REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Engaged Department Grants Initiative Overview
Grand Valley State University
Submission deadline: Friday, February 20, 2015
The Office for Community Engagement at Grand Valley State University is pleased to announce
the availability of funding for departments that wish to develop or strengthen community-based
teaching, learning, and/or scholarship initiatives for faculty and students. Grants of up to $5,000
will be awarded to plan, establish, implement, and evaluate strategic initiatives that will advance
the integration of community-based teaching, learning, and scholarship into departmental
curriculum and culture.
An engaged department works toward:
 Integrating community-based learning as a strategy to achieve key academic goals for
students and faculty
 Incorporating curricular scaffolding of community-based opportunities to enhance
student learning and development
 Supporting collaborative approaches to community partnerships
 Establishing a culture that supports and rewards community-based work
Funded by the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, this pilot project is a collaborative
initiative between Grand Valley State University, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Community
College, and Michigan Campus Compact (MiCC). Three grants will be awarded to GVSU
academic departments through a competitive grant process. Award decisions will be made
with input from all three institutions. We are especially interested in applications from
departments in which community-based work is already well established on an individual faculty
basis and where moving to more collective efforts at the department level could represent an
important step forward.
Each of the departments selected will send a four- to five-member team to our Engaged
Department Institute, facilitated by Dr. Richard Battistoni, Providence College. The Institute will
coach participants through active dialogue and planning around the critical topics inherent to
successful departmental engagement strategies. Topics will include, but not be limited to:
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Academic and civic effectiveness of community-based work
Discipline-specific models of service-learning integration
Assessing and supporting community-based work at the faculty and student levels
Community-based learning as a vehicle of curricular integration
Community agencies and departments as interdependent resource partners
Motivating resistant students and peers
Mobilizing additional community resources
Surviving this new method of planning, teaching, and learning with style and grace
Each department applicant will identify a team of four to five consisting of the following:
 Department chair (required)
 Up to three full-time regular or affiliate faculty members (two required)
 A representative from a community entity with which members of the department have
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already worked or would like to work more strategically (required)
As an option, one other individual from the department who would add value (e.g.,
someone responsible for community partnerships, etc.)
A primary purpose of the Institute is to assist departments to develop goals, objectives, and
activities needed to implement the vision identified in their grant application. In addition, each
engaged department team will create a budget, subject to approval by the leadership team. The
budget may include personnel costs, professional development, community-based teaching,
community partner expenses, and other project-related costs. During an 18-month
implementation period, departments will also receive support through campus engagement
consultants, a community of practice, and a cross-institutional research team.
Participating teams will commit to the following:
 Attend both days of the Engaged Department Institute and develop a plan for
institutionalizing the department’s engagement
 Implement the plans developed during the Institute during the following 18 months
 Send at least two team members to attend three community of practice meetings (1 per
semester) and a full-day review of progress and learning in May 2016
 Participate with a cross-institutional research team to gather data required to evaluate
the impact of the project on faculty, students, and community
 Complete required reports in a timely manner
In addition, the following activities are highly suggested for departments:
 Develop plans for new community-based learning courses
 Redesign existing community-based learning courses for greater impact
 Strategically develop and/or deepen key community partnerships and increase
community impact
 Scaffold community-based learning in the program curriculum to meet both learning
goals and the developmental needs of students
 Enhance assessment of student learning
 Plan and implement cultural changes that will support community-based teaching
and/or scholarship at the department level
 Offer development opportunities that enhance faculty capacity for high-quality
community-based teaching and/or scholarship
Timetable
February 20, 2015
March 6, 2015
May 13-14, 2015
Sept 2015 - May 2016
May 2016
December 2016
Applications due
Applicants selected and notified
Engaged Department Institute
Departments implement action plans
Teams send two representatives to a retreat to explore progress and
share learning
Departments submit final report
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Supplemental funding (optional)
In addition to the $5,000 base grant, teams may request supplemental funding of up to $1,500 if
the department proposal also commits to developing an intentional and substantial plan to
incorporate the following university-wide priority into its proposed engaged department plan.
Departments do not receive additional points for including a request for supplemental funding.
Global GV: The Global GV task force has been working with faculty in undergraduate majors
across the institution, identifying how ALL students in a particular major get global learning in
the required courses for that major. The aim is to ensure that all undergraduates get, in addition
to the General Education program, a bachelors level education that prepares them for work and
citizenship in global communities. While elective global learning opportunities (such as study
abroad and globally-focused elective courses) are important, the goal is to map the core courses
in the major to advance global learning outcomes. More information, including rubrics for global
learning, can be found on the Global GV website: www.gvsu.edu/global. A unit that commits to
re-configuring its major curriculum around global learning in conjunction with community
engagement will be supported with the additional grant of $1,500 from the Padnos
International Center. The expectation for units seeking the Global GV supplemental funds is that
the department submit to the Global GV co-Chairs, within 6 months of the grant: The unit’s
revised assessment plan, which will include one measurable learning outcome that relates to
global learning in the major.
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Grant Application
Engaged Department Initiative
Submission Deadline: Friday, February 20, 2015
Department:
Faculty size and composition (rank, tenure status, other information you wish to provide):
Number of student majors and minors:
Primary project team leader, including email and phone:
Department chair signature:
Dean’s signature:
Project Narrative
In a maximum of four single-spaced pages, please address the following items (bulleted points
are preferred):
1. Describe your department’s interest in and experience with community-based teaching
and/or scholarship. Why does the department want to integrate community-based
activities more fully into its teaching and/or scholarship? (10 points)
2. Identify three strengths your department has related to your community engagement
work. Identify three challenges your department faces related to becoming more
engaged. (5 points)
3. How does this project fit into your larger department/institutional goals, strategic plan,
and existing institutional initiatives? (5 points)
4. Project description: (20 points)
a. How will the department’s engagement and/or other work be different as a
result of participating in this grant program?
b. Which academic program(s) in the department will be affected by this project?
c. With which five to seven community organizations or groups are you/would like
to be most frequently and strategically engaged? Identify a community partner
the department would invite to attend the Institute and participate throughout
the project.
d. As applicable, describe anticipated benefits to department members, students,
the larger institution, and/or community.
5. Are you seeking supplemental funding? If so, briefly describe how Global GV fits into the
department’s vision for engagement.
6. List the team members, including title and assets each brings to this initiative. (5 points)
7. What process did your department use to develop this proposal? (5 points)
Submission
Please email your team’s narrative and this cover page to Ruth Stegeman, stegemar@gvsu.edu,
Office for Community Engagement by 5:00 pm, Friday, February 20, 2015. Notification of awards
will be made by March 6, 2015.
A pre-application meeting is not required but is highly recommended. To schedule a meeting or
to address grant related questions, contact Ruth Stegeman, Director for Community
Engagement, stegemar@gvsu.edu, or 331-9120.
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