Deadline: 10 June 2020
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Public Programs is accepting applications for the Digital Projects for the Public program.
The purpose of this program is to support projects that interpret and analyze humanities content in primarily digital platforms and formats, such as websites, mobile applications and tours, interactive touch screens and kiosks, games, and virtual environments.
All Digital Projects for the Public projects should:
- provide public audiences with structured analysis that deepens public understanding of significant humanities ideas
- incorporate sound humanities scholarship
- involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and production
- include appropriate digital media professionals
- reach a broad public through a realistic plan for development, marketing, and distribution
- create appealing digital formats for the general public
- demonstrate the capacity to sustain themselves
NEH seeks projects that explore a diverse range of interpretive possibilities; therefore, the most competitive projects are those which collaborate with multiple scholars offering a range of perspectives. Projects that depend on input from a single scholar are not competitive.
NEH also welcomes applications for non-promotional digital components of a larger project. For these projects, you should explain how the digital platform will enrich the users’ learning experience and engagement. For instance, if your request is for a mobile experience that would operate within a museum or would work in conjunction with a film, you should explain how this project element will substantially add to the audience’s learning experience.
Applicants may also choose to identify particular communities and groups, including students, to whom a project may have particular appeal.
NEH encourages audience evaluation throughout all stages of a project. Evaluation could include testing of the project’s concept, approach, and key components.
Funding Categories
There are three categories of funding in the Digital Projects for the Public program: Discovery, Prototyping, and Production. Awards are available to support research, to design or create prototypes of digital projects, and to produce the actual projects.
- Discovery: The Discovery category (for awards up to $30,000) supports the exploratory stages of a digital project that bring together experts on the project’s content and digital media experts to assess the approaches that the project might take. Activities in the Discovery category may include:
- content research and narrative development
- consultation with humanities scholars
- consultation with digital media experts
- platform research and selection
- identification or digitization of production assets
- preliminary design
- audience evaluation
- user experience mockups
- storyboarding
- Prototyping: The Prototyping category (for awards up to $100,000) supports the creation of a proof-ofconcept prototype. Applicants in this category must submit a design document that describes the project’s platform, user interface, design, and the ways in which the project’s central humanities ideas will be conveyed. Activities in the Prototyping category may include:
- refinement of humanities content
- consultation with scholars and digital media experts
- finalization of the platform
- scripting
- creation or digitization of audiovisual assets that will engage public audiences
- user interface and backend development
- testing (including early launches) and de-bugging
- final design
- audience evaluation
- other activities that will advance the project towards the production stage
- Production: The Production category (for awards up to $400,000) supports the production and distribution of humanities projects that have a primarily digital format. Applicants must submit a design document and a prototype that demonstrate a solid command of the humanities ideas and scholarship related to the subject. Activities in the Production category may include:
- ongoing consultation with scholars
- additional research and writing
- fine-tuning the hardware, software, and platform
- the final design, production, and distribution of digital media projects
- finalization of the script and/or audiovisual assets
- rights and licensing fees for audiovisual assets
- production of complementary components such as museum displays
- publication of complementary materials, such as catalogs and curriculum guides
- publicity, outreach activities, and public programs
- project evaluation
Funding Information
- Approximately $1,500,000 is expected to be available to fund 11 to 16 recipients.
- You may apply for up to $30,000 in the Discovery category, up to $100,000 in the Prototyping category, and up to $400,000 in the Production category.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, accredited public and 501(c)(3) institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.
- Individuals, foreign and for-profit entities are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326481