Debate, exchange of ideas, and working together—all are basic activities that advance humanities knowledge and foster rich scholarship that would not be possible by researchers working on their own. The Collaborative Research grant program encourages collaboration that proposes diverse approaches to topics, incorporates multiple points of view, and explores new avenues of inquiry that lead to publications and other resources for scholarly audiences and/or general audiences.

Collaborative Research grants support groups of two or more scholars engaging in significant and sustained research in the humanities. The program seeks to encourage interdisciplinary work, both within the humanities and beyond. Projects that include partnerships with researchers from the natural and social sciences are encouraged, but they must remain firmly rooted in the humanities and must employ humanistic methods.

Eligible projects must propose tangible and sustainable outcomes such as co-authored or multi-authored books; born-digital publications; themed issues of peer-reviewed journals; and content-rich, open-access digital resources (for example, websites, databases, or tools). All project outcomes must be based on and must convey interpretive humanities research. All grantees are expected to disseminate the results of their work to scholarly audiences and/or general audiences.

Collaborative Research offers three types of awards to address different sorts of projects and stages of development: convening grants, publication grants, and archaeology grants.

The December 5, 2018, deadline is for projects beginning October 2019.