New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities
MEMORANDUM
TO: Indiana University Faculty
FROM: P. Sarita Soni, Vice Provost for Research
SUBJECT: New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program: Guidelines and Request for Proposals
DEADLINES: October 16, 2007, except for Exploration Traveling Fellowship proposals (see below). Please note that there is only one deadline per year for proposals, except in the Exploration Traveling Fellowship competition (see #4 below).
The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is pleased to announce the fourth year of a five-year program called New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities. The goal of the program is to help Indiana University faculty members to expand their work into disciplinary or interdisciplinary frontiers that promise new insights into the human condition or pursue innovative directions in artistic creativity. Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the Lilly Endowment and is set at $1 million per year.
A yearly theme of broad and topical interest will provide intellectual focus for the program. The theme for 2007-08 is "Politics and the Arts and Humanities.” Proposals that address this theme are especially encouraged. Successful proposals that fit the yearly theme may be publicized as a group in order to generate additional theme-related events and activities (for example, a tie-in to IUB’s Arts Week). Please note that proposals do not need to address the theme, however.
All proposals will be reviewed by a committee of distinguished IU faculty members in the arts and humanities. Both individual and collaborative projects will be considered for funding. In determining eligibility, the committee will take a broad view of the arts and humanities. That is, the key factor will be the nature of the creative activity or the central question posed by the research, not the departmental or division affiliation of the faculty member(s) submitting the proposal.
The committee recognizes that the division between the humanities and the social sciences is not rigid. If your proposal has social sciences content and you wonder how the committee will assess its eligibility, you might want to read the document at http://research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/neh_definition.html . See also the statement “The Role of the Humanities” on the website of the College of Arts and Sciences Policy Committee (http://www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/collegepolicies/humanities2006.shtml ).
In funding the New Frontiers Program, the Lilly Endowment's goal is to enhance the research and creative activity of Indiana University faculty. Therefore, in addition to following the guidelines given below, proposals must focus on research or creative activity. Teaching components are not excluded, but they must serve the purpose of disseminating the scholarly activity that forms the core of the proposal. Projects whose primary goal is to improve teaching are not eligible for New Frontiers awards.
The New Frontiers Program has four components:
1. New Frontiers Grants (grants up to $50,000): This component provides funds to assist in the development of innovative works of scholarship and creative activities in the arts and humanities. More classic works will be considered, but preferably where they are subject to new interpretations or embedded in contexts that highlight them in new ways.
Proposal: Cover sheet, project description (3-4 pages), budget and budget explanation, c.v.(s) of proposer(s) (3 pages maximum); 2 letters of support (see #8 and #9 below) due October 16, 2007.
2. New Perspectives Grants (grants up to $20,000): This component provides funds for workshops, symposia, small conferences, roundtables, and master classes that offer new perspectives on, and new insights into, areas of scholarship and research in the arts and humanities.
Proposal: Cover sheet, project description (2 pages), budget and budget explanation, c.v.(s) of proposer(s)(3 pages maximum); 2 letters of support (see #8 and #9 below) due October 16, 2007.
3. Visiting Visionary Scholars Grants (grants in the range of $20,000 to $40,000): This component funds extended visits to IU by internationally acclaimed visionary scholars and performers. Nominees should be leaders in new and creative areas of the arts and humanities. Each visit should be substantial enough-ideally between one and two months-to allow the distinguished scholar to explore some topic in depth through lectures, seminars, individual collaborations, performances, or master classes with IU faculty and students. These grants are reserved for visits on a scale that cannot usually be funded by departments or units like the Institute for Advanced Study.
Proposal: Cover sheet, project description (1-2 pages), budget and budget explanation, c.v.(s) of proposer(s) (3 pages maximum), c.v. of proposed visionary scholar; 1 letter of support (see #8 below) due October 16, 2007.
4. Exploration Traveling Fellowship Grants (grants up to $2,500): This component provides funds to help support national and international travel for scholars and researchers pursuing innovative projects in the arts and humanities. The grants will allow travel to museums, libraries, laboratories, art galleries, and cultural sites; travel and participation in conferences, workshops, symposia, and performances; and visits to collaborators. The travel needs to be “exploratory” in the sense of helping faculty members in the initial stages of new research projects or creative activities. Travel to meetings to present work that is already well advanced is not eligible for support.
