Publishing Historical Records in Documentary Editions. | EDITIONS 202106

Opportunity Information: Apply for EDITIONS 202106

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), part of the National Archives and Records Administration, is soliciting proposals to publish documentary editions of historical records that help people access and understand primary sources that tell the story of the United States. The program is aimed at projects that edit and publish bodies of original documentation with strong historical significance, pairing public access with the kind of editorial context researchers and educators need (transcriptions, annotations, and clear documentation of editorial methods). While projects can focus on the papers of major figures in American history, the opportunity especially encourages editions that illuminate broad movements and themes such as law (including social and cultural legal history), politics, reform movements, business, the military, the arts, and other major aspects of the national experience. It explicitly welcomes work that deepens coverage of African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American history. A key priority area is work that can contribute to commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by using documentary collections to explore founding-era ideals and the ongoing debates and reinterpretations of those ideals over the last 250 years, with an emphasis on civic education and public engagement.

A central expectation is that funded editions will be built and managed using recognized scholarly editing standards. Applicants are expected to demonstrate familiarity with best practices recommended by the Association for Documentary Editing (ADE) or the Modern Language Association (MLA) Committee on Scholarly Editions. The program strongly prioritizes digital publication and long-term preservation. Any new project (meaning one that has never received NHPRC funding) must submit definitive plans to publish and preserve a digital edition that provides online access to a searchable, fully transcribed, and annotated set of documents. Print publication is allowed as a complement (including ebooks and searchable PDFs posted online), but if print volumes are produced, their contents must also appear in a fully searchable digital edition within a reasonable period after print release. Projects are encouraged to provide free public access to the online edition, and applications lacking suitable plans for digital dissemination and preservation at the time of submission are not considered.

The grant supports collaborative, appropriately staffed editorial teams rather than solo efforts. A typical team must include at least two scholar-editors and may also include archivists, digital scholarship specialists, data curators, and other technical or support staff as needed. Funded activities can include collecting and organizing source material, describing and preserving it, compiling and selecting documents, transcribing, annotating, editing, encoding, and publishing the edition online and (optionally) in print. The program generally focuses on original manuscript or typewritten materials but can also support editions incorporating other documentary formats, including analog audio and born-digital records, when appropriate to the edition’s scope. At the same time, the opportunity draws clear boundaries around what it will not fund: it does not support film or video documentary production, and it generally does not fund critical editions of already-published works unless those works are a small part of a broader documentary edition centered on unpublished or primary-source records. Applications composed entirely of ineligible activities are not reviewed.

For projects that are already underway and have previously received NHPRC support, the application must show concrete progress and accountability. Ongoing projects are expected to document that they met objectives under earlier awards, provide updated and current plans, identify the specific materials to be edited during the proposed year and explain their historical significance, demonstrate progress toward completing the overall edition, and justify the requested costs with a new, clear budget. Across both new and continuing projects, competitive proposals are expected to make a strong case for the historical value of the records for their intended audiences, present a work plan grounded in documentary editing best practices, show that staffing is sufficient and appropriate for the technical and scholarly demands of the project, propose a cost-effective budget, and include activities designed to bring researchers and the public to the finished edition.

Awards are structured as one-year grants with a maximum of $175,000 per year. NHPRC anticipated making up to 25 awards in this category, totaling up to $3,000,000, with project start dates no earlier than January 1, 2022 (per the posted cycle). Recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publications, publicity, and other products created with grant assistance.

Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based entities, including nonprofits, colleges and universities (public or private), and state or local government agencies, as well as federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups. The program also requires cost sharing: NHPRC funds can cover no more than 50 percent of total project costs, meaning the applicant must match the requested federal amount with at least an equal contribution through direct costs, allowable in-kind support, third-party nonfederal contributions, and/or project-generated income. A notable budgeting rule is that indirect costs cannot be charged to NHPRC funds; if indirect costs are part of the project budget, they must be counted under the applicant’s cost-share portion. Finally, applicants must meet federal registration requirements, including active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) through the application and award period and inclusion of a valid DUNS number in the application materials; proposals that fail eligibility or compliance requirements are not reviewed.

• 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 Dec 01, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 09, 2021. (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 $175,000.00 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 202106

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