Collaborative Research
Division of Research Programs
THE DEADLINE FOR THIS CYCLE HAS PASSED.
Updated guidelines will be posted in advance of the next deadline. In the meantime, please use these guidelines to get a sense of what is involved in assembling an application.
Grant Snapshot
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The Collaborative Research program aims to advance humanistic knowledge by fostering rich scholarship that a single researcher could not accomplish working alone. The program supports sustained collaboration by teams of two or more scholars. Teams may propose research in a single field of study or interdisciplinary work. NEH encourages projects that incorporate multiple points of view and pursue new avenues of inquiry in the humanities.
Collaborators may come from one or more institutions. NEH encourages partnerships with researchers from the natural and social sciences, but projects must address humanistic questions and employ humanistic methods. International collaboration is welcome, but scholars at U.S. institutions must contribute significantly to the project. Collaboration among different types of institutions is welcome.
Proposed projects must aim to result in tangible and sustainable outcomes, such as a co-authored or multi-authored book; a themed issue of a peer-reviewed journal; a series of peer-reviewed articles; a born-digital publication; or an open-access website or other digital resource. All project outcomes must incorporate collaboration and interpretation to address significant humanities research questions.
The program includes four project categories: Planning International Collaboration, Convening, Manuscript Preparation, and Scholarly Digital Projects. The categories support different project types or stages and have different performance periods and award ceilings. Applicants must specify only one project category for support.
What’s new for 2022:
- The Convening category replaces last year’s Conference category and supports a single scholarly conference, symposium, or seminar, or up to two working group meetings. The maximum period of performance is one year, and the maximum award is $50,000.
- The page limit for the narrative section of the application has decreased from twelve to eleven pages.
- You must submit a Research and Related Budget and budget justification for each subrecipient in Attachment 8: Subrecipient budget(s).
You may submit an optional draft. You must use the draft template found under “Program Resources” on this page and must submit it no later than September 15, 2022, to @email. Put “Collaborative Research Draft” in the subject line of the message. NEH Staff will read only one draft per project per competition deadline.
A pre-application webinar was held on Wednesday, August 24, at 2:00 PM Eastern. View here.
Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity to ensure you understand all the expectations and restrictions for projects delivered under this program and are prepared to write the most effective application.
Application Materials
Collaborative Research Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2022 (PDF)
Collaborative Research Grants.gov application package
Program Resources
Collaborative Research Frequently Asked Questions, 2022
Collaborative Research draft template
List of Recent Collaborative Research Awards
Sample Application Narratives
Planning International Collaboration
Convening
Manuscript Preparation
Goucher College, Beyond Versailles: Reverberations of the "1919 Moment" in Asia
University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Nubian Archaeological Expedition Publication Project
Texas Christian University, Oral Histories of the Multiracial Freedom Struggle in Texas
Scholarly Digital Projects
New York University, The Post-Soviet Public Sphere: Multimedia Sourcebook of the1990s
University of Nebraska, Washington DC during the Civil War
When you are ready to apply, register for an account with SAM.gov and Grants.gov; both are required. If you already have completed the registrations, make sure they are current.
Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
You will receive a confirmation from Grants.gov when you’ve successfully submitted your application. Subsequently, you will receive up to five more notices confirming different stages in the application process. Verify that you have received all confirmations. Note that email filters may send these messages to your spam or junk folder.
