OARS funding Humanities

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations interested in submitting Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that support the policy objective to foster respect for human rights in China.

COMAC builds upon previous USAID/Afghanistan programming, including the current Afghan Civilian Assistance Program (ACAP III) activity, which ends in February 2018. The original ACAP program supported Afghan civilian families and communities that have suffered losses as a result of the being caught between fighting among Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), Afghan National Army, and Resolute Support (RS) troops against the Taliban and other anti-government elements (AGEs). COMAC will provide tailored, small-scale assistance packages to eligible families to mitigate the immediate impact of the ongoing conflict on their lives. No cash disbursements are foreseen. Assistance will be provided based on individual family needs. COMAC's funding directive is to assist Afghan civilian victims harmed by military operations.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission for Sri Lanka and Maldives will support the Increased Demand and Engagement for Accountability (IDEA) activity for Sri Lanka. This is a three-year activity designed to ensure that Sri Lanka has a vibrant civil society which empowers citizen participation to advance democratic values and government accountability around a range of governance and reform issues. The activity will build upon civil society engagement for good governance and accountability and will complement other U.S. Government (USG) and USAID programming that supports democratic governance. Whereas much of USAID's assistance in Sri Lanka includes an element of support to civil society, this activity will focus on strengthening the civil society sector as a whole with an emphasis on working in all regions of Sri Lanka and supporting CSO participation in national and local governance processes.

The Sociology Program supports basic research on all forms of human social organization -- societies, institutions, groups and demography -- and processes of individual and institutional change. The Program encourages theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social processes. Included is research on organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and mobility, family, social networks, socialization, gender roles, and the sociology of science and technology. The Program supports both original data collections and secondary data analysis that use the full range of quantitative and qualitative methodological tools. Theoretically grounded projects that offer methodological innovations and improvements for data collection and analysis are also welcomed. As part of its effort to encourage and support projects that explicitly integrate education and basic research, the Sociology Program provides support to improve the conduct of doctoral dissertation projects undertaken by doctoral students enrolled in U.S. universities when the dissertation research is conducted in a scientifically sound manner and it offers strong potential for enhancing more general scientific knowledge. The Sociology Program funds doctoral dissertation research to defray direct costs associated with conducting research, for example, dataset acquisition, additional statistical or methodological training, meeting with scholars associated with original datasets, and fieldwork away from the student's home campus.

The National Park Service's (NPS) FY 2017 African American Civil Rights Grant Program (AACR) will document, interpret, and preserve the sites related to the African American struggle to gain equal rights as citizens in the 20th Century. The NPS 2008 report, "Civil Rights in America, A Framework for Identifying Significant Sites," will serve as the reference document in determining the appropriateness of proposed projects and properties. AACR Grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by the NPS. Grants will fund a broad range of planning and research projects for historic sites including: survey, inventory, documentation, interpretation, and education. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and do not require non-Federal match.***There are separate funding announcements for physical preservation projects and for historical research/documentation projects. Funding announcement P17AS00577 is for historical research/documentation projects only.***

Founded in 1956, the Chicago-based Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts provides project-based grants to individuals and organizations and produces public programs to foster the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. Projects may be drawn from the various fields of inquiry supported by the foundation, including architectural history, theory, and criticism; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urban planning; urban studies; the visual arts; and other related fields. The foundation offers Carter Manny awards in two categories, including a research award for a student at the research stage of the doctoral dissertation and a writing award for a student at the writing stage of the doctoral dissertation. The research award is acknowledged with up to $15,000 and the writing award is acknowledged with up to $20,000. Ph.D. students who are presently candidates for a doctoral degree are eligible to apply. Students must be nominated by their department to apply for the Carter Manny Award. The award is open to students officially enrolled in schools in the U.S. and Canada, regardless of citizenship. The foundation will begin accepting applications on September 15, 2017. Applications must be received no later than November 15, 2017.

