• The nature of the request
  Provide a one- to two-paragraph overview of the project and its interpretive goals. If the project is a Bridging Cultures project, a Dissemination Project, a Family and Youth Programs in American History project, or an Interpreting America’s Historic Places project, you should indicate that in the overview. Describe the format(s) of all programs proposed, the subject and main themes, the amount of money requested from NEH, and the total project budget. Explain the appropriateness of the project for your organization(s).
  For exhibitions, outline the expected size (i.e., square footage and approximate number of objects), anticipated opening date, and venues.
  Applications that build on previously funded NEH projects by adding new program formats must describe the previous project’s components, explain what the new formats would be, show how they would effectively enhance the previous project, and explain how audiences would be reached and how new interpretive possibilities would be added.
• Project introduction
  Describe the subject and discuss the project’s interpretive approach and its use of significant humanities themes. Discuss the relationship of the themes to relevant humanities scholarship. Explain why the project will engage the public and what you expect people to learn.
  If the project represents a change from existing programs offered by the organization, discuss how the new approaches and formats would differ from what is currently available.
  Give a brief history of the project to date (e.g., any previous funding from other sources, development activities, research already completed, consultation with scholars or other advisers, contacts with partner organizations, and other related activities). If appropriate, describe the relationship of the project to others on the topic and explain what its unique contribution would be.
• Description
  Describe the project’s components and material resources (e.g., objects, images, documents, audio and/or video materials, web-based information) and how they will effectively convey the project’s themes. If necessary, discuss how permissions or rights will be obtained for key materials and the likely costs of obtaining those rights.
  Describe what will take place at all of the project’s different venues. Explain why these particular program formats have been chosen and how they will complement one another.

  Applicants proposing Dissemination Projects need to include a detailed explanation of the criteria and process that will be used to select the host venues; an explanation of the project’s anticipated geographic breadth and audience reach; a description of the training workshop, including an explanation of the interpretive themes and content that will be conveyed to participants, an agenda, and the biographies and résumés of the participating scholars and the project team; and examples of the humanities public programming that might occur at the various venues. Explain how public programming at the host venues will enhance the project’s humanities content.

  If the application requests funding at the Chairman’s Special Award level, explain why the institutional collaborations, number of program formats, and broad reach to audiences make the project a good candidate for that funding level. Explain why the project will be unusually significant and appealing, and why it will have exceptionally broad reach nationally.
  For web-based or other digital projects, describe the humanities content, including the principal figures, events, issues, and themes to be explored and the humanities scholarship to be used. Explain how the organization and presentation of material will enhance users’ understanding of the content. If the project relies substantially on user-generated content, include a description of how the project will use humanities scholars and draw upon humanities scholarship. In addition, outline the criteria and process to be used for selecting the content that will ultimately be made available to the public.
  Websites should be designed in accordance with accepted standards for accessibility and usability by members of the general public, including those with visual and other disabilities.

  Applicants requesting complete or partial funding for the development, acquisition, preservation, or enhancement of geospatial data, products, or services must conduct a due diligence search on the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) Portal (www.geodata.gov) to discover whether their needed geospatial-related data, products, or services already exist. If not, the proposed geospatial data, products, or services must be produced in compliance with applicable proposed guidance posted at www.fgdc.gov.

• Audience
  Describe the expected participants or audiences, including any targeted groups. Describe any outreach efforts for underserved groups. Discuss any difficulties that may be encountered in reaching certain audiences and the strategies for overcoming them. Describe the publicity plans and the audience evaluation procedures.
• Organizational profile
  Provide a short profile of your organization and other major partner organizations. These descriptions should include the
  • institutional mission, origin, and size;
  • annual operating budget;
  • annual number of visitors (for museums and historic sites);
  • special characteristics and current activities; and
  • humanities resources (such as collections or staff).
  Limit this profile to one page for your organization and a half page for each of the other collaborating organizations.
• Project team
  Provide a comprehensive overview of the project team, including staff members, scholars, and other program experts. Using short paragraphs, describe the qualifications and contributions of the project team members and indicate how their expertise is suited to the project. Organize the paragraphs into two sections: one for staff from your institution and one for outside consultants.
  Include specific details on the responsibilities of each of the other collaborating organizations. If the institutions involved have any prior experience in cooperating with one another, describe that experience and the nature of those partnerships.
  Include in the appendices résumés (of two pages or less) for each person listed and letters of commitment from consultants.
• Work plan
  Provide a detailed month-by-month schedule of the specific tasks and the individuals responsible for them. It is often helpful to present this section in a grid format. Clearly indicate when the planning team will meet; explain the expected results of each meeting.
• Fundraising plans
  If your organization intends to share some of the costs, explain how your share will be met and outline the fundraising plan. Note that NEH is rarely able to support the full cost of projects approved for funding.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS – Provide detailed information on the formats that are applicable to your project.

