The preparation of complex geospatial and geophysical datasets for archiving and publication can pose a number of challenges for archaeological research projects. Archiving and Publication awards provide support from SPARC staff in efforts to enhance the visualization of complex geospatial and geophysical datasets, develop novel means for their publication, and find solutions for archiving them. SPARC will endeavor to work with project directors and the staff to find solutions to these problems and will help projects to identify appropriate long term strategies for their data.
The project must be affiliated with an institution and/or organization that would otherwise be eligible for NSF support.
Generally non-US institutions and organizations are not eligible unless partnering with a US entity.
We encourage the Principal Investigator or a senior member of the technical staff to contact us for a preliminary consultation.
The SPARC program does not support projects where the type of activity is one routinely acquired through commercial providers.
Applications for Archiving & Publication Awards are accepted on a rolling basis. You must contact us for a pre-application consultation (sparc@cast.uark.edu) before you submit via the website. Normal response time is one week for the pre-application consultation, and four weeks from the receipt of the application.
We ask you to contact us at sparc@cast.uark.edu to arrange an initial video-conference to chat about your project and potential proposal before you submit your application.
Your application should include:
A completed application. Application forms are available in the user area. Access your user area by registering for an account or logging into the site.
Documentation of your projects affiliation with a US-based Institution.
Proposed venues for archiving and/or publication.
To apply for Archiving and Publication Awards please register for an account here.
The potential of the project’s publication and archived data to contribute to anthropologically significant archaeological knowledge
The impact of the availability of training and SPARC support on the project’s ability to bring their research to archival standards and/or to publication.
State of negotiation with publisher and/or recognized archive regarding the acceptance of the research/dataset.
If you are considering a project proposal to SPARC, and you have not already done so, you are encouraged to contact the SPARC staff via e-mail at sparc@cast.uark.edu staff to set up a (video) conference call to discuss your project. They will be able to assist you in determining whether or not the Center can be of support or collaborate on your project– and what types of collaboration or support are possible. In addition you should also consider participating in a SPARC webinar, accessing the various resources the Center has on equipment and workflows at The GMV, or check SPARC’s FAQ.
There are a number of different types of awards and collaborations that are possible.
You can start your application process by registering for an account. You must register for an account to gain access to the application forms. You can apply in one or more of the following categories:
Calendars explaining the timeline for each type of application are available on the pages under the APPLY tab.
Applications for Fieldwork Awards, Data & Analytics Awards, and Publication Awards are competitively funded based on a review and ranking process by the Center’s Advisory Committee and the SPARC Program Directors. Applications for residency and collaborative proposal development are evaluated by SPARC Program Directors.
After review applicants will be informed about the status of their application. Projects may be accepted directly, put on a wait list of projects which may be partially supported should the means become available, or declined. Applicants may request feedback on their applications by emailing sparc@cast.uark.edu. Information on notification dates is available for each type of application, under the APPLY tab.