The Scholarly Editions and Translations program, offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through its Division of Research Programs, supports collaborative projects focused on editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts. These texts must be significant to ongoing humanities scholarship and either inaccessible or poorly represented in existing editions or translations. The program is designed to increase access to critical cultural materials and promote the creation of new scholarship through the production of both print and digital scholarly editions.

NEH has supported this program since 1966, with a focus on rigorous editorial and translation practices aligned with standards established by the Association for Documentary Editing (ADE) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). The program is open to projects that either produce editions in original languages or translate non-English texts into English. Translations into languages other than English are not eligible. All funded editions must include scholarly apparatus such as introductions and annotations that provide historical and intellectual context. NEH encourages projects to offer free digital public access to these materials, when possible, and to ensure digital sustainability.

Funding is available at two levels: Planning and Implementation. Planning awards offer up to $65,000 for a period of one to two years to support preliminary work like defining editorial scope, collecting documents, establishing policies, and identifying collaborators. Implementation awards provide up to $100,000 annually in outright funds, plus up to $50,000 annually in federal matching funds, for a maximum total of $450,000 over three years. Cost sharing is not required unless matching funds are requested. Federal matching funds must be supported with non-federal third-party contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), accredited public or nonprofit institutions of higher education, state and local governments and agencies, and federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible. Applications may be submitted on behalf of consortia, and all projects must have a single project director who is a scholar. While collaborators may be from foreign institutions, NEH funds cannot be used to issue subawards to foreign organizations.

The program operates on an annual cycle, with optional draft deadlines of September 30, 2024, and September 29, 2025. Final application deadlines are December 4, 2024, and December 3, 2025. Awards will be announced in August of the following year. The proposed project period must begin between October 1, 2025, and September 1, 2026, for 2024 submissions, and between October 1, 2026, and September 1, 2027, for 2025 submissions. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov (funding opportunity number 20241127-RQ) and include specific forms and attachments as outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Evaluation is based on five criteria: intellectual significance, methodological rigor, qualifications of collaborators, feasibility of the work plan, and soundness of dissemination plans. Projects that have previously received NEH support must document progress and provide updated goals. Contact for program inquiries is editions@neh.gov or 202-606-8200. Administrative questions should be directed to grantmanagement@neh.gov or 202-606-8494.