General Information on NEH
Digital Humanities Fellowships
2008-2009

The deadline for accepting 2008-2009 NEH Digital Humanities Fellowships is February 29, 2008.

Part One of this document describes the terms and conditions governing NEH Digital Humanites Fellowships.

Part Two provides specific information on tenure, stipends, supplemental research allowances, and payment procedures and instructions for completing the acceptance form.

We welcome your questions and comments. You can contact the Fellowships Program staff by calling 202-606-8200, by writing us at the address listed above, or by sending us e-mail at fellowships@neh.gov. Because our regular mail deliveries are often delayed, we ask that you e-mail or fax your intention to accept or decline the fellowship as soon as possible. Your paperwork may follow later.

PART ONE: TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

1. Full-time Study: You are expected to devote full time during your fellowship tenure to the proposed project. You may not accept teaching assignments or engage in other activities that divert you from that project. However, you may attend conferences related to your fellowship work and give presentations on it. If you are considering any other activity during your fellowship tenure, you must first consult with the Fellowships Program staff to determine whether the proposed activity is permissible.
2. Project Changes: You may make minor changes in your proposed project without consulting the Endowment. However, any significant change must be approved in advance. You should describe and justify the changes to the Endowment in writing so that the Endowment can determine whether the new plans fall within the intent of the award.
3. Work Leading toward Degrees: You may audit courses and seminars pertinent to your fellowship project, but you may not enroll in a degree program or engage in work you intend to apply toward a degree either now or later.
4. Resignation or Termination: Your fellowship may be terminated by the Endowment if, for any reason, you resign or discontinue the proposed program before the end of the tenure period or fail to observe the terms and conditions of the award. If you resign before the end of the tenure period, you must return any funds received over and above those to which you are entitled.

   If during the course of your fellowship you are unable to meet the terms of the award, then you are obliged to inform the Endowment immediately so that appropriate action may be taken. Because stipend payments are made in advance, it may be determined that a portion of the stipend must be returned to the Endowment; if this is the case, the Endowment will inform you of the amount that must be repaid, the basis for the calculation, and the date by which repayment must be made.

5. Final Report: You must submit a final report on activities accomplished with your NEH award. This report can be completed online at www.neh.gov/online/fellowships.asp. You must also submit a Final Financial Status Report for Individuals if you receive a research allowance as described below. This form can be found online at www.neh.gov/manage/ FinalFinancialStatusReportIndividuals.pdf. Any supplemental research allowance funds that remain unexpended at the end of the fellowship tenure period must be returned to NEH. A refund check referencing the NEH Digital Humanities Fellowship number and made payable to the National Endowment for the Humanities should be attached to the Final Financial Status Report for Individuals.

   If you do not have access to the Internet, please request a printed or electronic copy of the fellowship final report forms by calling (202) 606-8494 or e-mailing GrantManagement@neh.gov. The final report(s) will be due within ninety days after the conclusion of tenure.

6. Prohibition on the Use of Funds for Lobbying Activities: The Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment, 31 U.S.C. 1352, prohibits recipients of federal contracts, awards, cooperative agreements, and loans from using appropriated funds to influence the Executive or Legislative Branches of the federal government in connection with a specific contract, award, cooperative agreement, loan, or any other award covered by §1352. 18 U.S.C. 1913 makes it a crime to use funds appropriated by Congress to influence members of Congress regarding congressional legislation or appropriations. Finally, the following are unallowable charges to award funds or cost sharing: certain electioneering activities, financial support for political parties, attempts to influence federal or state legislation either directly or through grass-roots lobbying, and some legislative liaison activities.

   The NEH is required by the provisions of its appropriations act to include the text of 18 U.S.C. 1913 in all of its award, cooperative agreement, and contract documents.

   Text of 18 U.S.C. 1913:

   No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure, or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation; but this shall not prevent officers or employees of the United States or of its departments or agencies from communicating to any such Member or official, at his request, or to Congress or such official, through the proper official channels, requests for any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriations which they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of the public business, or from making any communication whose prohibition by this section might, in the opinion of the Attorney General, violate the Constitution or interfere with the conduct of foreign policy, counter-intelligence, intelligence, or national security activities. Violations of this section shall constitute violations of section 1352(a) of Title 31.

7. Research Misconduct: NEH will take appropriate action against individuals or organizations upon a determination that misconduct has occurred in proposing, performing, or reviewing research or reporting results from research activities funded by NEH in accordance with the NEH Research Misconduct Policy. The policy is posted on the NEH Web site at www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/researchmisconduct.html.
8. Publishing as a Result of Your NEH Fellowship: Although there is no formal requirement that you publish the results of your investigations, most fellows intend to do so. You may copyright any material produced as a result of fellowship activities, and you may make the results of your work available to the public without restriction.

