NHPRC-Mellon Planning Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions | DIGITALEDITIONS 202306

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NHPRC-Mellon Planning Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions

1) What is the NHPRC-Mellon Planning Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions program?

It is a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) funding opportunity, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, that helps teams plan major collaborative digital edition projects rooted in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American history and ethnic studies.

2) What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?

The program aims to broaden who gets to shape and publish scholarly historical digital editions. It places strong emphasis on expanding participation by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who are newer to documentary editing and who may be based in history, area studies, or ethnic studies departments. It also encourages applicants to rethink what a digital edition can be, including whose voices it centers, what questions it prioritizes, and how it serves scholars and connected communities.

3) Is this grant meant to fund full production of a digital edition?

No. This opportunity is specifically for planning, not full production. The grant supports the early work needed to make later implementation realistic and responsible.

4) Why does NHPRC focus on planning for digital editions?

NHPRC notes that digital edition projects are often long-term efforts that can take a decade or more and involve complex editorial decisions, technical infrastructure, staffing, and sustained institutional backing. The planning period is intended to help teams build the foundation needed for a responsible, sustainable project.

5) What kinds of work are applicants expected to accomplish during the planning period?

Applicants are expected to define the project concept and scope, build shared agreements among partners, and develop workable editorial and technical approaches. This includes mapping workflows for identifying and assembling a corpus, description and metadata, preservation planning, transcription, annotation, encoding, and online publication, along with realistic staffing and long-term sustainability strategies.

6) What does NHPRC mean by a "digital edition" for this program?

NHPRC emphasizes that a digital edition is not simply scanning and putting materials online. In this context, it is an intentional, contextualized research collection that provides intellectual access through careful selection, explanatory context, and editorial framing. It is meant to support interpretation, raise new questions, enable new scholarship, and improve teaching.

7) Does the program expect projects to draw from archival collections?

Yes. The program describes digital editions as structured bodies of primary sources that often draw from one or more archival collections, sometimes dispersed across repositories, and that require editorial choices to guide how material is understood and used.

8) What communities and fields are prioritized in this opportunity?

The program is rooted in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American history and ethnic studies. It also encourages centering the voices connected to the historical record and serving both scholars and those communities.

9) Is collaboration required?

Yes. A key feature of this opportunity is collaboration in staffing and in relationships across institutions and communities.

10) What does NHPRC expect a collaboration team to look like?

Collaboration Grants are meant for teams with at least two scholar-editors, plus additional partners as needed (for example, archivists, digital humanities specialists, data curators, and other technical or support staff).

11) Does NHPRC encourage specific types of institutions or partners to participate?

Yes. NHPRC particularly encourages participation from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Tribal Colleges, as well as Indigenous and Native American tribal scholars and community members and members of the Asian American community.

12) Does the program encourage leadership by diverse faculty and staff?

Yes. NHPRC strongly encourages teams that place diverse faculty and staff in meaningful leadership roles, especially in ways that expand participation by people newer to documentary editing.

13) Is community engagement encouraged, and how?

Yes. The program encourages building pathways for community members (as well as undergraduate and graduate students) to participate in and benefit from the planning process, rather than treating public engagement as an afterthought.

14) What kinds of activities can grant funds support during the planning phase?

Allowable activities include travel and related expenses for planning meetings when collaborators are geographically dispersed; training for project directors, staff, and participating community members (including NHPRC-supported training opportunities); technical planning work such as wireframing, prototyping, and early testing; and evaluation activities with target audiences to determine needs and priorities.

15) Can funds be used to locate or assess materials that might be included in the edition?

Yes. If a project requires an extensive search for materials or needs to identify and assess relevant holdings, funds may be used for surveying undigitized collections, capturing sample images, canvassing for materials, and conducting community outreach, including associated travel.

16) How much funding is available, and for how long?

Planning grants can run for up to two years, with funding up to $60,000 per year.

17) How many awards does NHPRC expect to make?

NHPRC expects to make up to 10 awards in this category, for a total program amount of up to $1.2 million.

18) When can funded projects begin?

Funded projects can begin no earlier than January 1, 2024.

19) Are recipients required to acknowledge NHPRC support?

Yes. Recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publications, publicity, and other products resulting from the grant.

20) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based public and nonprofit sectors, including U.S. nonprofit organizations and institutions, colleges and universities, state or local government agencies, and federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups.

21) What types of applicant organizations are explicitly listed as eligible?

The source information lists eligible applicant types such as state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and 501(c)(3) nonprofits (excluding universities where applicable).

22) Are collaborations with HBCUs, HSIs, MSIs, and Tribal Colleges required?

No. They are not required, but they are explicitly encouraged to promote equitable capacity building and to address long-standing institutional resource gaps.

23) Is cost sharing required?

No. Cost sharing is not required, which is intended to lower barriers for institutions with limited resources.

24) If cost sharing is not required, can an applicant still include it?

Yes. Applicants may include cost sharing in the budget in the form of direct or indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, third-party non-federal contributions, or project income.

25) Can NHPRC grant funds be used to pay indirect costs?

No. NHPRC funds cannot be used for indirect costs under the cited federal regulation (2 CFR 2600.101). If an applicant includes indirect costs, those must be included as part of the applicant's cost share rather than charged to the grant.

26) What federal registration or compliance steps are required to apply?

Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), maintain active registration through submission and award, and include a valid Unique Entity ID (UEI) in the application.

27) What happens if an organization submits an ineligible application?

NHPRC notes that ineligible applications will not be reviewed, so confirming eligibility and administrative readiness (including SAM/UEI) is an important early step.

28) What kinds of staffing and sustainability issues should a planning grant address?

The planning process is expected to include realistic staffing plans and long-term sustainability strategies, alongside editorial and technical methods and workflows (for example, preservation planning and online publication planning).

29) Does the program support training as part of the planning process?

Yes. The grant can support training for project directors, staff, and participating community members, including NHPRC-supported training opportunities.

30) What is the program trying to change about traditional digital edition work?

Beyond expanding who participates, the program asks applicants to rethink what a digital edition can be: whose voices it centers, what questions it prioritizes, and how it serves both scholars and communities connected to the historical record.