The Ohio State University Excellence in Engagement Grants

Sponsored by University Outreach and Engagement

This Request for Proposals is now closed.

The RFP is included here to assist individuals planning to apply for a grant in 2010.
Check this website in Fall 2009 for the 2010 RFP and submission dates.

For more information on the Excellence in Engagement Grants program and an overview of the grants funded in 2004-2009, see the Funding page.

Word version of the RFP; Cover Sheet; Budget Sheet

Proposals for up to $100,000 in funding will be accepted until 4:00pm Friday, February 27. We anticipate funding 2 or 3 proposals. The grant review process includes a required interview with selected applicants. Interviews will be held April 14, 2009, 1-3pm, in the McMillin Room, 115 Stillman Hall. Applicants should ensure that one or more members of their team can attend the interview.

Purpose of Grant Program: The purpose of this grant is to support an interdisciplinary team to build upon their academic/research excellence and to establish an innovative, creative, scholarly outreach and engagement initiative that contributes to the University’s efforts to understand and address the pressing needs of communities and gives the team, college/regional campus, and university recognition both regionally and nationally for its partnership with the community.

Types of Projects: Applicants are encouraged to be creative and innovative in their submissions. Teams/units can use the dollars to support personnel, buy faculty/staff release time to create and lead new engagement efforts, create dual appointments for faculty/staff connecting research or teaching with OSU Extension appointments, support innovative partnerships across campus for enhanced engagement, implement assessment plans to document the impact of outreach and engagement work, etc. How the dollars are used must be clearly described and justified within the budget narrative. The dollars cannot be used for capital improvements.

Application: Proposals must be ranked by your college/regional dean or VP before submitting to University Outreach & Engagement. We suggest that all applicants notify their dean or VP (if proposal is coming from a unit other than an academic department) prior to February 1 of their intentions to apply. Please ask your dean or VP about the process for ranking so that proposals can be submitted by the February 27 deadline.

Encouraged: Interdisciplinary teams to build partnerships within and outside the university that focus on achieving the unit’s strategic plan and advancing the university’s efforts to commit to our communities in order to address pressing needs.

Available Dollars: A maximum of $100,000 will be available from University Outreach and Engagement for each grant. We anticipate 2 or 3 proposals will be awarded.

Match Required: Each grant proposal must identify $1 in match for every $2 requested. A minimum of $0.50 for every $2 requested must be CASH match. The remaining match can be in kind. Units are encouraged to consider providing additional match that can support the sustainability of the unit’s engagement impact.

Review Process: University Outreach and Engagement will identify a review team for the grants that represents a cross-section of the University. Applicants will meet with the review committee to discuss the goals for the grant and the capacity of the team to achieve the goals. The grant proposal will be evaluated based on clarity and completeness of the responses to the questions listed below.

Timeline: Grant applications are due in the Office of University Outreach and Engagement (mail: 400 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Rd. CAMPUS; e-mail: outreach@osu.edu) on or before 4:00pm on February 27, 2009. Please submit all documents (cover sheet, narrative, budget info, assessment plan, appendix, and logic model) as a single PDF file. If that is not possible, we will scan all documents into a PDF so that it can be shared with reviewers electronically. Grants will be awarded at the April 24, 2009 James F. Patterson Land-Grant University Lecture. Grant dollars must be expended by June 30, 2011.

Format of Proposal: The proposal should consist of no more than

• Cover sheet with signature and ranking by dean or VP (if coming from a non-college-affiliated unit)
• Grant application – 13 pages maximum, including responses to questions 1-10 below.
• Appendix – 5 pages maximum. This should include letters of commitment from community partners and statements of commitment for the match dollars.
• Logic model - This is optional and will not count as part of the page limit.

All text should be very readable. Use appropriate font size (at least 11pt font) and spacing to make the document easy for the reviewers to read. If appropriate, feel free to use charts, tables, or graphics rather than narrative if that would be a more effective means of conveying your responses to the application questions.

The Following Must Be Addressed in Your Grant Application:

Please answer the questions in order and number your responses to correspond to the questions.

1. Provide a concise overview of the proposed project.

2. How have community partners been involved in shaping this grant proposal? How has the team worked together to identify the needs of the community for the outreach/engagement initiative? How is this initiative part of the University’s long-term commitment to our communities?

3. Describe project objectives and expected outcomes/impacts. These objectives should be reflective of both community- based and academic-based outcomes/impacts.

4. Describe the academic/research excellence that will be the basis for this outreach/engagement initiative, how this project is innovative, how it will enhance the engagement program, and how the engagement will enrich your academic/research mission.

5. Describe how this project will help your unit address the goals in its strategic plan and how it will be integrated into the other work of your unit (whether it is teaching, research, and/or service). How does this project contribute to the University’s efforts to understand and address the pressing needs of communities?

6. How will this project contribute to your department’s scholarship (teaching, research, and/or service)? Include a paragraph that describes how the faculty involved with this project will enhance their scholarship through participation in this project. Outreach and engagement should be scholarly work reflecting research, teaching, and/or service that go beyond the campus walls in partnership with the community. If IRB approval will be required, in your timeline (question 8) identify when you will apply for IRB approval.

7. Identify the partners involved with the proposal and the responsibility/role of each partner in achieving the expected outcomes/impacts. This should include university and community partners. Please identify how this project engages on-campus partners who are new to outreach and engagement work.

8. Methodology for implementing the project. Provide a timeline for the project (including identification of project objectives that will be achieved each yearly quarter of the project).

9. Project evaluation and assessment. Please describe how the project will be evaluated and the way impact will be assessed so you will know how the project has made a difference both within the community and within the university. Include the following

• Project Objectives. These should be consistent with the objectives you identified in question 3 and question 8.
• Expected Outcomes/Impacts. For more details on outcomes/impacts, see http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html on the Logic Model approach to program planning and development.
• Methods of evaluation. Identify qualitative and/or quantitative methods you will use to determine if project objectives are met. You may use different methods for different objectives. Possible methods may include pre-post test, focus groups, surveys, observation, etc.
• How the information will be used. Will it be used to alter the existing program, create new programs, gain new funding, provide feedback to stakeholders, or for some other purpose?

Summarize this information in the Assessment Chart:

Project Objectives	Expected Outcomes/Impacts	Method of Evaluation	How will the information gathered be used?
Example
To increase the reading levels of at-risk students	Students at XXX elementary will demonstrate an increase of six reading levels in a 7-month period.	Pre- and posttests Observation by expert	To make changes to the pilot curriculum. As data to support expansion of the program into other schools. Data to use in grant application to XXXX Foundation for development of a similar program for fourth-grade students. As data for an article in the Journal of XXX

We encourage you to use an appropriate program planning and evaluation model as you develop the program. One option is the logic model. This is a common program planning and development tool that you can learn more about at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html. If you use the model, it should be submitted with your application. Another tool to help you think through your evaluation plan is the SAMMIE (Successful Assessment Methods and Measurement In Evaluation) one-stop website: www.sammie.osu.edu.

10. Budget. Include a budget for each year of the grant. Use this link to the Budget Sheet format (Excel file). A budget narrative describing each line item must be included. Include how match dollars (in-kind and cash) will be used and the source of those dollars.

Please contact Karen Bruns at bruns.1@osu.edu or 614.292.9613 if you have questions about Excellence in Engagement Grants or SAMMIE.

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