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    1. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants NEH The time has come…

    2. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants The Humanities… Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity. ??Hermann Hesse

    3. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Mission Statement NEH programs help “…institutions improve their humanities programs or resources” *or* “individuals pursuing advanced research that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the public's understanding of the humanities. Recipients usually produce scholarly articles, monographs on specialized subjects, books on broad topics, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly tools.”

    4. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Clarification: Mission Statement The mission of the NEH is to fund…the humanities. Clarification: Humanities ONLY work, please. NEH will invest in permanent advance of humanities on a campus. NEH will want others ‘locked out,’ i.e. go to National Science Foundation to advance work of biologists or psychologists. Campuses are becoming interdisciplinary, but federal funding is still disciplinary.

    5. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants NEH Programs… Three Types Institutional-Level Individual-Level ‘In-between’ Level ‘In-between’ Example: Faculty Humanities Workshops Core group of faculty pursue collaborative humanistic inquiry by drawing on expertise within their institution and without (visiting scholars, new resources…). Check out NEH Grant Guide

    6. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants NEH Programs… Example: Institutional-Level Programs Challenge Grants Planning Grants Preservation and Access Grants [for institutions] Summer Institutes Hosted by individual colleges for visiting faculty/scholars Timely Grants “Rediscovering Afghanistan” Program “Chairman’s Emergency Grants: Hurricane Katrina”

    7. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants NEH Programs… Examples: Individual-Level Grants Fellowships (academic year) Summer Stipends Preservation and Access Grants [for individuals] Summer Seminars Apply to attend as a participant: Request Application. Receive stipend for travel, lodgings, and research expenses Range of topics and length (two to six weeks) 15 participants work with 1-2 leading scholars

    8. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Deadlines Like most federal agencies or foundations, the NEH has multiple grant awards that it posts annually. Check out NEH's Grants Programs and Deadlines. Sample annual grants, with deadlines: Challenge grant: May 1 and Nov 1 Digital Humanities Workshops: Jan 17 Summer Stipends: October 2 Preservation and Access grants: July 3 Summer Seminars: March 1

    9. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Sample “Cornerstone” #1: Summer Seminars Faculty who participate can: Develop sense of directions in field See design of humanities programs Meet other humanities scholars Discuss their ideas and those of colleagues Be energized, renewed, inspired

    10. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Sample “Cornerstone” #2: Summer Stipends Summer Stipend criteria are exemplary for NEH grant applications. Common elements: Project Abstract, Project Narrative, Bibliography, Letters of Support You can get a quick handle on the NEH application process because Summer Stipends are a “small” program ($5,000). Often, faculty begin with NEH Summer Seminars or Summer Stipends to establish good track record and position themselves for larger NEH grants.

    11. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Springtime…and Summer Stipends

    12. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants “Full-dress” Proposal ? “Attitude and presentation are critical in a highly competitive field.” – Fred Winter, Program Officer, NEH Challenge Grants. ? Read with care the precise aims and criteria at NEH Summer Stipend Guidelines (or another targeted program). ? Highest award rate = 2nd submission; revised according to “prior response.”

    13. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants “Full-dress” Proposal Great Tip: request sample proposal Go to NEH Summer Stipends (or targeted program). Select “Previously-Funded Summer Stipends” (menu on right). Select one and email request to stipends@neh.gov. Have a friend (or two) request another sample. You will discover the NEH project narratives are uniquely dense. You will then know what you have to do—and you can do it!

    14. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Project Narrative Statement of Need or Intent is insufficient because NEH awards are highly competitive. Convey ideas, objectives, and methods of your project. Clarify contribution of your project to humanities scholarship. Present plans to disseminate your findings to the field and potentially the public.

    15. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Project Narrative Strategy: How to best convey ideas, objectives, and methods of your project. Open with goals (guiding principles) Identify strategies and activities to realize goals Project outputs Set outcomes (short term; long term; projected) Map evaluation (formative and summative)

    16. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Project Narrative Strategy: How to draft great objectives that convince reviewers you can successfully move from Goal to Outcomes? Write SMART objectives: Specific (target population/materials) Measurable (quantifiable) Achievable (plausible & possible) Results-oriented Time-bound (have deadlines)

    17. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants How To Be Convincing: Process Details Do not write, “I will present my findings at professional conferences and journal articles.” Do write, “I will present a series of three papers on ‘Civic Leadership Development among First Americans’ at the Wye Faculty Seminar, and based on audience response I will then edit the papers for publication in American Journal of Political Science.” This establishes your academic “street cred.”

