Office of Global Programs
Global Partnerships – Staff Travel Grants Competition
Application Guidelines
Table of Contents
General information ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Duration of the grant .................................................................................................................................... 1
Expected outcomes....................................................................................................................................... 2
Applicant eligibility........................................................................................................................................ 2
Host institution eligibility .............................................................................................................................. 2
Conditions ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Application process ....................................................................................................................................... 2
Budget and finances...................................................................................................................................... 2
Reporting ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Deadlines....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Appendix 1: Project application form ........................................................................................................... 4
General information
Description: The Office of Global Programs (OGP) is pleased to announce a new travel grant competition
for University of Connecticut staff as part of our ongoing effort to contribute to the internationalization
of the campus. The Global Partnerships-Staff Travel Grants will enable full time staff members to learn
and share international best practices in higher education. Funded proposals will include travel to one
or more UConn partner institutions in order to further collaboration, dialogue and exchange. There will
be one call for proposals annually, for a total of two awards. Please contact Dr. Raluca Nahorniac at OGP
(raluca.nahorniac@uconn.edu) to discuss possibilities for projects.
Duration of the grant
Grants must be used within one year of the award. The recommended length of the grantee’s visit at the
partner institution is two weeks.
Expected outcomes
Share knowledge and insights gained with colleagues within his/her own unit and, as appropriate, with
the wider UConn community.
Applicant eligibility
Full- time professional staff at the University of Connecticut are eligible to apply.
Host institution eligibility
The foreign host institution must be a signatory of an active, official partnership agreement with the
University of Connecticut, or of one that is in the process of being renewed.
To consult a list of our current international agreements, please follow this link. If you need assistance in
identifying a contact person at a partner institution, please contact Dr. Raluca Nahorniac at OGP
(raluca.nahorniac@uconn.edu).
Conditions
Grantees must attend an orientation session organized by the Office of Global Programs within two
weeks of the award announcement. Final reports summarizing the experience and identifying potential
collaborative activities are due within one month of completion. The reports will be published on the
Office of Global Programs website.
Application process
Complete applications should be submitted electronically to Dr. Raluca Nahorniac at OGP
(raluca.nahorniac@uconn.edu) by the application deadline.
Complete applications should include:
1. Project application form (Appendix 1)
2. Invitation/ letter of support from the host institution(s)
3. Letter of support from the applicant’s UConn department head or equivalent
The UConn letter of support should mention the name of the applicant, title of the project,
acknowledgement of the amount requested and any financial contribution of the department, if
applicable. Electronic messages from the department head or equivalent sent directly to Dr.
Raluca Nahorniac at raluca.nahorniac@uconn.edu or forwarded by the applicant are acceptable
as letters of support.
Budget and finances
The award may be applied to foreign travel (visa, transportation, accommodations, and per diem), up to
$6,000 per project. All travel receipts must be submitted to the Office of Global Programs no more than
two weeks after completing the visit.
Reporting
A narrative of the project is due no more than one month after the end of the visit. The reports should
be sent electronically to Raluca Nahorniac at OGP (raluca.nahorniac@uconn.edu) and should outline at
least the following items:
-
summary of the visit
reflection on practices at the host institution and their possible implications for UConn
identification of possible collaborative activities with the partner institution
follow-up actions and timetable
Deadlines
Competition deadlines for 2012:
2012
Call for
Proposals
Published
Application
deadline
Awards
announced
Orientation
session
End of
project
activities
Final report
deadline
12/07/2011
02/01/2012
02/15/2012
03/01/2012
02/15/2013
within one
month of
visit
Appendix 1: Project application form
A. Applicant information
A.1. Name: Richard Miller
A.2. Title: Director, Office of Environmental Policy
A.3. Department or Unit: Office of Environmental Policy
A.4. E-mail: rich.miller@uconn.edu
A.5. Phone: 860 486-8741
B. Host institution information
B.1. Institution name: University of Freiburg
B.2. Department or unit name: Department of Environmental Protection
B.3. Country: Germany
B.4. City: Freiburg
B.5. Host’s name and e-mail address : Dr. Jürgen Steck c/o Renate Seitz rseitz@ctdhe.org
B.6. Previous collaboration (Please provide the details of the department’s or applicant’s previous collaboration with this
institution, if any.) N/A
Note: If your project involves more than one host institution, please copy, paste and fill in the section B of this form for each of
the institutions involved.
C. Project information (Maximum three pages, TNR, single space. Please complete sections C.1. to C.7.)
C.1. Project title: “Building an International Sustainability Alliance”
C.2. Objectives:




Develop relationship with sustainable growth experts in Germany,
Bring Germany’s model of green investment and development to UConn,
Share experiences in addressing concerns of sustainability,
Integrate Germany’s plans for climate change mitigation and adaptation to augment UConn’s
Climate Action Plan and Environmental Policy Advisory Committee (EPAC).
