Date posted: September 10, 2008 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.163 Questions?
Contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Education Programs at 202-606-8380 and education@neh.gov.
Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
The purpose of the Enduring Questions grant program is to encourage faculty and students at the undergraduate level to grapple with the most fundamental concerns of the humanities, and to join together in deep, sustained programs of reading in order to encounter influential thinkers over the centuries and into the present day.
Enduring questions are, to an overarching degree, pre-disciplinary. They are questions to which no discipline or field or profession can lay an exclusive claim. Enduring questions can be tackled by reflective individuals regardless of their chosen vocations, areas of expertise, or personal backgrounds. They are questions that have more than one plausible or interesting answer. They have long held interest for young people, and they allow for a special, intense dialogue across generations. The Enduring Questions grant program will help promote such dialogue in
today’s undergraduate environment.
What are these enduring questions? The following list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive but serves to illustrate.
The Enduring Questions grant program will support new humanities courses at the undergraduate level: their design and preparation, teaching, and assessment, as well as ancillary activities that enhance faculty-student intellectual community. Courses may be taught by faculty from any department or discipline in the humanities or by faculty outside the humanities (e.g., astronomy, biology, economics, law, mathematics, medicine, psychology), provided humanities sources are central to the course.
NEH Enduring Questions courses:
Enduring Questions grants may not be used for:
Providing Access to Grant Products
As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, the 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. For the Enduring Questions grant program, such products may include online course materials. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, the NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
The Endowment currently sponsors two agency-wide programs—We the People and Digital
Humanities—and one special initiative, Rediscovering Afghanistan.
Below is information on each.
The NEH encourages applications in these three areas of special interest.
Proposals will be evaluated through NEH’s established review process and will not receive special consideration.
We the People
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. To learn more about We the People,
visit the program’s Web site.
Digital Humanities
NEH welcomes applications for humanities projects that use digital technology or study its impact.
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 also is 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 NEH Office of Digital Humanities.
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.
Enduring Questions grants can be funded up to $25,000 in outright funds for projects serving a single institution. The Endowment anticipates making no more than 20 awards. The grant period may run range between eighteen and twenty-four months, depending on the project.
Grant Period
18 months: 7/1/09-12/31/10
24 months: 7/1/09-6/30/11
Cost Sharing
Cost sharing is not required.
(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.
Project directors must be tenure-track, non-tenure track, and adjunct faculty members at two-year or four-year colleges and universities. Graduate students are not eligible for this grant program.
Applicants must have the president, provost, dean, program chair, or department chair certify in writing that the institution
supports the proposed course and that it is new and will be offered at least twice (see Section V.5, below).
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
Application advice
Prior to beginning, applicants should review the evaluation criteria listed below in Section VI.
Because of the large number of applications expected, the Endowment staff is unable to read and comment on draft
proposals. However, potential applicants may discuss with the staff specific questions that arise
during the preparation of their proposals. Contact NEH’s Division of Education Programs at
202-606-8380 or education@neh.gov.
Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Once an application has been submitted, the staff will not comment on it except with respect to issues of completeness and eligibility.
NEH does not accept applications by e-mail or fax.
You will prepare your application for submission via Grants.gov just as you would a paper application. Format pages with one-inch margins and with a 12-point, Times Roman font. Applications exceeding the page limits will not be reviewed.
In addition to two forms described below (the Federal Domestic Assistance Short Organizational (SF 424 Short) and the Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs),
your application should consist of the following six parts (attached via the NEH Attachment Form):
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 you complete or
verify 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) Click on “Get Adobe Reader” and then “Download Now.” Once installed, this software will allow you to view and fill out Grants.Gov application packages for any federal agency.
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:
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:
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:
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 project narrative. Please name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your bibliography. Please name the file “bibliography.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your budget. Please name the file “budget.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your résumé. Please name the file “resume.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your letter of institutional commitment.. Please name the file “letter.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 6: To this button, please attach your abstract. Please name the file “abstract.pdf”.
No other attachments should be included. Applications submitted with additional attachments or with attachments that exceed the length limitations will not be reviewed.
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.
Deadline
Applications for NEH Enduring Questions grants must be received by Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 13, 2008.
Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded. Applications submitted after that date
will not be accepted.
Evaluators are asked to apply the following criteria when judging the quality of applications.
The Endowment expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, the NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
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 result of their application by letter or e-mail in June 2009. They may obtain reasons for the funding decision by sending a letter or e-mail to NEH, Division of Education Programs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 302, Washington, D.C.
20506 or education@neh.gov.
Administrative requirements
Before submitting an application, applicants should review their responsibilities
as an award recipient.
Award conditions
The requirements for awards to organizations 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).
Recipients will be expected to submit a course syllabus, a bibliography, and other relevant materials upon the completion of the grant. These materials may be posted on the NEH Web site.
If you have questions about the program, contact:
Division of Education Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities Room 302 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20506 202-606-8380 or education@neh.gov
If you need help using Grants.gov, contact:
Grants.gov: http://www.grants.gov/
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.
|