Research Guides: Digital Scholarship: Funding & Support

Introduction to Funding and Support for Digital Scholarship Projects

Support for digital scholarship projects can take on many forms from mini-grants and seed grants to launch a project or build a prototype, to large grants to allow for large-scale collaboration, to in-kind support from campus partners. The following sections offer some examples of support available on-campus and from external sources.

For additional information or to schedule a consultation with the digital scholarship experts in the library, send an inquiry to library-ds@umich.edu.

U-M Support for Funding Applications

U-M Institutional Support

Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) "has primary responsibility for research policy, oversight of responsible conduct of research education and compliance, and oversight of administration and support of research activity by the faculty."

Through the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects, researchers can find funding opportunities and support for applications. ORSP, formerly known as DRDA (Division of Research Development & Administration) provides administrative support for research at U-M, including processing proposals, submitting materials to funding agencies, and serving as a liaison to sponsoring organizations.

Working with the U-M Library

The University Library is eager to support campus research projects in every discipline. If you would like to partner with the U-M Library on your digital project, learn more about How We Support Digital Scholarship. We also suggest consulting our Digital Scholarship Framework and Policy.

For grant applications, the library can provide letters of support, consult on project planning, community agreements, data workflows and management plans, and preservation strategies. We will often require a Memorandum of Understanding before entering into a collaboration, depending on the scale of the project and resources committed, so we encourage researchers reach out early and often.

Research Assistants for Projects

Research Assistants

University of Michigan School of Information

The University of Michigan’s School of Information offers “Client opportunities" as part of their Practical Engagement Program and provides opportunities for researchers and community members to recruit their students. According to the site: “There are a wide range of client opportunities that include website or application usability evaluation, content management system development, database design and development, digital preservation consultation, and much more.”

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program

The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) was established in 1988-1989, and it creates research partnerships between undergraduate students and University of Michigan researchers and community partners and organizations. Students may be asked to conduct library research, assist in book and/or course development, conduct laboratory/survey research, participate in community-based intervention research, assist with performance art, and/or apply computer technology skills to a project. Researches can receive research support from undergraduate research assistants and UROP pays the student wages.

Sources for External Funding

To find additional sources of external funding, check out the guide to R esearch Funding and Grants guide, or request a funding search consultation with our foundations & grants librarian.

National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Digital Humanities
Competitive national program offering fellowships, grants, and other funding for digital projects. Includes a range of programs from Digital Scholarship for Cultural Institutions, Digital Humanities Grants, Institutes for Advanced Topics in Digital Humanities, and more.
Mellon Public Knowledge Program
This program of Mellon prioritizes grantmaking that supports the innovative maintenance of technology, tools, and infrastructure for content related to our social justice orientation, expands digital inclusion, and focuses on the preservation of materials from historically underrepresented and underfunded cultures and populations. Applications for Mellon grants must go through ORSP.
CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
The Council on Library and Information Resources annually works with different institutions to host recent PhD graduates. In the process, PhDs "develop research tools, resources, and services while exploring new career opportunities." (Currently paused)
ACLS Digital Extension Grants
A collaboration with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, these grants are "designed to advance humanistic scholarship by enhancing established digital projects, extending their reach to new communities of users, and supporting teams of scholars at all career stages as they participate in digital research." The program emphasizes inclusion and sustainability.
National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Projects for the Public
A program of the the Division of Public Programs, it "supports projects that interpret and analyze humanities content in primarily digital platforms and formats, such as websites, mobile applications and tours, interactive touch screens and kiosks, games, and virtual environments."
Michigan Humanities Grants
Humanities Grants emphasize collaboration among cultural, educational and community-based organizations and institutions in order to serve Michigan’s people with public humanities programming. Open to non-profits operating in the state of Michigan. Maximum request of $15,000.

Funding Opportunities at U-M

Humanities Collaboratory
The Humanities Collaboratory gives generous grants to support innovative and ambitious forms of humanities scholarship. Their mission is to give humanists access to significant resources to enable new kinds of work on the remarkable diversity of human experience across the globe.
Institute for the Humanities
The Institute for the Humanities offers faculty and graduate student fellowships to pursue interdisciplinary research in the humanities and arts. They also offer mini-grants ranging from $500-$1500 to co-sponsor public-facing faculty and graduate student projects.
Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem (TOME)
TOME promotes the digital dissemination of humanities scholarship by providing academic publishers with up to $15,000 to produce and distribute an open access edition of long-form scholarly works. Funding is open to instructional or research faculty, librarians, curators, and archivists at any U-M school or college.
U-M Library Student Mini-Grants
Open to any U-M Ann Arbor undergraduate and graduate students. Student can apply for up to $1000 in funding to support their work. According to the program, "Projects must enhance global scholarship, support community partnerships, or advocate for diversity and inclusion." The program also includes regular engagement with library experts who serve as mentors to the project.
Michigan Library Scholars
Open to undergraduate students at U-M Ann Arbor, this paid summer internship program provides students with the opportunity to work with library experts while gaining research experience and learning new skills.