   All materials publicizing or resulting from activities accomplished under an award must contain an acknowledgment of NEH support. The acknowledgment must also include the following statement: "Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this (publication) (program) (Web site) do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities." One copy of all award products should be forwarded to the Endowment as soon as they are available, no matter how long after tenure the work may appear.

9. Medical Insurance and Other Fringe Benefits: The Endowment provides neither medical insurance nor any other fringe benefits for fellows. It is therefore recommended that you continue your existing medical insurance or other benefit programs in which you are participating. Unemployment compensation and Social Security insurance are not covered because fellows are not employees of the U.S. Government.
10. Income Tax: The tax laws governing fellowship awards were amended by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the courts decide the extent to which a particular award is taxable. The Endowment does not withhold taxes from stipends. Neither does the Endowment send to Fellows an IRS form W-2 or IRS form 1099. You should familiarize yourself with the tax laws to determine the tax liability of your fellowship stipend and whether you are entitled to deduct any expenses in connection with your fellowship. The IRS has not advised the Endowment concerning tax treatment of fellowship awards, and NEH cannot provide tax advice or answers to tax questions.

PART TWO: INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ACCEPTANCE FORM

The acceptance form is used to accept an NEH Fellowship, specify the account into which your payments should be deposited, and indicate the exact dates of your fellowship tenure. You should retain a copy of the completed form for your records and notify the Fellowships Program whenever you make modifications to the arrangements agreed to by the Endowment. The acceptance form must include the following information:

1. Application Number: Your application number, a combination of a two-letter prefix (FX) plus five digits, can be found on your offer letter.
2. Name
3. Social Security Number
4. Mailing Address, Home and Office Phone Numbers, and E-Mail Address
5. Period of Fellowship Tenure: Tenure must cover an uninterrupted period of from six to twelve full months. The earliest that you may begin tenure is January 1, 2008. The latest that you may begin tenure is July 1, 2009.

   The stipend of your fellowship is based on the number of months you requested in your application plus any supplemental research allowance (see 6 below). For each full month of tenure, the NEH pays $4,200. Thus, a fellowship for 12 months would carry a base stipend of $50,400 ($4,200 X 12 months). NEH does not allow its fellows to increase the length of their awards from that noted in their applications; fellows may, however, decrease the length of their awards from that mentioned in their applications. The dates of tenure given on the acceptance form may be different from the dates requested in the application.

   While you may hold other fellowships (e.g., sabbaticals and supplemental grants) or grants during fellowship tenure, you may not hold other awards from the NEH Division of Research Programs during the fiscal or calendar year or years in which you hold an NEH Fellowship.

6. Supplemental Research Allowance: In addition, digital humanities fellows may request a supplemental research allowance of up to $25,000. This allowance covers specific research expenses such as, but not limited to, travel, hardware, software, additional living expenses while residing at a digital humanities center, and project-related supplies. Thus, the final amount of a 12-month fellowship with a supplemental research allowance of $25,000 would total $75,400 ($4,200 X 12 months + $25,000).
7. How would you like the stipend paid? Fellowship stipends are paid in installments and prorated according to the length of tenure. Typically, the first payment is made at the beginning of the tenure period and subsequent payments are made every third month through the tenure of the award. The payment schedule and amounts for your particular award will be provided with the letter officially awarding the fellowship.

   All payments are made electronically by the U.S. Treasury Department and can be deposited either in your bank account or in your employing institution's bank. Please indicate the option you prefer. Please choose only one.

   • Payments electronically deposited into your checking account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. If you choose this option, you must supply NEH with either your bank's ACH routing information or a voided check (a deposit slip is not acceptable) when you return your acceptance form.
   • Payments electronically deposited into an account of your employing institution also using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. Some institutions are willing to continue paying fringe benefits if payments are made through them. If you think that this opportunity is available to you, please consult with your employing institution and complete the bank transit information.

   Please note that payments cannot be sent to foreign addresses. Recipients living abroad must have deposits made to a bank in the United States.

8. Do you need your first payment early? You may receive your first payment thirty days before tenure begins if, for example, you anticipate major travel expenses early in your tenure. However, no payment can be made before January 1, 2008.
9. Do you need a larger first payment? If you have particularly high initial expenses, you may receive a larger first payment to cover them.
10. Acceptance and Certification: You must accept or decline the offer of a 2008-2009 NEH Fellowship not later than February 29, 2008. To accept the award, you must complete and submit the acceptance form by this deadline.