Greetings Colleagues, For the start of this short month (January seemed like an interminably long month), I’m highlighting several opportunities from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as prestigious fellowships that the Office of the VP of Research, Economic Development, and Research Enterprise supports. The complete list of Targeted Scholarly awards is here: http://research.utsa.edu/scholarlyawards/ In particular, the NEH Fellowship and NSF CAREER grants are included below. The NEH Fellowships program is providing an information session webinar on February 9th, which is listed under NEH Fellowships below. National Endowment for the Humanities With the emphasis on STEM education nowadays, there might seem to be a lack of opportunities for scholars working in literacy, history, civics, and arts and humanities. The National Endowment for the Humanities has released a number of funding and fellowship opportunities to span these interests. The first one listed, the NEH Fellowships is considered prestigious and contributes to the University’s NRUF status. NEH Fellowships due April 14, 2021 (note: The UTSA reward for successfully obtaining the NEH Fellowship only applies for this category.) https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships NEH Fellowships are competitive awards granted to individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications must clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Fellowships provide recipients time to conduct research or to produce books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions resulting from previous research. Projects may be at any stage of development. NEH invites research applications from scholars in all disciplines, and it encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars. A free online information session will be held on February 9, 2021, from 12:30 PM – 2 PM Eastern Standard Time. This live webinar for administrators and prospective applicants will introduce the program, describe the application process, eligibility criteria, and offer application-writing suggestions. The main slide presentation is 35 minutes, captions will be available. There will be a chance to ask questions for 45 minutes following the presentation. Go to the program page to find the link to the information session. NEH-Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication Optional draft due February 12, 2021; Full application due April 28, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/neh-mellon-fellowships-digital-public... Through NEH-Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication, the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation jointly support individual scholars pursuing interpretive research projects that require digital expression and digital publication. To be considered under this opportunity, an applicant’s plans for digital publication must be integral to the project’s research goals. That is, the project must be conceived as digital because the research topics being addressed and methods applied demand presentation beyond traditional print publication. Competitive submissions embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. All projects must be interpretive. That is, projects must advance a scholarly argument through digital means and tools. Stand-alone databases, documentary films, podcasts, and other projects that lack an explicit interpretive argument are not eligible. NEH - Mellon Fellowships provide recipients time to conduct research and prepare digital publications. Successful projects will likely incorporate images, video, audio, and/or other multimedia materials or flexible reading pathways that could not be included in traditionally published books, as well as an active distribution plan. Anticipated products must be published in digital form and include, but are not limited to, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, websites, virtual exhibitions, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions. Projects may be at any stage of development. There will be a webinar on February 4, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time to introduce the 2021 Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication competition. The presentation will take approximately 25 minutes, followed by 20 minutes for questions. Go to the link on the program page to attend. Awards for Faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions Optional draft due February 17, 2021; Full application due April 14, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/awards-faculty-hispanic-serving-insti... The NEH Awards for Faculty program seeks to strengthen the humanities at Hispanic-Serving Institutions by encouraging and expanding humanities research opportunities for individual faculty and staff members. Awards support individuals pursuing scholarly research that is of value to humanities scholars, students, and/or general audiences. This program offers applicants flexibility in project types and award periods. Common to all projects must be humanities research. Eligible projects include: * humanities research in primary and secondary materials leading to the development of books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, critical editions, or other scholarly resources. * humanities research related to institutional or community goals or interests, such as projects that draw on institutional or community archival collections, or the development of materials in support of culture or language preservation and revitalization. * humanities research leading to the improvement of an existing undergraduate course, including the development of humanities resources (for example, oral histories, identification of previously unavailable primary sources, historical or literary collections). The program is open to all faculty and staff members, including full time, part time, adjunct, and retired faculty and staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Awards support individuals who work between half time and full time on their projects. Projects may be at any stage of development. Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan due April 28, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships-advanced-social-science-r... The Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan program is a joint activity of the Japan - United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program aims to promote Japan studies in the United States, to encourage U.S. - Japanese scholarly exchange, and to support the next generation of Japan scholars in the United States. