Program:  The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Office of Research & Analysis will make awards to support research that investigates the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components within the U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life.

"Value"-oriented research measures or otherwise clarifies one or more factors, characteristics, and conditions of the U.S. arts ecosystem as illustrated above. Examples may include but are not limited to descriptive studies of arts participation and arts learners, artists and art workers, arts organizations and arts industries, and arts funders and arts volunteers. Such research also may probe the underlying conditions and vehicles for arts participation. For instance, it can examine how key inputs such as training, education, and infrastructure directly affect arts creation, arts audiences, or other aspects of arts engagement.

Separately, research on "impact" investigates the direct and indirect benefits of arts participation on individual health and well-being; individual cognitive capacity, learning, and creativity; community livability; or economic prosperity. Such research may also examine the effects of arts participation on broader-level outcomes, such as new forms of self-expression, new outlets for creative activity, and the overall creative and expressive capacity of U.S. society.

Priority will be given to applications that present theory-driven research questions and methodologies that will yield important information about the value and/or impact of the arts. Competitive applications will take into account any extant research that serves as a basis for a theoretical framework, and helps to motivate the proposed project.

Deadline:  November 5, 2013.

For more information, go to: http://arts.gov/grants/apply/Research/index.html