In recent years, research published by Humanities Indicators, among others, has revealed that humanities PhDs pursue careers in many different professions-both inside and outside academia. Yet most humanities PhD programs in the United States still prepare students primarily for tenure-track professor positions at colleges and universities. The increasing shortage of such positions has changed students' expected career outcomes. NEH therefore hopes to assist universities in devising a new model of doctoral education, which can both transform the understanding of what it means to be a humanities scholar and promote the integration of the humanities in the public sphere. Next Generation Humanities PhD Planning Grants support universities in preparing to institute wide-ranging changes in humanities doctoral programs. Humanities knowledge and methods can make an even more substantial impact on society if students are able to translate what they learn in doctoral programs into a multitude of careers. Next Generation Humanities PhD Planning Grants are designed to bring together various important constituencies to discuss and strategize, and then to produce plans that will transform scholarly preparation in the humanities at the doctoral level. Students will be prepared to undertake various kinds of careers, and humanities PhD programs will increase their relevance for the twenty-first century. Grantee institutions must provide funds raised from nonfederal third parties equal to the grant funds released by NEH.

The primary objectives of the STATEMAP component of the NCGMP are to establish the geologic framework of areas determined to be vital to the economic, social, or scientific welfare of individual States. The State Geologist shall determine mapping priorities in consultation with a multi-representational State Mapping Advisory Committee. These priorities shall be based on: a) state requirements for geologic-map information in areas of multiple-issue need or areas of compelling single-issue need, and b) State requirements for geologic-map information in areas where mapping is required to solve critical earth-science problems.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $4 million total costs for up to two cooperative agreements of up to $2 million total costs each to fund technical assistance project(s) in two different countries to improve implementation of social compliance systems that promote acceptable conditions of work and the elimination of child labor and forced labor in coffee supply chains. Each cooperative agreement will fund a project in one of the following countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region, where DOL's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List) documents child labor and/or forced labor concerns: Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua. Project outcomes include: 1) Adoption of a robust and sustainable social compliance system by private sector stakeholders in coffee supply chains; 2) Strengthened capacity of private sector stakeholders to implement a robust and sustainable social compliance system in coffee supply chains; and 3) New social compliance tools on child labor, forced labor, and acceptable conditions of work piloted in the coffee supply chain. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award. Applicants may apply for one or two of the cooperative agreements listed above. No more than two applications per applicant will be accepted. If applying for two cooperative agreements, applicants should not combine countries in a single application, but must submit separate applications for each country. Each application should request no more than $2 million total costs in funding.

Five years ago, the BLM and Northern Cheyenne Tribe started an Ecoregional Ethnographic Assessment (EEA) project covering two ecoregions in Montana. The BLM would like to expand this project to cover most of the ecoregions in Montana. The BLM is seeking a partner who will have a close working relationship with the Tribal Elders, who hold and share their Traditional Cultural Knowledge for the Tribe. The recipient will use the template developed by the Northern Cheyenne for their EEA project. The BLM is interested in gaining more information from the Crow Tribe to use in management decisions for land use, enhancement and protection. The recipient will provide appropriate information to the BLM for use in planning, restoration, recovery of habitats for plant and animal species and possibly interpretation for the public. Objectives: To initiate a process to identify, document, evaluate, and map places of traditional religious or cultural significance to the Crow Tribe. In addition, the recipient will identify culturally important plant and animal species and their appropriate conservation elements; and assess the potential effects of identified change agents upon identified conservation elements.Public Benefit: This project will provide valuable information and will assist land managers to preserve and protect cultural and natural resources for the benefit of the general public, tribes and BLM. The ethnographic information on plants and the subsequent impacts, combined with scientific information, provide important insight to what is occurring on the landscape. The evidence provides a more holistic glimpse into the past, present and will help in developing a plan for the future.

The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research is a private operating foundation dedicated to the advancement of anthropology around the world. Located in New York City, it is one of the major funding sources for international anthropological research and is actively engaged with the anthropological community through its varied grant, fellowship, networking, conference, and symposia programs. It also founded and continues to publish the international journal Current Anthropology, and disseminates the results of its symposia through open-access supplementary issues of this journal. As part of its mission, the foundation is accepting applications for post-PhD Research Grants program. Grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded to individuals holding a PhD or equivalent degree to support individual research projects. The program supports research that demonstrates a clear link to anthropological theory and debates and promises to make a solid contribution to advancing these ideas. There is no preference for any methodology, research location, or sub-field. The foundation encourages projects that employ a comparative perspective, can generate innovative approaches or ideas, and/or integrate two or more sub-fields.

