Deadline: 01-Oct-2026
Major Documentation Project Grants support researchers worldwide to carry out structured, field-based documentation of endangered languages. The grants fund high-quality audio-visual recordings, transcriptions, translations, annotations, metadata creation, and long-term archiving through the Endangered Languages Archive.
Projects must be affiliated with a host institution and are organised into work packages covering fieldwork, analysis, and archiving. Funding is available for projects with budgets above €10,000, with a maximum grant amount of €300,000.
What are Major Documentation Project Grants?
Major Documentation Project Grants are funding opportunities for researchers documenting endangered languages through systematic fieldwork and archival preparation.
The programme supports projects that create high-quality linguistic records of endangered languages and ensure that these materials are preserved for long-term access.
The grants are open to applicants worldwide and may support researchers at any career stage.
Main Purpose of the Grant
The main purpose of the grant is to support the detailed documentation and preservation of endangered languages.
The programme funds projects that produce:
- Audio-visual recordings
- Transcriptions
- Translations
- Linguistic annotations
- Metadata
- Structured archival collections
- Open-access language documentation materials
- Long-term deposits with the Endangered Languages Archive
Why Endangered Language Documentation Matters
Endangered languages often contain unique knowledge, oral histories, cultural practices, ecological knowledge, and community identities.
When a language becomes less widely spoken, valuable linguistic and cultural information can disappear.
Major Documentation Project Grants help researchers and communities create lasting records that can support future research, education, language revitalisation, and community access.
Funding Amount
Major Documentation Project applications are invited for projects with budgets exceeding €10,000.
The maximum funding available is €300,000.
The review panel particularly welcomes proposals that are:
- Modest
- Well-justified
- Realistic
- Value for money
- Clearly linked to project activities
Funding Structure
Funding is organised through structured work packages.
These work packages may cover different stages of the project, including fieldwork, analysis, and archiving.
Funding is released in stages and depends on satisfactory progress and reporting.
Eligible Costs
Grant funding may cover direct project expenses.
Eligible costs may include:
- Salaries
- Graduate student stipends
- Technical staff costs
- Language consultant compensation
- Equipment
- Travel
- Subsistence
- Consumables
- Fieldwork costs
- Data management costs
- Other direct expenses linked to project activities
All costs must be clearly justified.
Overheads and indirect costs are not covered.
Who is Eligible?
Applicants must be affiliated with a host institution capable of administering grant funds.
Eligible host institutions may include:
- Universities
- Research institutes
- Non-profit organisations
- Other suitable institutions able to manage research grants
Applicants should have relevant training and experience in language documentation, linguistic fieldwork, data management, and ethical research practice.
Principal Investigator Requirements
The project must be led by a Principal Investigator.
The Principal Investigator must be affiliated with a host institution.
The Principal Investigator cannot hold a senior financial or administrative role within the host institution.
This rule helps ensure appropriate financial oversight and reduces conflicts of interest in grant administration.
Research Team
Applications may include a wider research team.
Project teams may include:
- Co-applicants
- Graduate students
- Language consultants
- Technical staff
- Community collaborators
- Archiving or data management support staff
The team should be clearly defined, with roles and responsibilities explained in the application.
Host Institution Requirement
A host institution is required for grant administration.
The host institution must provide institutional support and be capable of managing the funds according to grant requirements.
Support statements from the host institution are required as part of the application.
Key Concepts Explained
Endangered Language
An endangered language is a language at risk of falling out of use, often because fewer people speak it or pass it on to younger generations.
Language Documentation
Language documentation is the systematic collection, recording, description, and preservation of language use. It often includes audio, video, transcriptions, translations, annotations, and metadata.
Field-Based Documentation
Field-based documentation involves working directly with speakers and communities to record language use in real-life or culturally meaningful contexts.
Metadata
Metadata is structured information that describes a recording or file. It may include speaker information, recording date, location, language name, content description, access conditions, and technical details.
Archiving
Archiving means organising and preserving materials in a stable repository so they remain accessible and usable over time.
Work Packages
Work packages are structured project components with specific activities, outputs, budgets, and reporting requirements. They help organise large projects into manageable stages.
What Types of Projects Are Supported?
The programme supports structured projects that document endangered languages through fieldwork and careful data processing.
Supported projects may include:
- Audio-visual recording of endangered language use
- Documentation of oral traditions
- Recording of conversations, narratives, songs, rituals, or daily language use
- Transcription and translation of recordings
- Linguistic annotation of collected materials
- Metadata preparation
- Digital data management
- Archival deposit with ELAR
- Community-access language documentation collections
Documentation and Archiving Requirements
Projects must include strong documentation and archiving plans.
Applicants should explain how they will:
- Record high-quality audio and video
- Manage digital files securely
- Create accurate metadata
- Produce transcriptions and translations
- Prepare annotations where relevant
- Deposit materials with ELAR
- Ensure appropriate access conditions
- Support long-term preservation and open-access availability
Ethical Requirements
Projects must include ethical approval and follow responsible research practices.
