How to Get an Innovation Grant

Small Grant Programs

at CPCC

Innovation Grants

• These grants are disbursed by a sub-committee of the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (after Cabinet approval)

• There is a limited amount of funds for the entire year: between $7,500 - $15,000

• Money is raised for this program by the Foundation

Purpose• The Innovation Grants program was created to help

CPCC employees have seed money for innovative ideas/projects

• Applicants are encouraged to think out of the box• Applicants need to ask themselves “is this idea an

innovative one?”

Purpose

• The Innovation Grant program also has a second purpose:– To provide programs and service

providing units small amounts of

money to make improvements in

their programs and services– To give units who have gone

through program review the opportunity to actually accomplish their “strategies for change.”

What Innovation Grants are not….

• Travel money for programs who have none

• A source of funds for operating dollars

• Available to carry out the day to day functions of a unit whose funds are in short supply

• Money for non-innovative initiatives

Procedures

• Go to the PD website:– http://inside.cpcc.edu/Profdev/resources/Forms/Forms.htm

– and download the application to your hard-drive

– The maximum is $2,000 (account for all you will spend)

– There are four cycles a year (September, December, March and June)

– Complete the application

– Make sure all signatures are completed

– Submit one paper copy (with all signatures) and one electronic copy to the Assoc. VP for IR

Reasons Proposals are Declined• The writer doesn’t specify how the project will be

planned, scheduled or controlled (no detail)• No measurement of project achievement • Leave too much to the imagination of the reviewer• They are poorly written• Objectives are too ambitious in scope• Writer didn’t follow guidelines• No evidence that the project can sustain itself beyond

the grant

When writing a proposal...

• It should be neat, clean and easy to read

• Write in English (free of jargon, acronyms, etc.)

• Make it brief but effective

• Be positive

• Avoid unsupported assumptions

A few ideas that have been funded

• Funds to teach command Spanish to front-line staff at each campus

• Funding to create a manual of inmate writings, drawings and poetry to use in the future as a text book for teaching ESL and literacy in the jails

• Funding to brings residents from the Salvation Army shelter in to the Dental Hygiene program to have their teeth cleaned

• Funds to allow students to build a human powered vehicle to enter in a national competition of engineering students

Things not to do…

• Explain how your innovative idea needs $80,000 and that the $2,000 will get you off to a great start. The committee will ask “what happens to the $2,000 if you can’t raise the other $78,000.”

• Decide you need $8,000 so you submit 4 proposals for $2,000 each.

• Ask for money to do something the College will do for free (IT plan, videotape, take photos, translate into Spanish, etc.)

Things not to do (cont.)...

• Ask for money to run programs (things the College should do)

• Take the application seriously - follow all instructions. Some proposals have written two sentences under each area (too brief), others have been eight pages (too long)

• Leave out the outcomes of the project - they are the most important

About Outcomes….

• Outcomes should be stated in the form of objectives that are measurable: “50% of participants will be able to assist Spanish-speaking students with basic information and directions”

• Outcomes are “benefits for people or students”– Changes in values– Changes in skills– Changes in knowledge– Improved conditions– New opportunities

• Outcomes are often misunderstood and either poorly addressed or left out all-together

Misconceptions• If I need more than $2,000, I’ll ask for more and get it

– They have a $2,000 maximum

• Everyone who applies gets the money– Not any more - we have 7-9 applications per funding cycle

and fund 2-3 proposals– The IE subcommittee makes the recommendation, Cabinet

makes the approval– If your VP signs off, it doesn’t mean it is funded until it

passes the committee and is endorsed by the Cabinet– These grants are very competitive

How Ideas Should Come About

• I have an innovative idea for something that would improve the way we teach or provide a service…. I will develop the idea and apply for an Innovation Grant.

How Ideas Should Not Come About….

• I need money to run my program… where can I find some money… I know, I’ll apply for an innovation grant.

Good Luck

• “Innovation and the Continuous Quest for Quality is What Causes Excellence to Rise out of Mediocrity”