Debate, exchange of ideas, and working together—all are basic activities that advance humanities knowledge and foster rich scholarship that would not be possible by researchers working on their own. The Collaborative Research program aims to advance humanistic knowledge through sustained collaboration between two or more scholars. Collaborators may be drawn from a single institution or several institutions across the United States; up to half of the collaborators may be based outside of the U.S. The program encourages projects that propose diverse approaches to topics, incorporate multiple points of view, and explore new avenues of inquiry in the humanities for scholars and general audiences.

The program allows projects that propose research in a single field of study, as well as interdisciplinary work. Projects that include partnerships with researchers from the natural and social sciences are encouraged, but they must remain firmly rooted in the humanities and must employ humanistic methods. Partnerships among different types of institutions are welcome. For example, research universities might partner with teaching colleges, libraries, museums, or independent research institutions.

Proposed projects must lead to tangible and sustainable outcomes such as co-authored or multi-authored books; born-digital publications; themed issues of peer-reviewed journals; a series of peer-reviewed articles in academic journals or articles in general audience publications or both; and open-access digital resources. All project outcomes must be based on and must convey interpretive humanities research.