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S. - Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public’s understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States. Appropriate disciplines for the research include anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, linguistics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Awards usually result in articles, monographs, books, e-books, digital materials, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. Special Encouragement for Junior Scholars—In keeping with the JUSFC’s commitment to foster the next generation of leaders in developing and maintaining the Japan-U.S. relationship, NEH encourages applications to this program from junior scholars (that is, scholars who have earned their terminal degree within the last seven years). Institutes for K-12 Educators Optional draft due February 8, 2021; Application due March 9, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/education/institutes-k-12-educators NEH Institutes are professional development programs that convene K-12 educators from across the nation in order to deepen and enrich their understanding of a variety of topics in the humanities and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching. Most fundamentally, institutes: * allow immersive study of topics of significance to the humanities. * foster new fields of study and/or revitalize existing areas of inquiry. * reinvigorate teaching and increase intellectual impact in the classroom. * build lasting communities that foster participants’ intellectual and professional collaboration. They should: * ground the study in significant humanities texts and related resources. * explore multiple approaches to the topic in a manner that is both rigorous and collegial. * provide opportunities for deep and collaborative engagement with the topic. * model excellent scholarship and teaching. * consider how the topic engages recent developments in the scholarship, teaching, and curriculum of participants’ professional settings. * reach the widest possible audience for whom the topic is relevant. Institutes for Higher Education Faculty Optional draft due February 8, 2021; Application due March 9, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/education/institutes-higher-education-faculty NEH Institutes are professional development programs that convene higher education faculty from across the nation in order to deepen and enrich their understanding of a variety of topics in the humanities and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching. Most fundamentally, institutes: * allow immersive study of topics of significance to the humanities. * foster new fields of study and/or revitalize existing areas of inquiry. * reinvigorate teaching and increase intellectual impact in the classroom. * build lasting communities that foster participants’ intellectual and professional collaboration. They should: * ground the study in significant humanities texts and related resources. * explore multiple approaches to the topic in a manner that is both rigorous and collegial. * provide opportunities for deep and collaborative engagement with the topic. * model excellent scholarship and teaching. * consider how the topic engages recent developments in the scholarship, teaching, and curriculum of participants’ professional settings. * reach the widest possible audience for whom the topic is relevant. Landmarks of American History and Culture Optional draft due February 8, 2021; Application due March 9, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/education/landmarks-american-history-and-cultu... The Landmarks of American History and Culture program supports a series of one-week workshops for K-12 educators across the nation to enhance and strengthen humanities teaching at the K-12 level. The program defines a landmark as a site of historic importance within the United States and its territories. Landmarks could include historic homes, museums, presidential libraries, and sites memorializing literary, artistic, or architectural achievements. Projects could take place in public spaces and neighborhoods, major waterways, national parks, or other locations of historic importance. Projects employ a place-based approach and are designed to offer educators a unique and compelling opportunity to deepen and expand their knowledge of the diverse histories, cultures, traditions, languages, and perspectives of the American people. Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about place-based learning strategies, experiential learning methodologies, and other professional development goals. Projects explore central themes in American history and culture, including government, literature, the arts, architecture, archaeology, and related humanities subjects. These have deadlines that are a bit further off in the future. Digital Humanities Advancement Grants Optional draft due May 5, 2021; Application due June 24, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/digital-humanities-advancement-grants The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program (DHAG) supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects at different stages of their lifecycles, from early start-up phases through implementation and sustainability. Experimentation, reuse, and extensibility are valued in this program, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities. The program also supports scholarship that examines the history, criticism, and philosophy of digital culture or technology and its impact on society. Proposals are welcome in any area of the humanities from organizations of all types and sizes. In support of its efforts to advance digital infrastructures and initiatives in libraries and archives, and subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) anticipates providing funding through this program. These funds may support some DHAG projects that further the IMLS mission to advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations. IMLS funding will encourage innovative collaborations between library and archives professionals, humanities professionals, and relevant public communities that advance preservation of, access to, and public engagement with digital collections and services to empower community learning, foster civic cohesion, and strengthen knowledge networks. This could include collaborations with community-based archives, community-driven efforts, and institutions or initiatives representing the traditionally underserved. NEH Research and Development due May 22, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/research-and-development The Research and Development program supports projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources. These challenges include the need to find better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage—from fragile artifacts and manuscripts to analog recordings and digital assets subject to technological obsolescence—and to develop advanced modes of organizing, searching, discovering, and using such materials. This program supports projects at all stages of development, from early planning and stand-alone studies, to advanced implementation. Research and Development projects contribute to the evolving and expanding body of knowledge for heritage practitioners, and for that reason, outcomes may take many