The NULab holds two rounds of grant applications. CFPs will be announced on the NULab News feed and the NUDIGITAL list.
Information on previously-funded projects is available here. The proposal form is here.
Information on How to Apply
Seedling Grants (up to $2500) are intended to support pilot research to begin a longer-term research project. Grant funds could be used for costs such as:
- to pay for RA time on research projects
- to purchase data sets needed for research
- to purchase access to tools, software, or other resources
- to fund travel costs for meetings, on-site archival research, or community gatherings that are essential to initiate or further a research project
Community Collaboration Grants (up to $2500) are for digital and computational projects that support community engagement, citizen science, or community co-creation. Projects that may be directly integrated with classroom experiences are particularly welcome. Grant funds could be used for costs such as:
- to compensate community partners for time engaged in collaborations
- to provide stipends for research assistants on research projects
- to purchase data sets needed for research
- to purchase access to tools, software, or other resources
- to fund travel costs for meetings, on-site archival research, or community gatherings that are essential to initiate, further, or present a research project
For both seedling and community collaboration grants, no grant of more than $2500 will typically be awarded in any given case nor will grants totaling more than $2500 be awarded to any single individual in a given academic year. Any NULab faculty or research affiliate may apply. Graduate students from CSSH, CAMD, and Khoury are also eligible to apply for NULab seedling and community collaboration grants, although any projects involving a budget for graduate or undergraduate student labor should have a faculty advisor. Faculty advisors on graduate student projects should be able to commit both to mentoring the graduate PI in managing their student workers and also to providing support for administering student hires.
Any project proposals that include staffing costs should remember to factor in fringe benefits (an additional 7.65% for hourly student work) where appropriate when calculating requested funds. Grants involving requests for physical equipment (e.g., hard drives, video equipment) should explain why the purchase is essential for the work of the project. Physical equipment expenses should typically be less than $500.
Recipients of NULab seedling and community collaboration grants are expected to: provide a project description for inclusion on the NULab website soon after the award, write a blog post on the project once it is underway, and present on the project in an informal work-in-progress session for the Digital Humanities Open Office Hours series. Boston-based projects are also expected to utilize the NULab working room in the Centers for Digital Scholarship for project related meetings. Boston-based projects receive keycard access to the newly renovated space on the third floor of Snell Library. Grant recipients will also be required to attend grant cohort meetings where grant recipients will share their progress and challenges with fellow project teams as well as the broader NULab community.
As the gap between the applications we receive and the resources we have continues to grow, we ask applicants to frame their proposed projects as piloting new initiatives and articulate their potential for future growth. That is, proposals should outline the development of new projects (rather than supporting ongoing work in established projects) and should also indicate how these projects might lead to larger initiatives and additional funding opportunities. Given the demand for this program, the NULab is rarely able to award the $2500 maximum to any single project; we encourage proposals to scope their budgets relative to the precise resources required to enable necessary project work.
Where funds are awarded by transfer, spending updates will be required twice yearly. Project personnel must be up-to-date on all required reporting to submit subsequent grant proposals.
Proposal Requirements
Seedling and travel grant proposals should be submitted as .pdf or .docx via the proposal form.
Helpful tips: We receive many more applications than we can fund. Successful proposals have outlined the development of new projects. Successful projects also identify how they might lead to larger initiatives and additional funding opportunities.
Seedling grants
Seedling grant proposals should be no more than 2 single-spaced pages. Proposals should describe the context and goals for the project, outline the main work to be accomplished under the proposal, indicate the potential impacts of the project for the Northeastern community and beyond, and provide a summary budget. The budget should include a brief outline of all projected expenses under the seedling grant (factoring in fringe of 7.65% for all proposals involving student work).
Any grants led by graduate students that include undergraduate or graduate student work should provide the name of the faculty advisor and should indicate that the advisor is able to support the project by: mentoring the PI in managing the student workers, providing a budget index into which grant funds can be transferred, and coordinating as needed with departments on managing the hires (e.g., posting jobs, hiring students, and approving timesheets).
As noted above, proposals from established projects should explain how the work under the seedling project would enable new development.
See this sample seedling grant proposal.
Community collaboration grants
Community-engaged grant proposals should be no more than 2 single-spaced pages. Proposals should describe the context and goals for the project; outline the main work to be accomplished under the proposal; indicate the potential impacts of the project for the Northeastern community and beyond; explain how the project will involve community engagement, citizen science, or community co-creation; and provide a summary budget. The budget should include a brief outline of all projected expenses under the seedling grant (factoring in fringe of 7.65% for all proposals involving student work).
Any grants led by graduate students that include undergraduate or graduate student work should provide the name of the faculty advisor and should indicate that the advisor is able to support the project by: mentoring the PI in managing the student workers, providing a budget index into which grant funds can be transferred, and coordinating as needed with departments on managing the hires (e.g., posting jobs, hiring students, and approving timesheets).