    18. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants How To Be Convincing: Evidentiary Details Do not write, “I have a good track record with sucessfully completing grants.” Do write, “I have completed three grants during my six years as an assistant professor. I was awarded an Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant to develop curricular materials for departmental-wide art history classes, and I was awarded two Arts in Education grants to develop community arts classes for underserved populations.” Result = more academic “street cred.”

    19. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants How To Be Convincing: Illustrative Details Do not write, “I detail how the goddess Diana was a model for the modern female hero in the English novel.” Do write, “I details how the goddess Diana, the chaste huntress whose domain over natural life was a symbol of the moon’s powers, served as the modern female hero in the English novel from Dafoe to Joyce.” Result = most academic “street cred.”

    20. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants 5 Review Criteria (1) The intellectual significance of the project to the humanities; (2) The quality of the applicant's work as an interpreter of the humanities; (3) The quality of the conception, definition, organization, and description of the project; (4) The feasibility of the work plan. (5) The applicant’s capability to complete that work plan.

    21. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Help Is All Around… Ask colleagues in the field for feedback. Ask grants associate to respond. Ask any “knowledgeable persons” to read and discuss. The NEH will have “knowledgeable persons” as your reviewers for all grants. Sometimes the NEH describes these as “nonspecialist reviewers.” Target: generalist expert.

    22. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Formatting ESSAY (translation = highly readable for general reviewers) Save all proposal material as plain text. Edit and proofread to perfection. Cut and paste closely-edited materials into online application forms. If you type in materials anew, you will likely have typos, etc.

    23. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Formatting Summer Stipend Example: You are given 12,500 characters (includes spaces and punctuation). Use run-in headers to save spaces yet clarify organization for readers. Use single space (not double) after period to save spaces. Do not use bold, italics, underlining, or “curly quotes.” Use plain quote marks or all upper case for book titles. Avoid <> (signals http:// address).

    24. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Project Statement Write last. Write after you have fully conceived your project This is a 120-word “brief description” of your project This creates *first impression* of your project with reviewers Launch this with title that clarifies your project’s substance. It’s part of “Application Cover Sheet” Write, edit, proofread, then cut-and-paste this clean text into the application

    25. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Bibliography Limit = 570 words/one single-spaced page List primary and secondary sources that relate *directly* to your project. Sources can relate *directly* to the substance, theory, or methods of your project. Do not duplicate references within the “Project Narrative.” Format tip: Place title in straight quotes or make all caps; plain text e-submissions do not recognize curly quotes, italics, or underlining, and will think angle brackets <> signal a hyperlink.

    26. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Letters of Reference General Limit = 2 Preferred: Two *external* references because you are presenting evidence of the significance of your work to the field (not to your institution). One can be internal. The other should be external. Former dissertation advisors or committee members are discouraged. Try editors of journals who published your work. Try co-panelists from conferences. Try colleagues at other institutions.

    27. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Supplementary Materials In general, *no* supplementary materials are allowed for Summer Stipends. You make your entire argument in the project narrative. Three exceptions: Sample of a translation Sample of a new database Sample of new edition Limit = 570 words/one single-spaced page

    28. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants “SAVE” and Edit “Test Drive” the grant’s online application system. “Save” your application, and you are free to revise and edit it. “Submit” your application, and it’s gone forever. You can edit your application online until the final deadline (October 2).

    29. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants College Nomination Write one-page abstract *after* your project is fully conceptualized. Submit to Faculty Grants Associate by September 1. All abstracts are forwarded to appropriate administrators. Two nominees will be chosen in a timely manner. Members of Grants Committee will usually volunteer to be additional readers and responders to your draft.

    30. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Test of Endurance NEH encourages applicants to read reviewers’ comments, then revise and re-submit. New reviewers each year, so none will recognize a revised proposal. Good number of proposals in any year are revised ones. To obtain reviewers’ comments, email “stipends@neh.gov.”

    31. Gil Harootunian, Director, Office of Academic & Government Grants Final Thought “By the paper alone shalt they know you.” Fred Winter, NEH Program Officer, NCURA national conference, Nov 5-8, 2006, Washington, D.C.

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