Education projects-NEH

The Education Development and Demonstration program of the Division of Education Programs provides grants to schools, colleges, universities, libraries, museums and other cultural institutions to improve formal humanities education in the United States from kindergarten through college and university.

The program supports projects that promise national significance by virtue of their content, approach, or reach. Projects may:

·        enable school teachers and college and university faculty to engage in collaborative study of important texts in the humanities and to explore how these may be taught effectively

·        help schools, colleges, and universities develop, revise, and try out significant humanities programs, curricula, courses, and materials

·        develop and apply technologies to provide excellent humanities teaching

·        foster sustained study of second languages and their cultural contexts

·        encourage the wide dissemination of educational programs and materials

·        make the humanities integral to the education of future teachers at all levels

·        address other educational issues of national importance to the humanities

Education Development and Demonstration offers support for projects in two categories: Humanities Focus Grants and National Education Projects.

Humanities Focus Grants, typically of one year in duration, enable educators to consider together significant humanities topics or to map institutional directions for teaching the humanities. Awarded through an expedited review cycle, these small grants allow educators to consider substantive questions and chart institutional directions in a timely way. Humanities Focus Grants are particularly appropriate and are encouraged for first-time applicants.

National Education Projects, often of multiyear duration, enable educators to engage in more extensive consideration of humanities subjects and their teaching. It funds the development of humanities materials, and ways to disseminate humanities scholarship and teaching practices.

Who is eligible?

Any U.S., nonprofit, IRS tax-exempt organization or institution dedicated to improving humanities education is eligible.

Individuals without an institutional affiliation are not eligible. When two or more institutions or organizations collaborate on an application, one of them must serve as the lead applicant and administer the project on behalf of all the participating units.

When is the deadline?

The deadline for Humanities Focus Grants is April 15 for projects to begin no earlier than September.

The deadline for National Education Projects is October 15 for projects to begin no earlier than May.

How much money can be requested?

Humanities Focus Grants: Grants range from $10,000 to $25,000 and may span an academic year or year and a half. Funds may be used to pay for guest scholars and visiting consultants, for observation of model programs, for books and other materials, for logistical support, and especially for released time so that participants have time to read, think, write, and deliberate.

National Education Projects: The size of a grant depends on the scope of the project, its duration (up to three years), and the number of participants.  The Endowment seldom provides more than $250,000. Funds are available for stipends for participation in intensive study workshops, for released time during the academic year, for administrative costs and necessary materials, and for travel and honoraria for visiting scholars.

What are cost sharing requirements?

Institutions are encouraged to participate in the support of project expenses. Cost sharing consists of the cash contributions made to the project by the institution and third parties as well as third-party in-kind contributions, such as donated services and goods. Cost sharing includes gift money that may be raised to release federal matching funds. A minimum cost-sharing level of 15 percent of total project costs is expected for National Education Projects. No cost sharing is required for Humanities Focus Grants.

What Kinds of Activities are Eligible?

Humanities Focus Grants

Humanities Focus Grants support collegial study of humanities topics and materials. In schools, Humanities Focus Grants can support groups of teachers and administrators who meet regularly with outside scholars to follow a schedule of intellectually challenging reading and discussion and to explore ways to integrate what they have learned into their teaching of the humanities, including history/social studies, English/language arts, and foreign languages. In institutions of higher education, Humanities Focus Grants enable groups of faculty to engage in rigorous collegial study for larger institutional purposes or for specific curricular issues.

These grants may support opportunities for school teachers to develop model content applicable to established frameworks and standards; for college and university faculty to plan major changes in the humanities curriculum; or for schools and neighboring cultural and educational institutions to conduct joint humanities study projects for current and future teachers.

Proposals for Humanities Focus Grants must identify a coherent sequence of topics to be explored and must provide a detailed list of texts and materials to be considered. Projects must show a commitment from participating groups and individuals. Applicants who have already received an NEH grant should demonstrate the effectiveness of their earlier work and should describe how further support will enhance the value of their project.  New applicants to the division are encouraged to apply.

National Education Projects

National Education Grants support larger education projects of national importance. These projects exploit excellent scholarship, engage outstanding scholars and teachers as advisers, consultants, and evaluators, and devote careful attention to pertinent issues of teaching and learning in the humanities. Proposals may address one or more of the following areas: 1) Curricular Development and Demonstration, 2) Materials Development, and 3)

Dissemination.

1.   Curricular Development and Demonstration projects typically bring faculty together within individual institutions or from cooperating schools, colleges, and universities to prepare, implement, and evaluate new or revised curricula that will serve as pilot programs or national models.  These projects usually support collaborative faculty study of humanities subjects as a pathway to instructional reform.

 These projects may enable teachers to integrate technologically innovative humanities materials and approaches into their teaching and promote alliances among teachers in distant institutions. They often involve collaboration among schools and institutions of higher education or organizations such as libraries or museums as well as regional and national consortia. These projects should include provisions for maintaining or expanding the results of the grant after the funding ends. The Endowment encourages collaborative efforts to revise courses and curricula or coordinate efforts to improve the humanities education of students preparing for a career in teaching.

2.   Materials Development projects involve groups of teachers and scholars working collaboratively to create materials for national dissemination that will have a significant impact on humanities instruction. Such materials may use print or electronic formats, but do not include traditional textbooks.  Projects may include the preparation of a set of sourcebooks or teaching guides that suggest strategies for reading and interpreting specific humanities topics and texts. Applicants may design, produce, or test in a classroom setting interactive educational software with humanities content, or they may use other electronic technologies to enhance the teaching and learning of literature, history, or other humanities subjects. Computer projects should be designed to run on multiple platforms. To ensure the long-term use of digital materials, planning should provide for possible conversion to forms such as the World Wide Web and DVD. Proposals involving K-12 humanities education are encouraged.

3.      Dissemination projects extend the reach of promising and significant developments in humanities education. Projects may include presentations, publications, workshops, conferences, visitor or mentor programs, and networks of collaborating institutions. Proposals should indicate the projects’ national significance and should also include plans to disseminate the results to appropriate institutions and faculty throughout the country.