Heard Libraries’ Digital Lab seeking faculty projects to fund in 2025; deadline to apply is March 21

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Digital Lab is seeking new and emerging digital projects to sponsor during the spring and summer of 2025. Vanderbilt faculty with projects or project ideas that require digital technology, or who are looking to develop a proof of concept to attract larger funding opportunities, are strongly encouraged to apply.  

Projects should be culturally important, globally impactful, and preservable in perpetuity. Where feasible and as desired, Digital Lab staff will assist with project work performed during the funding period and collaborate on subsequent grant applications submitted by the selected recipients. 

The Digital Lab will fund multiple projects in 2025, providing grants of up to $4,000 each that can be applied toward costs such as:  

• proof of concept,  

• student support,  

• project evaluation,  

• term-limited consultants or skilled workers,  

• technology or software licenses and products, or  

• professional development workshops and training directly related to a digital project.  

Selected projects must provide a brief report on how the funds are used. New seed grant recipients will be invited to a brief summit on April 17 where they will meet and discuss their ideas with previous recipients. Learn about the Digital Lab’s 2024 seed grant recipients. A showcase celebrating the projects will take place in fall 2025. Funded projects should plan to have at least one representative available to present at the showcase.  

The following criteria will be used to evaluate project proposals:  

Digital Technologies/Innovation  

Projects must have a digital focus. This can include technologies, skills and innovative techniques in areas such as artificial intelligence, archiving and preservation, digital collections and exhibits, digital storytelling, 3D scanning and printing, augmented/virtual reality, digital media literacy and more.   

Interdisciplinary Work  

The program also enhances collaboration and supports interdisciplinary projects. These grants are an opportunity to promote connection and unified goals in technology and digital spaces. Bringing forth ideas that connect various academic backgrounds and skill sets is invaluable in this endeavor.  

Sustainability and Longevity  

Projects should also be preservable in perpetuity. Applicants are encouraged to detail how the projects will be preserved and sustained so that others may build on the work or, at the minimum, access it for research and learning purposes.   

Future Funding Opportunities  

These seed grants are intended to lead to opportunities for external funding. To this end, existing or future opportunities for external funding are an important criterion for grant awards. The Digital Lab is available to assist in developing grant applications and administering future funding.   

How to Apply  

Applicants should submit a proposal of 500 words maximum that addresses the following:  

• How does the project advance digital scholarship or innovation?  

• What specific digital tools or skills will be required, learned or developed from this project?  

• What are the challenges and constraints involved?  

• How is the project interdisciplinary and collaborative?  

• What (if any) future funding opportunities do you foresee for this project?  

• How will you and other participants document and reflect on your experiences?  

• How will the products of this project be preserved and/or disseminated?  

• What other resources might you need to accomplish your goals?  

In addition to the 500-word proposal, applicants should provide a detailed budget, deliverables timeline, and proposed completion date.  

Application Timeline  

Submission deadline: Friday, March 21, 2025  

Notification of awards: Friday, April 11, 2025  

General deadline to complete work: Friday, Aug. 15, 2025   

Apply now.  

Previously Funded Projects 

In previous cycles, the Digital Lab has funded projects that engage multiple disciplines and have technology needs that are compatible with the lab’s areas of expertise. These include user experience (UX) research and application, cultural preservation, small-to-medium data management, and website/digital tool development. Among these are: 

• a project to use machine learning and virtual reality to make 19th- and early 20th-century stereo photography more accessible to 21st-century viewers;   

• a project to develop a user-friendly web interface for creating image processing pipelines to allow for the analysis of biomedical images;   

• a project to create a digital archive of images from more than 4,500 Sesame Street episodes to be used across multiple academic disciplines; and 

• a project to study multisensory integration—how the brain combines and integrates acoustic, visual and touch signals. 

Application Help 

Interested applicants who have an idea they would like to brainstorm or workshop with Digital Lab staff should email digital.lab@vanderbilt.edu to schedule a consultation, or come by the Digital Lab space on the fourth floor of Central Library, Mondays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. or Tuesdays from 2 to 3 p.m., when our staff is available for drop-ins.