NEA explains Research Awards review criteria, post-award compliance and reporting

The National Endowment for the Arts detailed how applications to its Research Awards Program are reviewed and what recommended applicants must provide after a tentative award notification.

An unidentified presenter for the agency said, "All Research Awards applications are reviewed by peer review panels using 2 review criteria, artistic excellence and artistic merit." The presenter explained the subcriteria differ for Research Grants in the Arts and NEA Research Labs, and described how staff and panels handle applications through to award documents.

The review process begins with NEA staff checking applications for completeness and eligibility. Interdisciplinary peer review panels across the country evaluate submissions; each panel includes at least one layperson. Panelists "score and comment on the applications based on the review criteria," the presenter said, and NEA staff then present funding recommendations to the National Council on the Arts for their review and recommendation to the NEA chair. "The NEA chair gives final approval on all award recommendations," the presenter added.

For Research Grants in the Arts, the agency said artistic excellence focuses on items such as the clarity and effectiveness of the research plan, a sufficient evidence base, qualifications of organizations and personnel, documentation strategies, and adequate resources and budget to complete the project. Artistic merit for grants centers on potential public benefit and effective dissemination strategies for results, products and data.

NEA Research Labs are judged under different subcriteria: the agency emphasized clarity of the research agenda, a defined keystone study, qualifications of project staff including a technical working group, the ability to complete the project on time and within budget, and plans to develop websites and other products that engage scientific and artistic communities.

Recommended applicants will receive a tentative funding offer or a notice of rejection by email. If recommended, applicants must provide additional documentation, including project activity updates and compliance information tied to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act Section 504. If relevant, applicants must also provide institutional review board approval status and human-subjects ethics training certificates. The presenter said staff review of these materials to ensure federal compliance "can take several weeks."

After staff completes these checks, formal award documents are issued and posted in REACH, the NEA grants management system. Payments are not automatically disbursed; grantees must submit payment requests through REACH after they receive an award notification.

Grantees are required to submit final performance and financial reports and to deliver final work products, due 120 days after the end of the grant period. The presenter specified the final research product should be a 15-to-30-page research paper of publishable quality that includes at minimum an abstract or summary and a full research paper. NEA Research Labs must additionally create a lab website and share its link with the agency. For translational projects, grantees are encouraged, but not required, to provide a practitioner-friendly product or tool.

On rights and posting, the presenter said materials produced under a research award are owned by the grantee, but the NEA "reserves a royalty free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the material for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so." Final papers and products may be posted to the NEA website; grantees may request an embargo of up to one year from their performance end date to delay posting.

For managing awards and making payment requests, the presenter directed applicants to the NEA 'manage your award' web page and provided the contact email NEAresearchgrants@arts.gov for questions. The guidance summarizes required documentation, timelines and rights that applicants and grantees should factor into proposals and project planning.