Dynamic Language Infrastructure-Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants | 22 616

Opportunity Information: Apply for 22 616

The Dynamic Language Infrastructure Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DLI-DDRIs) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity designed to strengthen doctoral dissertation research that builds and expands "dynamic language infrastructure." In practice, that means supporting PhD-level projects that create, improve, and sustain high-quality language data resources that other researchers can use over time, especially when those resources are produced in ways that also contribute to or test linguistic theory. A central aim is to make language documentation more durable, reusable, and analytically valuable through strong data management, careful archiving practices, and methods that help connect language materials to broader scientific questions about how language works.

A major focus of the program is work on endangered languages, described here as languages that are understudied and at risk of falling out of everyday use. The solicitation emphasizes documentation and preservation efforts that go beyond collecting raw recordings. Competitive projects typically involve systematic digital recording and annotation, structured documentation, and the creation of well-organized datasets that can be preserved and accessed in credible archives. The expectation is that dissertation researchers will help create lasting records of languages that might otherwise be lost, while also producing analyses and resources that have clear value for linguistics and related fields.

The types of activities this program can support include fieldwork and other research tasks tied to documenting and archiving languages in digital form. Examples mentioned include preparing lexicons, grammars, text samples, and databases. The opportunity also highlights digitization techniques and novel computational methods, signaling that NSF is interested not only in traditional descriptive and documentary outputs, but also in modern workflows that improve discoverability, interoperability, and long-term usability of language materials. Projects may involve building or refining annotation pipelines, metadata standards, corpus tools, or computational approaches that support the study of language, as long as the work remains tightly connected to dissertation research and the broader goal of advancing language infrastructure.

This solicitation provides funding through Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIs), which are meant to enhance an existing dissertation project by enabling additional data collection, documentation, archiving, or analysis that would materially improve the quality and reach of the dissertation research. Awards under this solicitation are for up to 24 months. Rather than functioning as a full fellowship, a DDRI typically supports specific incremental research costs that improve the dissertation, such as travel and field expenses, equipment and supplies for recording, transcription and annotation support, data management and archiving activities, and other justified costs that strengthen the final research products and their long-term value.

Administratively, the opportunity is an NSF discretionary grant in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category. It is associated with CFDA numbers 47.050 and 47.075 and is offered by the National Science Foundation. The opportunity number is 22-616, with a creation date of July 17, 2022 and an original closing date of October 14, 2022. The solicitation anticipated around 15 awards. The award ceiling is listed as 0, which generally indicates that applicants must rely on the program solicitation and NSF guidance for budget expectations rather than a fixed published cap in that field. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with details to be clarified in the solicitation's eligibility section, which commonly means the applicant must follow NSF DDRI rules (often involving submission by the dissertation advisor as the principal investigator with the doctoral student as a co-principal investigator, depending on NSF directorate and program).

Overall, the DLI-DDRI program is best understood as NSF support for dissertation-stage researchers who are producing carefully documented, digitally preserved, and well-archived language resources, with special priority on endangered languages. The program is not just about recording a language; it is about creating structured, sustainable language data and analyses that can serve future scholarship, advance linguistic theory, and strengthen the broader ecosystem of language data management and archiving.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Dynamic Language Infrastructure-Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050, 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 17, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 14, 2022 Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant proposals Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant proposals. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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