Proposal: Cover sheet, project description (1-2 pages), budget and budget explanation, c.v. of proposer (3 pages maximum), 1 letter of support (see #8 below). Proposals will be accepted at any time and reviewed by the committee six times per year, in the middle of the following months: October, December, February, April, June, and August
General Guidelines for All Grant Proposals:
1. Tenured and tenure-eligible faculty members on all campuses of Indiana University are eligible to apply. On campuses that are jointly administered with Purdue, only Indiana University faculty members are eligible to submit proposals.
With certain exceptions, non-tenure-track faculty members whose evaluation criteria include research or creative activity are also eligible with an explanation in the letter of support from their chair or dean. Visiting and adjunct faculty members and post-doctoral fellows are not eligible.
Emeritus faculty members who are still active in research or creative activity are eligible, but there may be some budgetary restrictions. Please contact this office for advice.
For further information on eligibility see the New Frontiers FAQ page: http://www.research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/nf_faq.html
2. Please do not exceed the page limits for project descriptions and c.v.’s. If you do, your proposal will be returned without review.
3. Please submit your proposal electronically to newfron@indiana.edu as a series of e-mail attachments. Please send the following components as MS Word documents: 1) a cover sheet, completed except for signatures (see http://research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/index.html for downloadable form); 2) a brief project description (see specific program guidelines for content and length); 3) a current, brief curriculum vitae (3-page maximum); 4) a budget explanation (if needed); and 5) a letter of support from your chair, dean, or unit head. The budget should be submitted as an Excel spreadsheet (see #6 below). Additional letters of support can be submitted with the proposal or can be submitted separately by email to newfron@indiana.edu.
If your proposal requires a letter from an expert in the field, that letter may be submitted electronically or in hard copy.
A second completed copy the cover sheet with all three signatures must also be submitted in hard copy to Fraya Fox, Office of Vice Provost for Research, Franklin Hall 116-Y
4. Project descriptions should be concise and to the point. Again, do not exceed the page limits. Project descriptions should indicate the overall arts or humanities focus of the project, state the significance clearly, identify the innovative aspects, and specify the time span and completion date. The description should also include a plan for evaluating the project's success. Proposals for research projects should indicate the methods to be used. All proposals, whether for research or creative activity, should identify the projected results (publications, performances, exhibitions, symposia, etc.).
5. If relevant, the proposal should discuss the possibility of attracting external research funding or similar funding to sustain or extend the project's activities in the future.
6. The budget should be submitted electronically as an Excel spreadsheet. Please use the template on the Web at http://research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/index.html. Enter your budget numbers on the form and the spreadsheet will calculate the totals for you.
The budget should list all projected expenditures. Any item whose purpose or cost computation is not self-evident should be discussed in a separate budget explanation. If the grant will not cover the entire cost of your project and you have or are applying for support from other sources, you may discuss them in your budget explanation. Please do not include expenses to be covered by other sources on the budget spreadsheet.
Please note that this year the New Frontiers Program WILL provide support for course release. The maximum allowable amount is $11,000. It is expected that the normal figures for applicants’ campuses or schools will prevail if they are lower than the maximum. The computation of course release requests should be discussed in the Budget Explanation and approved by the department chair and the dean of the school.
Applicants from the College of Arts and Sciences on the Bloomington Campus should consult the FAQ page for specific instructions http://www.research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/nf_faq.html .
7. All proposals must include up-to-date brief curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum). Again, exceeding this limit will cause the proposal to be returned without review.
8. All proposals require a letter of support from the head of the applicant's department, division, center, or institute. Applicants from schools that do not have departments, as well as applicants who are the heads of their units, should request a letter from the appropriate dean or equivalent. The letter of support form is available on the web at http://research.iu.edu/funding/newfron/index.html.
9. Applicants for New Frontiers Grants and New Perspectives Grants should also request a letter of support from an expert in the field (not necessarily from Indiana University) assessing the significance of the project and the likelihood of its success.
Each successful applicant will be required to submit a progress report twelve months after the funds are awarded. A final report is required within three months of the project's completion. Also, all awards are subject to Indiana University's intellectual property guidelines. Please see for details of the policy.
Geoffrey W. Conrad
Special Advisor for Arts & Humanities
Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Indiana University
Franklin Hall 116-Y
Bloomington , IN 47405
phone: (812) 855-8913
e-mail: newfron@indiana.edu
