Office of Research & Creative Scholarship

Category: Federal Funding

External Funding Opportunities: May/June 2021

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On April 29, 2021

In External Funding Opportunities, Federal Funding

The Andy Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital are offering the Arts Writers grant (due May 19) which supports both emerging and established writers who are writing about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing. These grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. (Individual Artists, School of the Arts, VMA, WLP)

The National Endowment for the Arts Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities program (due May 20) strengthens the teaching and study of the humanities at institutions of higher education by developing new humanities programs, resources (including those in digital format), or courses, or by enhancing existing ones. Projects must be organized around a core topic or set of themes drawn from such areas of study in the humanities as history, philosophy, religion, literature, and composition and writing skills. The project period can be between 1-3 years and the total award is up to 150,000. (Marlboro Institute, School of the Arts)

Logos for the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, NEH, Andy Warhol Foundation, and Whiting Foundation.

The City of Boston Mayor’s Office for Arts and Culture’s Opportunity Fund (due June 4): The Opportunity Fund aims to support artists in activities that continue their education and skill building, or helps bring free public arts experiences or events into a community located in the City of Boston. Any artist living or working in the City of Boston is eligible to apply. Preference will be given to Boston residents. Grants are awarded up to $1,000. (Individual Artists, School of the Arts, VMA, WLP)

The Whiting Foundation Public Engagement Programs (due June 14) including the Public Engagement Fellowship and the Public Engagement Seed Grant, are designed to celebrate and empower humanities faculty who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. The programs fund ambitious, often collaborative projects to infuse into public life the richness, profundity, and nuance that give the humanities their lasting value. The Public Engagement Fellowship of $50,000 is for public-facing projects far enough along in development or execution that the nominee can present compelling, specific evidence that they will successfully engage the intended public. The Public Engagement Seed Grant of up to $10,000 supports projects at an earlier stage of development. Nominees should have fleshed out a compelling vision, including a clear sense of whose collaboration will be required and the ultimate scope and outcomes. Applicants must be nominated by Emerson by June 1 in order to apply. (Marlboro Institute, School of the Arts, School of Communication)

The Society of Environmental Journalists Fund for Environmental Journalism (due June 15) offers a small grant for journalism story projects on a particular topic. This year, the topics are: Environment-climate-religion connections, including underrepresented religions; and Environmental health and justice in the United States, including chemical/toxic exposure and pollution. Proposals that support multiple journalists are encouraged. Award includes a $2,000 stipend per journalist and other travel or project costs up to a total of $5,000.
(Journalism, WLP, Marlboro Institute)

Brown University’s George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Higher Education Fellowships (application opens July 1 until November 1) are designed to augment paid sabbatical leaves for mid-career tenured faculty (Associate professors) who have achieved recognition for at least one major project. The foundation awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields. For 2021-2022, the selected fields are Photography and Film Studies, and the fellowship amount is $35,000. (School of the Arts, School of Communication, Marlboro Institute)

Key Changes to the OMB’s Uniform Guidance For Federal Awards

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On January 23, 2021

In Federal Funding, Federal Regulations, Policies

Uniform Guidance Basics

First implemented in 2014, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” (2 CFR Chapters I, II, Part 200, et al), provides guidance to federal grantmaking agencies and applies to all federal awards received by Emerson College for research, scholarship, and other projects. The Uniform Guidance (UG) consolidated and replaced eight OMB Circulars such as the A-110 (Administrative requirements), A-21 (Cost principles), and A-133 (Audit requirements). Federal agencies (NIH, NSF, NEA, etc) have each developed their own agency-specific implementation plans for the Uniform Guidance.

What’s Changed

On November 12, 2020, OMB implemented its Final Guidance on amendments to the OMB Guidance for Grants and Agreements. Overall, these changes give agencies more flexibility in designing and monitoring programs, as well as encouraging the use of data collection and analysis to identify best practices.

Key Changes for Emerson and Principal Investigators (PI’s) on Federal Awards

  • “Must” Vs. “Should.” Section §200.101(b)(1) clarifies that when the word “must” is used it indicates a requirement. Whereas, use of the word “should” or “may” indicates a best practice or recommended approach, and permits some discretion.
  • SAM.Gov Registration. SAM.gov registration numbers will be replaced with the new Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and current SAM registrants will receive a UEI automatically. The UEI transition timeline was recently be extended to April 2022. DUNS numbers will be phased out for new registrations. SAM will retain DUNS numbers for historical purposes.
  • Subaward Reporting. The reporting threshold for subawards, under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), has increased from $25,000 to $30,000.
  • Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications Equipment and Services. Federal funds may not be used to make purchases from Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation and their subsidiaries 
  • Methods of Procurement. The micro-purchase threshold was raised from $3,500 to $10,000; the simplified acquisition threshold was raised from $150,000 to $250,000.
  • Domestic Preferences for Procurements. Grantees are encouraged to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States when procuring goods and services under Federal awards.
  • Monitoring and reporting program performance. Grant reporting requirements may become more stringent; granting agencies are required to more actively monitor progress on certain discretionary research awards.
  • Termination. Granting agencies are given more latitude in terminating an award when it is not meeting “program goals” or “agency priorities.”
  • Extended Closeout Dates. Final performance reports are now due 120 calendar days after the performance end date.
  • Publication and Printing Costs. The New guidance clarifies that any printing and publishing costs may only be charged to a federal grant if the award is in its final budget period.

For an annotated breakdown of all the changes, check out the Council on Governmental Relations’ (COGR) Implementation and Readiness Guide for the OMB Uniform Guidance.

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