Publishing Historical Records in Documentary Editions | EDITIONS 201906

Opportunity Information: Apply for EDITIONS 201906

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), part of the National Archives and Records Administration, offers this discretionary grant program to support the publication of documentary editions of historically significant records that help tell the American story. The program is aimed at projects that make primary-source materials accessible to broad audiences by presenting carefully edited documents with strong editorial context. Proposals can be built around major themes and movements in U.S. history such as politics, law (including social and cultural legal history), social reform, business, the military, and the arts, or they can center on the papers of influential individuals from American history. Regardless of whether a project is thematic or biographical, applicants are expected to show that the materials are historically valuable, will be widely useful, and are worth the level of investment requested.

A central priority of this opportunity is public access through high-quality digital publication. Any new project that has never received NHPRC funding must include firm, fully developed plans to publish and preserve a digital edition that provides online access to a searchable body of documents. Print publication can be part of the plan (including ebooks or searchable PDFs posted online), but NHPRC expects the content that appears in print to also be made available in a fully searchable digital edition within a reasonable timeframe after print release. The program encourages free access to online editions, and it explicitly will not consider applications from new projects that lack definitive digital dissemination and digital preservation plans at the time of submission.

Funded activities cover the full editorial and publication workflow for documentary editions. This includes collecting and compiling materials; describing and preserving them; transcribing, annotating, and editing documents; encoding content for digital publication; and ultimately publishing the resulting edition online and/or in print. While eligible projects typically focus on original manuscript or typewritten documents, the program can also support editions that include other formats such as analog audio recordings and born-digital records. Because the purpose is to publish documentary source materials, the grant does not support critical editions of already-published works, except when those works make up only a minor component of a larger documentary edition.

For projects that are already underway and have previously received NHPRC support, the expectations are more performance-focused. Ongoing projects must demonstrate that they met the objectives tied to earlier NHPRC awards, provide updated and current project information, clearly describe the new work to be completed during the proposed grant period, identify which specific materials will be edited and explain their historical significance, show concrete progress toward completing the full edition, and present a budget that justifies the new request.

Awards are available for one- or two-year project periods, with funding up to $200,000 per year. NHPRC anticipated making up to 25 awards in this category, with total program funding up to $3,000,000. Funded projects were expected to start no earlier than January 1, 2020. Grant recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publications, publicity, and other products that result from the grant.

Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based organizations and institutions, including nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) nonprofits), colleges and universities (public or private), state and local government agencies, and federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups. Cost sharing is required: NHPRC will cover no more than 50 percent of total project costs for this category, meaning the applicant must document the remaining share. The applicant contribution can include direct and indirect costs, in-kind support, non-federal third-party contributions, and project-generated income, but NHPRC funds themselves cannot be used for indirect costs under the applicable federal cost rules; any indirect costs must be counted under the applicant’s cost share.

On the administrative side, applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before applying, must keep that registration active throughout the process, and must include a valid DUNS number in the application. A complete application package must include the required federal forms (SF-424 and SF-424B), along with a project narrative, project summary, supplementary materials, and a detailed budget. Applications missing required components are not considered, and proposals focused entirely on ineligible activities are deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed. The opportunity was listed as Funding Opportunity Number EDITIONS 201906 (CFDA 89.003), with an original closing date of June 12, 2019, and an award ceiling of $200,000.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Publishing Historical Records in Documentary Editions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 27, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 12, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for EDITIONS 201906

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: