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Research: Art Works

CFDA No. 45.024
2013NEAORA

Application Deadline: Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The Grants.gov system must receive your validated and accepted application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on November 6, 2012. We strongly recommend that you submit at least 10 days in advance of the deadline to give yourself ample time to resolve any problems that you might encounter. The Arts Endowment will not accept late applications.

NOTICE: Due to Hurricane Sandy, the National Endowment for the Arts is extending the deadline for the Research: Art Works category for all applicants.

The new deadline is November 20, 2012, at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time. If you have already successfully submitted an application, you do not need to submit it again.

Grant Program Description

Background

Increasingly, the NEA has aimed to explore the factors and conditions affecting arts participation and art-making, and also illuminate the impact of the arts on American lives and communities. Arts workers and arts industries depend on timely information and analyses to monitor patterns of employment, fiscal health, and public demand for their goods and services. The greater public, on the other hand, needs to know whether and how the arts should factor into such questions as where to live, how to spend one's discretionary time, and what kind of education to provide for one's children.

The NEA's strategic plan identifies research as a mission-critical goal -- specifically, "to promote public knowledge and understanding about the contribution of the arts."  Through high-quality research, the NEA will expand opportunities for rigorous research that investigates the value of the U.S. arts ecosystem and the impact of the arts on other domains of American life. 

The NEA's Office of Research & Analysis (ORA) has identified priorities in support of this overarching research goal, including:

  1. Identifying and cultivating new and existing data sources in the arts.
  2. Investigating the value of the U.S. arts ecosystem and the impact of the arts on other domains of American life.
  3. Elevating the public profile of arts-related research.

To help achieve these goals, the ORA has implemented a grants program for research in and about the arts.

Research Opportunity

The NEA will make awards to support research on how "art works." Consistent with its strategic plan, the NEA distinguishes between research projects seeking to define value for the U.S. arts sector, and those seeking to demonstrate the arts' impact on American life. "Value"-oriented research will measure or otherwise clarify one or more components of how Americans participate in the arts. Such research also may probe the underlying conditions and vehicles for arts participation; for instance, it can examine how key inputs such as training, education, and infrastructure, directly affect arts creation, arts audiences, or other aspects of arts engagement.

Separately, research on "impact" will investigate the direct benefits of arts participation on individuals and/or communities. A variety of possible types of benefits might be explored, whether cognitive, emotional, social/civic, or economic. The NEA also will consider strong research proposals measuring the effects of arts participation on broader-level outcomes, such as new forms of self-expression, new outlets for creative activity, and the overall creative and expressive capacity of U.S. society.

Applications to the NEA should present novel research questions and/or techniques that will yield valuable information about the utility to arts-related research of various kinds of data. By doing so, these projects will enhance current knowledge about the characteristics and/or contributions of the arts in the United States and how ultimately the benefits of the arts lead directly into societal capacities to innovate and express new ideas.

It is hoped, moreover, that by providing financial support to deserving projects, this program will spur growth in the number of people experienced in and knowledgeable about arts-related research in the U.S. The NEA recognizes that some of the most compelling research has originated in non-arts specialties: cognitive neuroscience, for example, with its discoveries about the arts' role in shaping learning-related outcomes; labor economics, with its lessons about the arts' bearing on national and local productivity; urban planning fieldwork that seeks to understand the arts as a marker of community vitality; and psychological studies that posit the arts' relationship to health and well-being.  In this spirit, the NEA encourages applications from diverse research fields (e.g., sociology, economics, anthropology) and diverse areas of expertise, including, but not limited to, health, education, and urban and regional planning.

Funds will be given for the analysis of high-quality datasets, but not for the collection of primary data (e.g., surveys, focus groups, interviews). Projects may use commercial or administrative data, and/or may involve partnerships with for-profit entities.

Outcome

The agency has determined that all grants awarded under this category will have the following as their primary outcome:

  • Understanding: Evidence of the value and/or impact of the arts is expanded and promoted.

Organizations are asked to address the anticipated results of their projects in their applications. Grantees will be asked to provide evidence of these results in their final reports. Before applying, please review the reporting requirements on the National Endowment for the Arts Final Descriptive Report form and the "Administrative Requirements" for information about a final work product research report.

Projects

Applicants may propose projects that focus on analyses of qualitative and/or quantitative data, which may be achieved through a broad range of project types such as the following:

  • Analyses of existing data.
  • Analyses of data for which data collection has not yet occurred.
  • Evaluations/assessments of projects, programs, or policies in ways that provide a new and/or deeper understanding of a topic.
  • Meta-analyses of existing bodies of literature in ways that provide a new and/or deeper understanding of a topic.

Secondary Data Sources

The quality, validity, and reliability of the data used for the proposed analysis will factor greatly in the review of applications. A list of possible high-quality publicly available existing datasets is provided here. This list is not exhaustive, however, and applicants are encouraged to propose sources entirely different from those on the list.

Datasets in the private domain may be used, including commercial and/or administrative datasets, as long as proposals clearly describe the collection methods and the quality, validity, and reliability of the data. The purchase of datasets is an allowable cost.

Among publicly available datasets are:

Final Work Product

Grantees will be required to submit a research report at the end of the grant period (see "Administrative Requirements" below for more information).

Award Information

Grant Amounts and Matching Funds

The Arts Endowment anticipates awarding up to 25 grants, based on the availability of funding.

Grants generally will range from $10,000 to $30,000.

Grants do not require matching funds. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to provide some cash and/or in-kind services in support of this project.

Indirect costs will be supported, but will be limited to a maximum of 15% of the total award.

Period of Support

The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on May 1, 2013, or any time thereafter. A grant period is not expected to exceed one year.

No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget. Project costs that are incurred before the project start date will be removed from the Project Budget.

Applicant Eligibility

Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. This may include, but is not limited to, colleges and universities.

See "How to Prepare and Submit an Application" for the documentation that is required to demonstrate eligibility. Ineligible applications will be returned.

For projects that involve multiple organizations, one organization that meets the eligibility requirements below must act as the official applicant, submit the application, and assume full responsibility for the grant.

To be eligible, the applicant organization must:

  • Meet the Arts Endowment's "Legal Requirements," including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, as detailed in the FY 2013 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, at the time of application.
  • Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment awards(s) previously received.

All applicants must have a DUNS number (www.dnb.com) and be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, www.sam.gov) and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete, and should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award.

Organizations that are not eligible:

  • The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs).
  • An organization whose primary purpose is to channel resources (financial, human, or other) to an affiliated organization if the affiliated organization submits its own application. This prohibition applies even if each organization has its own 501(c)(3) status. For example, the "Friends of ABC Museum” may not apply if the ABC Museum applies.

Application Limits

  • An organization may submit more than one application under these Research: Art Works guidelines.

  • An application in response to this announcement does not preclude an organization from applying under other Arts Endowment funding opportunities including Grants for Arts Projects. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project.

How to Prepare and Submit an Application

Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government's on-line application system. The Grants.gov system must receive your validated and accepted application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on November 6, 2012. We strongly recommend that you submit at least 10 days in advance of the deadline to give yourself ample time to resolve any problems that you might encounter.

Before you submit through Grants.gov for the first time, you must be registered. This is a multi-step process for which you should allow at least two weeks. Registration must be completed before you can apply. See "Get Registered" for details.

See "How to Prepare and Submit an Application" for further instructions.

Application Review

Review Criteria

The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the:

  • Novelty of the research questions, datasets, and/or methodological approach.

  • Overall rigor of the research plan, including the:

    • Clarity and appropriateness of the project goals and design.
    • Analytical techniques that will be used.
    • Quality, validity, and reliability of the data to be investigated.
    • Qualifications of the project personnel.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

  • Potential of the project to achieve results consistent with the NEA outcome for Understanding: Evidence of the value and/or impact of the arts is expanded and promoted. This includes the potential to elevate the public profile of arts-related research by:

    • Increasing the diversity of fields of expertise that contribute to arts-related research.
    • Heightening the relevance of arts-related research to policy and practice.

  • Appropriateness of the proposed performance measurements and their ability to demonstrate that the NEA outcome for Understanding: Evidence of the value and/or impact of the arts is expanded and promoted was achieved. This includes a description of how the applicant will determine whether the project's goals have been achieved, and how those goals will achieve the NEA outcome.

  • Plans for timely reporting and dissemination of the project results, including distribution strategies to make the research findings and data accessible to the public.

  • Ability to carry out the project based on the appropriateness of the budget and the resources involved.

What Happens to Your Application

All applications are reviewed by an advisory panel. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Chairman reviews the Council's recommendations and makes the final decision on all grant awards. Pending the availability of funding, it is anticipated that applicants will be notified of award or rejection in April 2013.

Award Administration

Crediting Requirement

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts in their programs and related promotional material including publications and websites. Organizations that receive grants may be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of this initiative.

Administrative Requirements

Before submitting an application, organizations should review the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines and General Terms & Conditions for detailed information on legal requirements, financial reviews and audits, and other administrative matters that pertain to this announcement.

At the end of the grant period, grantees will be required to submit a 30-50 page research report that includes:

  • An executive summary.
  • An explanation of why the research question(s) is important.
  • A review of existing literature or previous work on the topic, if any.
  • A description of the data used in analysis.
  • A summary of the analysis conducted, and related findings.
  • A conclusions section, including research and/or policy recommendations, based on the findings.
  • A technical note or summary of the methodology used.
  • If applicable, web links to the research report, publicly accessible data, and any other research that resulted from this project.

Grantees will be required to provide their reports in a specific format which will be provided at a later date.

The NEA intends to publish grantees' research reports on its website. All federal grantmaking agencies retain a royalty-free right to use all or a portion of grantees' final report material for federal purposes.

Agency Contacts

If you have questions, please contact the staff at nearesearchgrants@arts.gov.

Reporting Burden

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 32 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The Arts Endowment welcomes any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and making them as easy to use as possible. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Office of Guidelines & Panel Operations, Room 620, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001. Note: Applicants are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

July 2012

OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2013

 

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