C.3. Justification:
In 2007, the University of Connecticut signed an accord with the American College and University
President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to become a carbon-neutral University by 2050. As a result
of the signing of this agreement, UConn has developed a formal Climate Action Plan that outlines our
commitments in a meaningful, actionable way. The CAP is a document that is evolving, with relevant and
timely input from diverse groups across campus. As our understanding grows, so does our commitment
to action.
Germany has developed one of the world’s best models for investing strategically in sustainability as a
long-term goal. Their plans for research and development, and integration of science-based decisionmaking into policy decisions; are second to none. We would like to develop a working relationship and
mentorship program to learn from their successes and challenges, and we would like to adapt their
model appropriately to help guide UConn’s future as a leader in US-based sustainability. Our
sustainability program currently ranks #16 nationally on one index, and #3 worldwide on another. We
feel that this places UConn in a very auspicious place for taking a true leadership role in the country and
internationally, and we feel that our position would only be strengthened by broadening our perspective
to include that of a successful international model.
A 2008 document prepared by the US German ambassador Dr. Klaus Scharioth, outlines the urgency for
world educational leaders and academic institutions to develop alliances as we face the challenges
presented by climate change. Titled “Transatlantic Climate Bridge,” the document outlines a strategy for
developing true international partnerships that would be instrumental for any leadership institution
wishing to function in a conscientious global environment. We feel that the opportunity created by the
development of a partnership in sustainability with the University of Freiburg would be aligned with the
strategy outlined in the ambassador’s document, and would help bring some of Europe’s very advanced
perspective on sustainability to the University of Connecticut.
C.4. Description of project activities:
We would like to have our director of Environmental Policy, Rich Miller, spend two weeks learning the
University of Freiburg’s sustainability program. Specifically, we would like to have an audience with the
officials who develop and implement environmental and sustainable policies, and with the individuals
who work to effect those policies. We would like to learn first-hand from their particular challenges,
resource limitations, and implementation successes; which are very similar to the limitations and
challenges we face in a field of competing priorities. We would like to tour their facilities, examine their
energy delivery systems, and learn how they prioritize sustainability efforts at all levels of operations;
from hiring to food to research support to waste disposal and recycling operations. We would also like
to tour the city of Freiburg, renowned world-wide for its environmentally sustainable programs, as a
model for the possibilities within the Storrs community and other Connecticut locales.
C.5. Timetable:
The time frame is flexible; we would like to make the trip during the summer break of 2012, during a
two week frame that fits well into the German University’s time table.
C.6. Expected outcomes, including plans for sharing information and lessons learned:
We expect that there will be three important outcomes from this trip that will have University-wide
implications for our own operations.
First, we expect that we will develop working partnerships with sustainability experts at the University
of Freiburg; and that the two-way interaction will help strengthen both programs moving forward.
We expect to bring home concrete ideas for prioritizing sustainability objectives, and that these ideas
will be wholly or partly implemented by the Office of Environmental Policy and ecology-minded student
groups in their operations. These activities will augment the large amount of outreach and coordination
that is already done for the University community through these two respective channels, and will only
help improve the effectiveness of these campaigns. For example, we expect that their green investment
strategies will prove very useful in recommending demonstration projects for prioritization through
UConn’s “Renewable Energy Strategic Plan” (RESP), which aims to devote campus resources to
integrated energy solutions that serve as active research demonstrations while reducing the University’s
carbon footprint.
Finally, we expect that the OEP, in its role as the leader to an advisory body to the University, would
benefit from learning the perspective of a world leader in this field. As Germany has been a model for
achieving sustainability objectives in an austere environment, we feel that learning from their model
may assist the University of Connecticut in achieving its own stated objectives in the Climate Action Plan
in a similar time of austerity. The ideas generated from the exchange would be directly relevant to
framing the discussions of the Environmental Policy Advisory Committee and its work groups, which
develop policy recommendations for the President’s office. This may be especially important in the field
of climate change Adaptation, still a relatively new field in the US, but one that has been in the forefront
of European planning for the last decade, and is being recognized worldwide as the single most
important focus for research over the next 20 years. Information gleaned from this trip could also be
applied to resource management projects at regional campuses, such as efforts to upgrade storm water
management in response to climate pressures.
C.7. Travel costs: $1400 RT air, ~$100/day lodging for two weeks, car rental ~$60/day for two weeks,
daily meals
D. Application information
D.1. Application date: ___2/2/2012_________________
Please check as appropriate:
D.2.
An invitation/letter of support from the host institution is included with this application.
D.3.
A letter of support from the applicant’s UConn department head or equivalent is included with
this application.
D.4.
The applicant acknowledges the award terms, conditions and restrictions as stated in the
application guidelines.