FEDERAL AGENCY:

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

AUTHORIZATION:

National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, Public Law 89-209, 20 U.S.C. 951 et seq.

OBJECTIVES:

To promote better teaching and research in the humanities through faculty development.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Grants support summer seminars and national institutes. Awards support direct costs, including salaries, participant stipends, selection costs, travel, and supplies.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   Distinguished scholar/teachers in the humanities may apply through a sponsoring institution to direct a seminar or institute for college teachers or school teachers.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Primarily teachers K-12, or college teachers, depending on the particular seminar or institute, as well as their colleagues and students.

Credentials/Documentation:   For educational institutions, costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-21 and Circular No. A-122 for nonprofit organizations. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Pre-application Coordination:   Informal inquiry is encouraged for prospective directors. The standard application forms as furnished by the Federal agency and required by OMB Circular No. A-102 must be used for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   Proposal instructions are available on line (http://www.neh.gov/grants/grants.html) or from the headquarters office. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110.

Award Procedure:   Applications are reviewed by subject area specialists, panels of scholars, and other appropriate individuals. Awards are made by the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities after advice from the National Council on the Humanities.

Deadlines:   March 1, to direct a seminar or institute during the summer of the following year. March 1, to participate in a seminar or institute held during the summer of the same year.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Approximately 5 months for prospective directors; approximately 6 weeks for prospective participants.

Appeals:   None, but director/applicant may request a critique of the proposal and reapply.

Renewals:   Reapplication by director/applicant is permitted.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   This program has no statutory formula. Source: Program Guidelines. Contact: See Headquarters Office below.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Funds must be expended during the grant period. Funds are released as required.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Cash reports are due quarterly. A final narrative report and a final expenditures report are required within 90 days after completion or termination of the grant period. In addition, reports are required from the scholars participating in the seminar assessing the value of the seminar for their professional development.

Audits:   In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. For nongovernmental recipients, audits are to be carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in OMB Circular No. A-110, "Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Nonprofit Organizations Uniform Administrative Requirements" and with OMB Circular No. A-133. In addition, grants are subject to inspection and audits by NEH and other Federal officials.

Records:   Documentation of expenditures and other fiscal records must be retained for three years following the submission of the final expenditure report.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   59-0200-0-1-503.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 $6,526,609; FY 02 est $7,574,000 FY 03 est Not yet available.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   None.

In fiscal year 2001, 113 applications were received and 52 made. In fiscal year 2002, 125 applications and 53 awards are anticipated.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

45 CFR 1100 and 1105. Guidelines are available online at http://www.neh.gov/grants.html or upon request from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, DC 20506. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, is the Endowment's official publication, "Humanities" by subscription (6 issues annually, $24.00 domestic, $30.00 foreign).

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   None.

Headquarters Office:  
National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Education Programs 400 Seventh Street, SW Email: sem-inst@neh.gov, Washington, District of Columbia 20506 Email: sem-inst@neh.gov Phone: (202) 606-8463.

Web Site Address:  
http://www.neh.gov

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

(1) Literature and the Visual Arts (summer seminar for college teachers); (2) Famine Irish Immigrants and their Children: A Case Study in Family and Local History (summer seminar for school teachers); (3) Modernity, Early Modernity and Post- Modernity in Japan (summer institute for college teachers); (4) Opera, Giving Voice to Culture: Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (summer institute for school teachers).

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

In the evaluation of proposals to direct summer seminars and institutes, the following criteria are considered: (1) Intellectual quality and significance; (2) Impact; (3) Feasibility. Applicants selected to receive stipends to attend summer seminars and institutes are those who can derive the greatest benefit from and make the greatest contribution to the seminar or institute.