Ethical planning should address:
- Informed consent
- Community participation
- Permissions for recording
- Access conditions for archived materials
- Protection of sensitive cultural information
- Fair compensation for language consultants
- Respectful collaboration with speakers and communities
Application Requirements
Applications must provide evidence that the project is feasible, ethical, and methodologically strong.
Required application components may include:
- Project description
- Research objectives
- Work package structure
- Methodology
- Fieldwork plan
- Archiving plan
- Data management plan
- Budget and justification
- Team roles and qualifications
- Ethical approval details
- Host institution support statement
- Referee support statements
- Evidence of relevant experience
- Prior record of data deposition where applicable
How the Grant Works
The grant supports projects in defined work packages.
Each work package should include clear activities, outputs, timelines, and deliverables.
Funding continuation depends on satisfactory completion of work package deliverables and required reporting.
This staged structure helps ensure accountability and progress throughout the project.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a detailed research proposal that explains the language documentation need, methodology, team capacity, budget, and archiving plan.
Suggested Application Steps
- Identify the endangered language to be documented.
- Explain the level of language endangerment and urgency.
- Define the project objectives and documentation outputs.
- Confirm affiliation with an eligible host institution.
- Ensure the Principal Investigator does not hold a senior financial or administrative role in the host institution.
- Build a qualified project team, including consultants and collaborators where relevant.
- Develop structured work packages for fieldwork, analysis, and archiving.
- Prepare a detailed budget above €10,000 and within the €300,000 maximum.
- Justify every expense as a direct project cost.
- Prepare the data management and archiving plan.
- Secure ethical approval or explain the process for obtaining it.
- Obtain host institution and referee support statements.
- Submit the application according to the official grant guidelines.
Assessment Criteria
Applications are reviewed based on the quality, feasibility, and impact of the proposed project.
Key assessment areas include:
- Applicant experience
- Research team capacity
- Project feasibility
- Methodological quality
- Ethical standards
- Strength of documentation plan
- Strength of archiving plan
- Language endangerment level
- Project impact
- Value for money
- Prior record of data deposition
- Host institution support
- Referee support statements
Expected Results
Funded projects should produce high-quality endangered language documentation.
Expected results may include:
- New audio-visual recordings
- Transcribed and translated materials
- Annotated linguistic data
- Reliable metadata
- Organised digital collections
- ELAR archival deposits
- Open-access language resources
- Stronger research and community access
- Long-term preservation of endangered language materials
Why It Matters
Major Documentation Project Grants help prevent the loss of endangered languages and the knowledge they carry.
By supporting structured fieldwork, careful analysis, and long-term archiving, the programme ensures that language materials remain available for future generations.
The grants also strengthen collaboration between researchers, institutions, language consultants, and communities.
They support both academic research and community access to valuable language documentation.
Tips for Strong Applications
A strong application should clearly show why the language needs urgent documentation and why the team is capable of doing the work.
Applicants should focus on:
- Clear language endangerment evidence
- Strong fieldwork methodology
- Realistic work packages
- Clear ethical safeguards
- Strong community collaboration
- High-quality audio-visual recording plans
- Detailed transcription and translation plans
- Practical archiving strategy
- Well-justified budget
- Strong host institution support
- Evidence of prior documentation or data deposit experience
Applicants should show how the project will create useful, accessible, and well-preserved language documentation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid proposals that are too broad, underdeveloped, or weakly connected to archival outcomes.
Common mistakes include:
- Providing unclear evidence of language endangerment
- Submitting a vague fieldwork plan
- Underestimating the time needed for transcription and translation
- Not explaining how metadata will be created
- Providing a weak archiving plan
- Including indirect costs or overheads
- Failing to justify expenses clearly
- Not including ethical approval or a clear ethical process
- Ignoring community consent and access issues
- Submitting weak host institution support
- Creating unrealistic work packages
- Failing to show prior data management capacity
FAQ
What are Major Documentation Project Grants?
Major Documentation Project Grants fund structured, field-based documentation of endangered languages through recordings, transcriptions, translations, annotations, metadata, and archiving.
Who can apply?
Researchers worldwide may apply if they are affiliated with a host institution capable of administering the grant.
How much funding is available?
Projects must request more than €10,000, and the maximum available funding is €300,000.
What types of costs are eligible?
Eligible costs may include salaries, graduate student stipends, technical staff, language consultant compensation, equipment, travel, subsistence, consumables, and other direct project expenses.
Are overheads covered?
No. Overheads and indirect costs are not covered.
Where must the materials be archived?
Project materials must be archived with the Endangered Languages Archive.
How are applications assessed?
Applications are assessed based on applicant experience, project feasibility, methodology, ethics, documentation and archiving plans, language endangerment, project impact, and prior record of data deposition.
Conclusion
Major Documentation Project Grants provide substantial support for researchers documenting endangered languages through structured fieldwork, analysis, and archiving. With funding available up to €300,000, the programme helps create high-quality language records that can be preserved and accessed through ELAR.
Strong applications will clearly demonstrate language endangerment, methodological strength, ethical safeguards, realistic work packages, qualified teams, and a practical archiving plan. The core goal is to ensure that endangered language data is collected, preserved, and made available for long-term research and community use.
For more information, visit ELDP.
