been effectively involved?
7. Work plan: Is the plan of work realistic and efficient?
8. Budget: Are the project's costs realistic, appropriate, and reasonable?

Review and Selection Process 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 of the decision by mail in December 2007. The institutional grants administrator and project director of the successful application will also receive at that time award documents by mail. Applicants may obtain the reasons for funding decisions on their applications by sending a letter or e-mail to NEH, We the People Office, Room 511, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506 or wtplincoln@neh.gov. The instrument that will be awarded as a result of this Request for Proposals is a Cooperative Agreement, as defined by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, Public Law 95-224. A Cooperative Agreement is a cost reimbursement instrument. No fee or profit (or other increment above allowable cost) is allowed.

Administrative requirements Before submitting an application, applicants should review their responsibilities as an award recipient.

Award conditions The requirements for awards are contained in the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations, any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document, and the applicable OMB circulars governing federal grants management.

Reporting requirements A schedule of report due dates will be included with the award document. Interim and final performance reports will be required. Further details can be found in Performance Reporting Requirements (formerly Enclosure 2). A Federal Cash Transactions Report (2-page PDF) will be due within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. A final Financial Status Report (2-page PDF) will be due within 90 days after the completion date of the award period. Further details can be found in Financial Reporting Requirements (formerly Enclosure 1).

If you have questions about this Request for Proposals for a Cooperative Agreement, contact: National Endowment for the Humanities 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20506 We the People Program
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 511
Washington, DC 20506
Attn: We the People Lincoln Exhibition
202-606-8337
wtplincoln@neh.gov

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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.