forms. Projects may produce any combination of laboratory datasets, guidelines for standards, open access software tools, workflow and equipment specifications, widely used metadata schema, or other products. Research and Development supports work on the entire range of humanities collection types including, but not limited to, moving image and sound recordings, archaeological artifacts, born digital and time-based media, rare books and manuscripts, archival records, material culture, and art. Applicants must demonstrate how advances in preservation and access through a Research and Development project would benefit the cultural heritage community by supporting humanities research, teaching, or public programming. Research and Development projects are encouraged to address one or more of the following areas of special interest: * Preserving our audiovisual and digital heritage * Conserving our material past * Protecting our cultural heritage * Serving under-represented communities Collaborative Research Application available October 1, 2021; Application due December 1, 2021 https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/collaborative-research-grants Debate, exchange of ideas, and working together—all are basic activities that advance humanities knowledge and foster rich scholarship that would not be possible by researchers working on their own. The Collaborative Research program aims to advance humanistic knowledge through sustained collaboration between two or more scholars. Collaborators may be drawn from a single institution or several institutions across the United States; up to half of the collaborators may be based outside of the U.S. The program encourages projects that propose diverse approaches to topics, incorporate multiple points of view, and explore new avenues of inquiry in the humanities. The program allows projects that propose research in a single field of study, as well as interdisciplinary work. Projects that include partnerships with researchers from the natural and social sciences are encouraged but must employ a humanistic research agenda. Partnerships among different types of institutions are welcome as well as new collaborations with international partners. Proposed projects must aim to result in tangible and sustainable outcomes, for example, co-authored or multi-authored books; born-digital publications; themed issues of peer-reviewed journals; a series of peer-reviewed articles; and open-access scholarly digital resources. All project outcomes must incorporate interpretive work and collaboration to address significant humanities research questions. US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Pathway Home 2 Due March 16, 2021 https://edit.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/grants/pdfs/FOA-ETA-21-02.pdf... The purpose of this pilot program is to provide eligible, incarcerated individuals in state correctional facilities or local or county jails with workforce services prior to release and to continue services after release by transitioning the participants into reentry programs in the communities to which they will return. These grants are job-driven and build connections to local employers that will enable transitioning offenders to secure employment. These projects ensure that transitioning offenders are prepared to meet the needs of their local labor markets with the skills valued by employers. Applicants must ensure that occupational training provided has no federal, state, or local regulations that restrict individuals with criminal records from obtaining licenses or other necessary credentials in that career. Therefore, applicants will need to research existing barriers for individuals with criminal records in relation to specific industries. Employer connections will inform specific program curricula and ensure relevance to the needs of local businesses and jobs. Teaching transitioning offenders foundational skills, such as job readiness, employability, and job search strategies, in addition to providing apprenticeships and occupational training leading to industry-recognized credentials, can provide access to employment and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Brady Education Foundation Proposals for Program Evaluations There is a two-stage application process—one must request an application; complete it; and be invited to submit a proposal. The stage one deadline is April 1, 2021. http://bradyeducationfoundation.org/application-guidelines/ The Foundation is currently accepting proposals focused on evaluating programs that have the potential of helping to close the opportunity and resulting achievement gaps associated with race and family income. Primary aim: * What works: The primary aim must concern evaluating the effectiveness of programs designed to promote positive cognitive and/or achievement outcomes for children (birth through 18 years) from underserved groups and/or low-resourced communities (specifically minoritized ethnic groups, low-income families) in order to inform ways to close the educational opportunity gaps associated with race and income. Secondary aims may also focus on one or more of the following: * What works for whom, under what conditions: Investigate variations in program effects; that is, test for moderation effects that inform whether effects are stronger for certain groups and/or under certain conditions than other groups or conditions. * Reasons for effects: Investigate mechanisms through which effects occur; that is, test for mediation effects that inform why the program is effective. * Cost-benefit analyses: Compare the total costs of the program (start-up and ongoing operational costs) with its estimated monetary benefits to determine the net cost or benefit associated with the program. National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation offers the CAREER grant to support early career faculty in developing a firm scholarly pathway. As CAREER spans all NSF programs and directorates, potential applicants to take note of the inclusion of social and behavioral science fields such as education; linguistics; anthropology; cognitive neuroscience; perception, action, and cognition; social psychology; developmental science; law & science; sociology; economics; and ethics as well as natural and physical sciences. Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) due July 26, 2021 https://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214&org=NSF&sel_o... CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply. Here are some information resources on the NSF CAREER grant: NSF CAREER Workshop—Lucy Deckard http://research.utsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CAREER-Workshop-Hando... Five Tips You Need to Know to Obtain an NSF CAREER Award—University of New Mexico https://frdo.unm.edu/?q=content/five-tips-you-need-know-obtain-nsf-career... Presentation by University of Oregon https://research.uoregon.edu/sites/research2.uoregon.edu/files/2020-05/NS... --Iwan