WNET Secures NEH Funding to Produce Innovative Classroom Digital Game
December 4, 2012
Over the past two years, WNET (New York, New York) received a total of $235,499 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for one digital-based project. The America’s Media Makers Production Grant awarded by NEH supports the production of Mission US, a new educational digital gaming application on American history. The first grant of $200,000 was awarded in 2010, and a supplemental award of $35,499 was made in 2012. Mission US is also supported by a $3,500,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mission US is a four part series of innovative role-playing games designed to transform the way middle school students learn U.S. history. WNET is the lead producer and is working with partners on historic content and game development. In each mission, players assume the role of a young person in a different era of U.S. history. The first mission titled “For Crown or Colony?” puts players in the shoes of a young printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston who must decide whether to side with the Patriots or Loyalists. In the second, titled, “Flight to Freedom,” players take on the role of Lucy King, a 14 year-old enslaved girl from Kentucky in 1848, who decides to escape. Upcoming missions expected to be released in 2013 and 2014 will highlight the transcontinental railroad, and life in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. All missions are free to play and can be streamed or downloaded through any Internet-connected computer making it easily accessible in the classroom, library, school technology lab and at home.
WNET applied to NEH because the agency not only emphasizes the humanities, but has also 
embraced evolving digital technology. Over the years, NEH has started to support the development of new digital efforts including games and mobile apps. This is in addition to their traditional support of humanities based documentaries. With this in mind, WNET worked tirelessly on a proposal that catered to NEH’s core priorities; now it encourages other stations applying to NEH to do the same. Catherine Cevoli, Director of Institutional Giving at WNET, states, “NEH is especially interested in a project’s scholarly merit and academic advisors. As a result you really have to cater this proposal to the NEH. You can’t use the same proposal you would for other donors.” WNET regularly worked with its NEH Program Officer and even submitted a draft proposal for review prior to submitting the full application. NEH is very helpful and encourages applicants to reach out to them with questions, and drafts to ensure each applicant is as competitive as they can be.
In addition to these early conversations with WNET, NEH reviewers of the application were impressed by the proposed project’s sophisticated portrayal of social change, its engaging format and its ability to reach a wide audience. The strong and professional nature of WNET’s proposal also played a role in its success. Not only did WNET provide evidence highlighting the success of the project based on initial evaluations of the Mission US game, but they also worked with a strong group of scholars advising them on their project. Senior Program Officer in the Division of Public Programs at NEH, Danielle Shapiro, recalls the comments made by reviewers praising WNET’s proposals as an “exciting project with solid grounding in humanities content,” and with a “blockbuster group of A+ scholars.” Reviewers appreciated “the engaging visual strategy” and believed it would allow young people to gain a “complex understanding of history.” As an organization with a goal of bringing humanities scholarship to the American public, NEH requires that stations applying work with humanities scholars to advise on historical accuracy, and ensure the most appropriate and relevant information is included. For those stations interested in applying to NEH, Dr. Shapiro encourages them to be proactive and reach out to a Program Officer prior to submitting a proposal. As the case of WNET proves, these early conversations can have a tremendous impact.
The America’s Media Makers Development and Production grant program is currently open. The deadline to submit proposals is January 9, 2012. If you are interested in applying and would like to contact a Program Officer, you can do so by email at publicpgms@neh.gov.
New in FY 2013, the National Endowment for the Humanities will launch a new Digital Projects for the Public grant program. You can access the NEH website for more information about this new grant category as it becomes available, or follow the Division of Public Programs on twitter: @neh_pubprograms. You are also encouraged to check back to the Grant Center for details on this program and its fit for public broadcasting.
Additional Resources:
America’s Media Makers Grant Program
Grant Center Webinar Featuring NEH’s Karen Mittelman, Director of the Division of Public Programs
NEH Official Website
