NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages

The National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities jointly administer the Dynamic Language Infrastructure – Documenting Endangered Languages program, also known as DLI-DEL. This funding initiative responds to the urgent global crisis of language loss, with roughly half of the world’s 7,000 currently spoken languages at risk of extinction. These languages not only hold immense cultural and historical significance for the communities that speak them but also provide critical insights for linguists, anthropologists, cognitive scientists, and computer scientists. Through this program, both agencies aim to capture irreplaceable linguistic data, support new methods of research, and create infrastructures that ensure the long-term preservation of linguistic diversity. The program supports research in three main areas: language description, infrastructure, and computational methods. Language description projects may involve fieldwork to record endangered languages in digital formats, transcription and annotation of speech, preparation of grammars and lexicons, and related linguistic analysis. Infrastructure projects focus on preserving and digitizing previously collected language materials, as well as creating digital repositories, conferences, and public engagement efforts to broaden understanding of language endangerment. Computational projects develop tools and standards for managing language data, such as parsers, speech recognition systems, and other advanced methods, tailored to the unique challenges of working with languages that lack large corpora. Funding is available for senior research projects and conference proposals. Grants may support one to three years of activity, with individual and collaborative projects eligible for awards up to $450,000. The total anticipated program budget is approximately $4.8 million, supporting 20 to 25 awards per cycle. NEH will additionally support and administer a smaller number of projects under its Division of Preservation and Access. Awards may be standard or continuing grants, depending on the scope and timeline of the work. Matching contributions are not required for this program, and voluntary cost sharing is prohibited. Eligibility to apply extends broadly across higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, tribal organizations, and other entities engaged in research or educational activities. Two- and four-year U.S.-accredited institutions of higher education, including community colleges, may apply on behalf of their faculty. Non-academic nonprofits such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies are eligible. Tribal organizations and institutions serving American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities are also eligible. For-profit organizations are not eligible to apply as primary recipients, but individuals from such organizations may participate as co-investigators. Proposals are limited to one senior research submission per principal investigator per review cycle, although additional conference proposals are allowed. Applications must be submitted electronically via Research.gov or Grants.gov, in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. Letters of intent and preliminary proposals are not required. Proposals must include a detailed project description, a data management plan outlining sustainable archiving practices, and a statement of consultation with relevant speech communities. Proposals are reviewed according to the NSF merit review criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts, with additional emphasis on urgency, quality of existing documentation, linguistic and cultural significance, and collaboration with speaker communities. Proposal deadlines occur twice annually. The target dates are February 15 and September 15 of each year, with recurring deadlines established thereafter. Conference proposals should be submitted at least one year in advance of the proposed event. As of today’s date, October 2, 2025, the next application deadline is February 15, 2026, with subsequent cycles recurring annually. Applicants should prepare to submit their materials by 5:00 p.m. in their local time zone on the deadline date. Awards are contingent on the availability of funds and may require up to six months for review and notification. For questions, applicants may contact NSF Program Directors Rachel M. Theodore at rtheodor@nsf.gov, Wilson de Lima Silva at widelima@nsf.gov, or Jorge Valdes Krof at jvaldesk@nsf.gov. For NEH, the point of contact is Senior Program Officer Jacquelyn H. Clements at jclements@neh.gov. Business operations questions may be directed to Kenyatta Johnson at kenjohns@nsf.gov. General inquiries can also be submitted through the Research.gov help desk or the Grants.gov contact center. Awardees are required to submit annual and final reports, including evidence of successful archiving and execution of their data management plans, as a condition of project completion.