Request for Proposals
Overview
As part of its mission in creating a culture of discovery on the U of I campus and, in particular, promoting and supporting a research-supportive curriculum, the Illinois Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) invites proposals from individual faculty members and departments/programs/units for developing curricula and co-curricular activities which integrate (or enhance) undergraduate research and creative inquiry in a meaningful way. Grants are meant to support a range of activities that promote and support undergraduate learning through research and creative inquiry. Activities may include, but are not limited to:
Development of an undergraduate course that, for example (a) incorporates a meaningful research experience, (b) builds research skills and encourages intellectual inquiry (a ‘research-like’ experience, i.e., authentic inquiry or problem-based learning), or (c) innovative revisions to an existing course; Creation of new mechanisms to match undergraduate researchers with faculty mentors or increase the number of such relationships; Development of an innovative project or program to support and/or improve inquiry-driven learning (including community engagement or inter/intra-institutional partnerships); and Creating or enhancing intentional pathways (either within or across disciplines) for research experiences Vertical ‘scaffolding’ from the introductory level through advanced (capstone or thesis) “Studies” pathways (i.e., Grand Challenge Learning is a useful model; or creation of a “studies’ certification)
Grants for faculty will be given up to $2,500 for the 2018/19 academic year, summer 2018 included; department/program/unit level grants will be given up to $10,000. Proposal submission deadline for AY 2018/19 is 5:00 pm, March 23 2018.
Eligibility
Proposed activities should be sustainable in the long term, or have the possibility to do so. Funds must be used to support UIUC undergraduates through development of sustainable curricular or co-curricular projects. Faculty Development Grants are not meant to support individual student research projects; students seeking research support may apply for the OUR Research Support Grant. Funds are also not meant to provide for conference attendance; students presenting their research results or creative work may apply for the OUR Conference Travel Grant.
Off-campus project activities must be clearly articulated in the proposal; those projects proposing off-campus activities will be provided with additional information in their grant award notifications. Travel to countries with State Department Travel Warnings cannot be supported.
Selection Criteria
Selection priority will go to proposals that clearly articulate how they will:
Substantially enhance research experiences of undergraduate students at the U of I, including anticipated mentoring strategies, training (as needed) for described student activities, and alignment with campus learning outcomes, as appropriate; Go above and beyond standard elements of course revision or development; Incorporate appropriate methods for assessing, documenting, and disseminating impact; and Accomplish their proposal within their proposed timeline.
Application Procedures
Applicants will be asked to indicate whether they are applying for an individual grant, or a department, program, or unit level grant. The latter may be multiple faculty members or academic staff from a single department or unit (or combined programs/units).
Applicants must complete a brief program application (should include CV and unit/program/department letter of support from head/chair) and upload their proposals via the web form found at go.illinois.edu/OUR_dev_grant by 5pm, on Tuesday, March 23, 2018. Successful applicants will be notified by April 9, 2018.
Proposals are not to exceed 2000 words for individual faculty, and 5000 words for department/program/unit-level. In addition to the proposal, you are asked to provide a budget that articulates any stipends, partial course release, etc., for personnel; materials, supplies, or travel costs; any matching resources available (staffing, materials, funding). Proposal should include a timeline for the proposed activities. Exemplary and funded proposals may be shared with future applicants.
Requirements
Semesterly (or other, as appropriate) reporting of progress to OUR; Participation in post-development assessment, which may include focus groups, workshops disseminating or evaluating the activity or program (effective or successful practices, learning outcomes, student training, etc.); and Acknowledgment of OUR’s support in any published or promotional materials.
Program Administration
Faculty Development Grants for Undergraduate Research are administered by OUR. We are also partnering with the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, who can provide consultation in the design and implementation of research-supportive curricula and programs. For questions regarding program goals, proposal content, or review criteria, please contact: Dr. Karen Rodriguez’G, Interim Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, via email at ugresearch@illinois.edu, or by phone at 217.300.5453. Informational meetings (brown bag) will be held on January 18, February 1, and February 27, 2018, in 428 Armory, from noon to 1pm. To attend informational meetings, please use the following links:
January 18 2018
February 1 2018
February 27 2018
