Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC), offered by National Endowment for the Humanities, helps cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by supporting preventive conservation measures that mitigate deterioration and prolong the useful life of collections. Libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country are responsible for collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art, and historical objects that facilitate research, strengthen teaching, and provide opportunities for life-long learning in the humanities. To preserve and ensure continued access to such collections, institutions must implement preventive conservation measures, which encompass managing relative humidity, temperature, light, and pollutants in collection spaces; providing protective storage enclosures and systems for collections; and safeguarding collections from theft and from natural and man-made disasters. As museums, libraries, archives, and other collecting institutions strive to be effective stewards of humanities collections, they must find ways to implement preventive conservation measures that are scientifically sound and sustainable. This program therefore helps cultural repositories plan and implement preservation strategies that pragmatically balance effectiveness, cost, and environmental impact. Projects should be designed to be as cost effective, energy efficient, and environmentally sensitive as possible, and they should aim to mitigate the greatest risks to collections rather than to meet prescriptive targets. 

Deadline: December 4, 2012
Award Ceiling: $350,000

Read entire solicitation

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) Program through the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for observational, theoretical, laboratory and archival data studies in all areas of astronomy and astrophysics, including but not limited to the following areas of study:

Planetary Astronomy: Studies of Solar System and extrasolar planets; the detailed characterization, structure and composition of the surfaces, interiors, and atmospheres of planets and satellites; the nature of small bodies (asteroids, comets, and Kuiper-belt objects); the inter-planetary medium; and the origin, formation, and development of the Solar System and other planetary systems. 

Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics: Studies of the structure and activity of the Sun and other stars; the physical properties and composition of all types of single and multiple stars; compact objects and their interactions; star formation and stellar evolution; stellar nucleosynthesis; and the properties of atoms and molecules of relevance to stellar astronomy.

Galactic Astronomy: Studies on the composition, structure and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy and nearby galaxies. Research may focus on the stellar populations in these galaxies; the characteristics of star clusters; the interstellar medium; and the properties of atomic and molecular constituents of the interstellar medium.

Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: Studies of the Universe beyond our Galaxy. Research topics include galaxy formation, evolution and interaction; active galaxies; quasars; the intergalactic medium; large-scale structure; and all areas of cosmology.


Submission Deadline: November 15, 2012
Expected Number of Awards: 100
Estimated Total Program Funding: $40,000,000

Read entire solicitation

Mineral Resources External Research Program

The Mineral Resources Program (MRP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a grant and/or cooperative agreement opportunity to universities, State agencies, Tribal governments or organizations, and industry or other private sector organizations that have the ability to conduct research in topics related to non-fuel mineral resources.

Submission Deadline: September 26, 2012
Expected Number of Awards: 5
Estimated Total Program Funding: $250,000


Friday, August 17, 2012

Grammy Foundation Grants

The GRAMMY Foundation offers grants in music research and preservation. Letters of inquiry must be received by the Grammy Foundation no later than October. 1, 2012. If the project is recommended for further consideration, the applicant will be invited to submit a full application in early November. Full applications will be due within approximately four weeks of notification and grant awards will be announced in March 2013.


Scientific Research Projects: $20,000 Maximum Award

The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program awards grants to organizations and individuals to support research on the impact of music on the human condition. Examples might include the study of the effects of music on mood, cognition and healing, as well as the medical and occupational well-being of music professionals and the creative process underlying music. Priority is given to projects with strong methodological design as well those addressing an important research question.

Archiving And Preservation Projects

The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program awards grants to organizations and individuals to support efforts that advance the archiving and preservation of the music and recorded sound heritage of the Americas. The Archiving and Preservation area has two funding categories: 
  1. Preservation Implementation: $20,000 Maximum Award
  2. Planning, Assessment And/Or Consultation: $5,000 Maximum Award
Click HERE for more information


Friday, August 10, 2012

Healthy Habits: Timing for Developing Sustainable Healthy Behaviors in Children and Adolescents (R01)


The National Institutes of Health is seeking applications that employ innovative research to identify mechanisms of influence and/or promote positive sustainable health behavior(s) in children and youth (birth to age 18). Positive health behaviors may include: developing healthy sleep patterns, developing effective self-regulation strategies, adaptive decision-making in risk situations, practicing proper dental hygiene, eating a balanced and nutritious diet, engaging in age-appropriate physical activity and/or participating in healthy relationships. 

Award ceiling: $500,000
Deadline: September 7, 2014  

Read full details here

NEH Summer Stipends



The National Endowment for the Humanities offers summer stipends to support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.
Recipients usually produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources.
Summer Stipends support full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two months.
Summer Stipends support projects at any stage of development.
Summer Stipends are awarded to individual scholars. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Deadline: September 27, 2012 for projects beginning May 2013

Read full details


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Grant Opportunities from The Spencer Foundation


The Spencer Foundation seeks to investigate ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world. From the first, the Foundation has been dedicated to the belief that research is necessary to the improvement in education. The Foundation is thus committed to supporting high-quality investigation of education through its research programs and to strengthening and renewing the educational research community through its fellowship and training programs and related activities.

The Spencer Foundation's research grants are organized under four areas of inquiry that identify broad topics  that have fundamental and abiding importance for educational improvement.

  1. The Relation Between Education and Social Opportunity
  2. Organizational Learning in Schools, School Systems, and Higher Education Systems
  3. Teaching, Learning, and Instructional Resources
  4. Purposes and Values of Education


Small Grant Proposal (budget < $40,000)
Deadlines: October 1, 2012 and November 19, 2012
How to apply

Major Grant Proposal (budget $40,001 - $500,000)
Deadlines: preliminary proposals welcome at anytime; if invited to submit a full proposal, deadline is December 1, 2012
How do apply

See what research projects have been funded in the past