Publishing Historical Records in Collaborative Digital Editions | EDITIONS 202210

Opportunity Information: Apply for EDITIONS 202210

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), part of the National Archives and Records Administration, is offering grants for projects that publish online editions of historical records in collaborative digital formats. The core purpose is to expand public discovery and access to primary sources that help tell the American story, while also providing strong editorial framing so users can understand what the records are, where they came from, and why they matter. The program is geared toward documentary source materials rather than interpretive media, with an emphasis on producing high-quality, searchable digital editions that are carefully transcribed and annotated.

A wide range of historical materials can be supported under this opportunity, including traditional documents and photographs as well as born-digital content and analog audio. Topic-wise, the program is open to broad movements and themes in U.S. history, including law (and the social and cultural history of law), politics, social reform, business, the military, and the arts. The NHPRC is particularly interested in projects that center the voices and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and it explicitly welcomes work that documents African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American history. In addition, with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, the program encourages projects that illuminate the founding ideals of the United States and the long-running debate over those ideals up to the present.

Projects funded through this program are expected to follow established scholarly editing standards and workflows, specifically the best practices associated with the Association for Documentary Editing (ADE) and/or the Modern Language Association (MLA) Committee on Scholarly Editions. The emphasis is on creating documentary editions from historical records, so the program generally does not fund critical editions of already-published works unless those works make up only a small part of a larger documentary collection. It also does not fund film or video documentary production. Applications built entirely around activities that fall outside these rules are not considered.

For new applicants (projects that have never received NHPRC funding), the expectations are especially clear: they must present definitive, credible plans to publish and preserve a digital edition that provides online access to a searchable collection with full transcriptions and annotations. Print volumes can be part of the plan, but the program requires that the contents also appear in a fully searchable digital edition within a reasonable time after print publication. The NHPRC also encourages free public access to the online edition. If an application does not already have workable plans for digital dissemination and long-term digital preservation, it will not be competitive because it will not be considered.

A central feature of the opportunity is collaboration. Awards are intended for teams rather than lone editors, and proposals are expected to include at least two scholar-editors plus other personnel as needed, such as archivists, digital scholarship staff, data curators, and technical support. The work supported spans the full lifecycle of a digital documentary edition: collecting and compiling materials, describing and preserving them, transcribing, annotating, editing, encoding, and publishing the edition online. The program strongly encourages teams that place BIPOC faculty and staff in key roles and that partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and other Indigenous and Native community scholars and members, as well as members of the Asian American community. It also encourages meaningful participation by community members and by undergraduate and graduate students across project phases, so projects can build skills and shared stewardship alongside the publication outcomes.

For projects seeking renewed funding, the NHPRC has imposed a cap: a maximum of 10 total years of support in this grant category, counting any funds awarded starting with the FY 2022 funding year (and the years do not have to be consecutive). Renewal applicants must show they met prior performance objectives, provide updated and current project information, specify the new work planned for the next grant period, describe the historical significance of the materials proposed for editing, demonstrate concrete progress toward completion, and present a budget that clearly justifies the next year of costs.

In terms of funding, awards are made for one year at a time, with an award ceiling of up to $160,000 per year. The Commission anticipated making up to 25 awards totaling as much as $3,000,000 for the competition described. Funded projects must acknowledge NHPRC support in resulting publications and public-facing products. Eligibility is broad across the U.S. public and nonprofit sectors, including U.S. nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities (public or private), state and local government agencies, and federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups, with applicants advised to review NHPRC rules under the Administering an NHPRC Grant guidance to confirm compliance.

Cost sharing is required and is a significant part of the structure of this opportunity. The NHPRC will provide no more than 75 percent of total project costs, meaning the applicant must cover at least 25 percent through a mix of cash, allowable in-kind support, indirect expenses, non-federal third-party contributions, and project-generated income. One important budgeting constraint is that NHPRC funds cannot be used to pay indirect costs; if an applicant includes indirect costs, they must be shown as part of the applicant-side cost share rather than charged to the federal award.

• 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 Collaborative Digital 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 Nov 19, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 06, 2022. (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 $160,000.00 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 202210

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