From GRC GrantWeek: NEH Seeks Comments on New Public Program

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Public Programs has announced plans for the FY 14 launch of Digital Projects for the Public, a new program to fund “projects using digital formats such as websites, mobile applications, games, social media, and virtual environments to reach the public and foster lifelong learning.” The agency invites comments on the draft guidelines through December 10, 2012.

There is a tentative proposal deadline of June 12, 2013 for discovery awards of up to $25,000 and prototyping awards of up to $100,000 for projects that will “significantly contribute to the public’s engagement with humanities concepts and spark a deeper understanding of disciplines such as history, literature, religion, anthropology, jurisprudence, and art history.”

All projects are expected to have these features:

• Deepen public understanding of significant humanities stories and ideas;
• Build on sound humanities scholarship;
• Involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and production;
• Involve appropriate media professionals, especially a producer, director, writer, and interactive designer;
• Reach a broad public through a realistic plan for development and distribution;
• Create appealing digital formats that will engage the general public;
• Use widely available hardware and operating platforms;
• Deepen public understanding of significant humanities ideas and questions; and
• Demonstrate the capacity to sustain themselves for three years.

 Submit comments to publicpgms@neh.gov. Final guidelines will be published by April 15, 2013.