Founded in 1962, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music is dedicated to promoting understanding of the life and works of composers Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein and preserving the legacies of Weill and his wife, actress-singer Lotte Lenya. Since 1984, the foundation has awarded more than five hundred grants totaling $3 million to organizations and scholars worldwide in support of excellence in the presentation and study of Kurt Weill's compositions. In 2013, the Blitzstein catalogue joined the list of works eligible for support. The foundation awards grants to individuals and nonprofit organizations for performances of musical works by Weill and Blitzstein, for scholarly research pertaining to Weill, Lenya, Marc Blitzstein, and for relevant educational initiatives. To that end, the foundation is accepting applications for projects and performances taking place on or after January 1, 2018, and before June 30, 2019.

California Documentary Project, a competitive grants program that supports documentary film, radio, and new media productions designed to enhance an understanding of California and its cultures, peoples, and histories. Projects must use the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective and be suitable for California and national audiences through broadcast and/or distribution. CDP grants support projects at the research and development, production, and public engagement stages.

Lighthouse Works, a nonprofit arts organization, is devoted to encouraging the development of artists through a fellowship program and to the enrichment of the year-round cultural and economic vitality of Fishers Island, New York. To that end, the organization is accepting applications for its fellowship program. Fellowships are six weeks in length and occur year-round. Fellows are provided with housing, food, studio space, a $250 travel allowance and a stipend of $1,500 to help defray the cost of shipping materials, the purchase of art supplies, and other expenses incurred in making artwork in a remote location. The organization's belief is that no artist should have to spend money to accept the opportunity of a fellowship. In addition, fellows have the chance (though they are not required) to teach workshops, mentor students, or invite them for studio visits.

The Battelle Memorial Institute-Ohio State partnership fosters programs that examine the relationship between science and technology and its impact on broader social and cultural issues. Emphasis is placed on educational and public service projects rather than pure research. Interdisciplinary collaborations within the university and collaborations with other institutions are especially encouraged. Projects that address engineering-related topics or feature collaborations between engineering and the social sciences or arts/humanities are particularly welcomed. Typically, three to six awards are granted, ranging from $10,000 to $60,000. Awards will be made in the spring of 2018 for projects to begin the following autumn semester. The deadline for receipt of proposals is Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at 5 p.m.

These fellowships are intended to support an academic year of research and/or writing by early career scholars for a project that will make a substantial and original contribution to the understanding of art and its history. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant. ACLS does not fund creative work (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects.

The Humanities Connections grant program seeks to expand the role of the humanities in undergraduate education at two- and four-year institutions. Grants will support innovative curricular approaches that foster productive partnerships among humanities faculty and their counterparts in the social and natural sciences and in pre-service or professional programs (such as business, engineering, health sciences, law, computer science, and other technology-driven fields).

The Humanities Connections grant program seeks to expand the role of the humanities in undergraduate education at two- and four-year institutions. Grants will support innovative curricular approaches that foster productive partnerships among humanities faculty and their counterparts in the social and natural sciences and in pre-service or professional programs (such as business, engineering, health sciences, law, computer science, and other technology-driven fields).

Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded for humanities-based civic conversations; public lectures, conferences, and panel discussions; reading and discussion programs; film and discussion programs; museum exhibitions and related programming; theatrical productions with post- or pre-performance discussions; oral history projects; walking tours; audio projects; film pre-production and distribution; websites; and/or content-based professional development workshops for teachers.

The $10,000 prize is awarded to an individual who has a mission, an exceptional idea, and wants to encourage change for the better. Social innovators look at existing activities, initiatives, services, processes, or products and develop new or improved ways to address a challenge confronting communities in the state.