The annual National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipend competition is underway. This stipend awards $6,000 to faculty members to support their scholarship during the summer months.

In order to compete, an LMU faculty member must be nominated by LMU. The internal deadline for nominations is September 16, 2009 and the NEH instructions should be followed when preparing the internal submission. Please check the ORSP website (http://www.lmu.edu/libraries_research/sponsored_projects.htm) for updates on the internal process, or email orsp@lmu.edu to receive email updates.

Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to scholars and general audiences in the humanities at any stage of development. LMU faculty member Amy Woodson-Boulton of the History Department won a 2009 Summer Stipend for the preparation of her book, “Temples of Art in Cities of Industry: Beauty as Social Transformation in England, 1870-1930.” 

NEH evaluation criteria can be found at: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.html#review. The NEH FAQ page is also an excellent resource: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SummerFaqs.html.

Institutions are limited to two nominations, and an LMU committee will peer-review faculty applications for submission to NEH. Please contact Dr. John Carfora at jcarfora@lmu.edu or 310.338.6004 with general questions.

Submission assistance (including editing) will be provided for the two proposals selected from the internal competition.

Please submit all the materials called for on the NEH website to the ORSP at orsp@lmu.edu attached to an email, by midnight September 16. These materials include the following:

1. Narrative—Not to Exceed Three Single-Spaced Pages

Applicants should provide an intellectual justification for their projects, conveying the ideas, objectives, methods, and work plan. A simple statement of need or intent is insufficient. Applications exceeding the page limit will not be reviewed. Format pages with one-inch margins and with a font size no smaller than eleven point.

The narrative should not assume specialized knowledge and should be free of technical terms and jargon. In the course of writing a narrative, applicants should address the following areas:

Research and Contribution
Describe the intellectual significance of the proposed project, including its value to scholars and general audiences in the humanities. Explain the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the study. If the area of inquiry is new to the applicant, provide reasons for working in it. Explain how the project will complement, challenge, or expand relevant studies in the field.

Methods and Work Plan
Clarify the part or stage of the project that will be supported by the Summer Stipend. Provide an overview of the project and describe what will be accomplished during the award period. Supply a brief work plan. For book projects, explain how the final project will be organized. If possible, provide a brief chapter outline. For digital projects, describe the technologies that will be used and developed, and how the scholarship will be presented to benefit audiences in the humanities.

Applicants requesting funding for the development, acquisition, preservation, or enhancement of geospatial data, products, or services must conduct a due diligence search on the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) Portal (http://www.geodata.gov) to discover whether their needed geospatial-related data, products, or services already exist. If not, the proposed geospatial data, products, or services must be produced in compliance with applicable proposed guidance posted at http://www.fgdc.gov.

Skills and Materials
Specify the level of competence in the languages or digital technologies needed for the study. Describe where the study will be conducted and what research materials will be used. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives, collections, or institutions that contain the necessary resources.

Final Product and Dissemination
Describe the intended audience and the intended results of the project. If relevant, explain how the results will be disseminated and why these means are appropriate to the subject matter and audience. For example, discuss publishing arrangements and publicity plans. If the project has a Web site, please provide the URL. If the final product will appear in a language other than English, explain how access and dissemination will be affected.

NEH expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. In the case of digital products NEH strongly encourages projects that will offer free public access to online resources.

For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.

2.Bibliography—Not to Exceed One Single-Spaced Page
The bibliography should consist of primary and secondary sources that relate directly to the project. Include works that pertain to both the project’s substance and its theoretical or methodological approaches. Evaluators will use the bibliography to assess your knowledge of the subject area.

3.Résumé—Not to Exceed Two Single-Spaced Pages
Your résumé should provide the following: oCurrent and Past Positions. oEducation: List degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations. oAwards and Honors: Include dates. If you have received prior support from NEH, indicate the dates of these grants and the publications that resulted from them. oPublications: Include full citations for publications and presentations oOther Relevant Professional Activities and Accomplishments.

4.Appendix—Only for Editions, Translations, or Database Projects, or for Proposals that Include Visual Materials

Editions or Translations: Provide a sample of the original text (one page) and the edited or translated version (one page).

Database Projects: Provide a sample entry (one page).

Visual Materials: Provide a sample (one page) in .pdf format, not .jpg or other common graphic format. 

5.The NEH application form, including SF424.