Call for Pre-Proposals:
Whiting Foundation Public Engagement Programs

The Whiting Public Engagement Programs are designed to celebrate and empower humanities faculty who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. A nominee can propose to use the funds for nearly any ambitious public-facing project, new or ongoing, drawing on the humanities. Projects should be designed primarily to engage one or more specific publics beyond the academy, and they should benefit in a distinctive way from the involvement of a scholar. Additional information about these programs is available on the Whiting Foundation's website.

Eligibility:  To be eligible, nominees must be full-time faculty in a humanities field at an accredited US institution of higher learning as of September 2020; they must be early-career, which the Foundation defines as pre-tenure, untenured, or having received tenure in the last five years. Please note, while the Whiting Foundation lists adjunct faculty as eligible candidates, Harvard nominees must have principal investigator rights, thus in most cases adjunct faculty would not be eligible.

Limited Submission Opportunity Notice:  These programs are limited submission opportunities. Harvard may nominate one faculty member for the Fellowship program and one faculty member for the Seed Grant program. Prospective applicants must submit pre-proposals via the links below to be considered for nomination. 

Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: March 16, 2020 by 11:30pm
OSP Deadline for Full Proposal (if nominated): June 8, 2020
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: June 15, 2020
Award Amount: $50,000

Proposals for the Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship should be far enough into development or execution to present specific, compelling evidence that they will successfully engage the intended public. Strong proposals will show evidence of both the overall strategy and the practical plan to implement the proposed project. Relationships with key collaborators should already be deeply developed, and, in some cases, the nominee and collaborators may have tested the idea in a pilot, or the project itself may already be underway. Nominees may propose to direct funds however will best meet the needs of the project. Funding may not be used to cover indirect costs of administering the program.

Please Note:  This is a limited submission opportunity. Harvard may nominate one faculty member for the Fellowship program. Applicants must submit their internal applications here . 

Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: March 16, 2020 by 11:30pm
OSP Deadline for Full Proposal (if nominated): June 8, 2020
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: June 15, 2020
Award Amount: up to $10,000

The Public Engagement Seed Grant supports projects at a somewhat early stage of development, before the nominee has been able to establish a specific track record of success for the proposed public-facing work. It is not, however, designed for projects starting entirely from scratch: nominees should have fleshed out a compelling vision, including a clear sense of whose collaboration will be required and the ultimate scope and outcomes. They should also have articulated specific short-term next steps required to advance the project and understand the resources required to complete them. The Foundation anticipates that a recipient might use the grant, for example, to test the project on a smaller scale or to engage deeply in planning with collaborators or the intended public.

Please Note: This is a limited submission opportunity. Harvard may nominate one faculty member for the Seed Grant program. Applicants must submit their internal applications here . 


Questions about this announcement may be directed to Erin Hale ( [email protected] ; 617-496-5252) or Susan Gomes ( [email protected] ; 617-496-9448).


To see previous funding announcements and newsletters, 
please visit our email archive.