• Information on public accessibility and admission (required of all projects)
  As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, NEH endeavors to make the products of its grants available to the broadest possible audience. Institutions must provide at least twenty hours of free admission each month to NEH-supported exhibitions. Provide a statement of general admission policies for your institution, as well as the proposed admission policy for all anticipated sites. If admission fees will be used to defray costs of the project, include the anticipated amount of revenue under “Project Income” in Section 11.b., Cost Sharing, of the budget.
  Proceeds from the sale of any publications will be subject to the NEH policy on program income, which is outlined in Article 16 of the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations.
• Walkthrough for exhibitions or historic site interpretation
  Exhibition walkthroughs should show clearly how the humanities content of the project will actually be communicated to the public.
  Begin by explaining the interpretive strategies and the design philosophy for the exhibition. Provide a complete list of exhibition objects in an appendix, as noted below.
  Then provide a detailed “descriptive tour,” showing how a typical visitor would experience the exhibition section by section. Thumbnail images of a few of the exhibition objects may be incorporated into the text, if they help clarify the description. Be sure to provide specific examples of takeaway messages and the means of conveying them. Include five to ten sample illustrations of objects or images and sample text for five or six labels and three or four panels.
  Include a rendering of the exhibition’s floor plan and elevations of at least two exhibit areas.
  For panel exhibitions, a complete descriptive tour of the exhibition should be provided. Include design renderings of all the sections, a physical description of the panels and their materials, and images of any objects that might be exhibited. All the interpretive text should also be included. Indicate what the main takeaway messages would be and show how the content and organization of the exhibition effectively convey those messages to audiences.
  Projects that involve heritage trails or walking tours should include four to five samples from the proposed trail signage.
• Audiovisual and/or multimedia formats
  Provide a description of each multimedia component of the project. This description should include images and a script or story line. Explain what unique contributions the multimedia components will make to the project.
  If digital formats will be a critical interpretive component and will represent a large portion of the funds requested from NEH, applicants should provide the following information.
  • Describe the user experience. Explain how the images, audio, text, and interactivity would enhance the user’s understanding of the subject.
  • For all digital projects, include a working prototype via a functioning URL or on a disk.
  • Include images of the digital component’s design.
  • Describe how front-end evaluation and beta-testing with representative users will take place.
  • Include evidence that appropriate permissions have been or can be secured for the materials that will be included.
  • Describe the distribution or marketing plan, explaining how the product will be publicized and made available to audiences.
  • Provide plans for regular site management, including updating of the humanities content, monitoring of traffic, and collection of user feedback.
  • Provide an example of previously completed work from the principal members of the digital team. We would prefer to have this work available on a website, through a hyperlink included in the application. Clearly indicate that this website is your digital work sample. (If you need to submit a disk, please see the instructions for sending work samples in the “How to Submit Supplementary Materials” below.)
• Travel schedule with venues, when applicable
  For traveling exhibitions, the first travel venue beyond the originating institution should be confirmed and a letter should be included in an appendix. For all subsequent venues, letters of commitment or of serious interest in hosting the exhibition should be appended. This provision does not, however, apply to applications for Dissemination Projects.
• Publications
  Describe the content (including brief abstracts of essays), author(s), format, estimated print run, distribution plans, and sale price of any publications for which funding is requested. Explain how these publications will complement the project’s other formats.
  Proceeds from the sale of any publications will be subject to the NEH policy on program income, which is outlined in Article 16 of the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations.
• Public programs
  Describe the types of public programs that will be offered and how they will enhance the overall project. Describe the topics of lectures or other presentations, identify participating speakers, and describe the expected audience.
  For projects that rely mainly on reading and discussion programs, the following information must be provided in detail for at least one of the proposed sets of programs: 1) specific titles of texts, films, etc., to be used, with brief annotations regarding the titles’ relation to the project’s main themes; 2) the questions that would be explored in the session(s); 3) names of the scholars who would guide the discussions; and 4) a description of how the session(s) would be organized (i.e., duration, format, etc.). If several different series of programs are proposed, the themes must be described for all of the proposed series. Additionally, the other sets of programs should be described more generally, with working lists from which other texts will be finally chosen, a general idea of the humanities questions that would be addressed in each, and a description of the criteria that would be used for selecting scholars as discussion leaders.
• Oral histories
  Applicants planning projects with oral histories should discuss how the project will adhere to generally accepted professional guidelines for conducting oral histories and should include an outline of proposed topics for the interviews, a list of the people to be interviewed or a description of the criteria for their selection, the plans for their recruitment, a description of the qualifications of the interviewers, a discussion of how the interviews will complement existing resources, and a copy of the permission or release form.
• Conservation treatment
  If the funding requested for conservation treatment exceeds 15 percent of the total amount requested from NEH, include a separate section discussing the rationale for conserving the objects being used. Provide a list of individual objects, sample condition reports, a timetable for the treatment of objects, a description of the conservation methods, and the qualifications of the conservator.

• résumés (of two pages or less) of all key project staff and consultants;
• letters of commitment from consultants and collaborating organizations;
• bibliography or filmography of sources;
• lists of objects (if applicable);
• a description of the collections or other resources upon which the project is based, if appropriate and not already covered in the narrative.