Office of the Provost

2013 Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG) Program Request for Proposals

The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the State University of New York is pleased to issue this request for proposals (RFP) to fund projects at SUNY campuses that support innovative instruction. Note that additional information is available and regularly updated on the Office’s Innovative Instruction website, including access to the IITG online grants management application site and details about registering for informational webinars to support proposal development.

Additional communication and webinar information will also be shared through SUNY listservs, FACT² listservs and Center for Professional Development webinars. IITG funds are part of SUNY University-wide program funds (not administered through or connected with the Research Foundation). IITG funds are distributed to campuses at the beginning of each academic year, and must be expended by the close of the fiscal year in accordance with state and local campus policies.

Timeline Targets

Summary of Purpose

The purpose of these competitive grants is to encourage:

1. Development, application and assessment of innovative use of instructional technology to improve student engagement and learning across disciplines;
2. Implementation of the Power of SUNY Innovative Instruction strategic framework, including support of the SUNY Learning Commons, SUNY Learning Network, Open SUNY and other initiatives to promote sustainable outcomes that can be shared and replicated throughout SUNY;
3. Development of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of instructional innovation in support of successful learning outcomes.
4. Public and/or private partnerships to pilot solutions and improve quality of the learning experience as well as provide additional funds or in-kind resources to support innovation.

This competitive, peer reviewed Innovation Instruction Technology Grants (IITG) program will encourage faculty, staff and administrators to capitalize on campus expertise to enhance SUNY’s Systemness. IITG’s will assist in the exploration, development and sharing of new teaching and learning methods SUNY-wide. These grants will foster solutions at the campus and departmental level with an opportunity to scale to multi-campus collaborations through additional funding opportunities. Campuses are encouraged to consider partnering with SUNY University-wide programs to assist with project execution (e.g., CPD: Center for Professional Development, COIL: Center for Collaborative Online International Learning, OLIS: Office of Library and Information Services, and SLN: SUNY Learning Network).

IITG does not directly support technology infrastructure funding. A proposal that seeks direct expenditures on technology for the sake of bolstering campus infrastructure without a clear narrative on how the technology will serve pedagogy will not be eligible for funds; however, if the technology is secondary to the pedagogical solution being explored such as testing or assessing a newly developed discipline-based application (“app”) or implementing a new process that can be broadly replicated to benefit SUNY, the cost of pilot technology will be funded. IITG’s reward well-designed proposals that seek to partner with colleagues throughout SUNY, contain a well-structured communication and/or collaboration plan that describes effective sharing of project outcomes, and include a clearly articulated assessment plan to demonstrate evidence of impact.

Funding & Eligibility

All SUNY faculty and staff are eligible to receive funds. IITG awards are State funds distributed from System Administration to campuses as part of University-wide programs and do not require IITG applicants or recipients to work through campus-based sponsored program offices. If however, local campus policies require centralized coordination of research efforts, applicants should follow their local campus guidelines.  

This RFP realigns funds originally earmarked as “Phase 2” in last year’s RFP to increase opportunities to fund a greater number of projects under a single, annual IITG RFP process to meet program objectives.

Previously funded 2012 projects are eligible to compete for funds to renew, expand and broaden the scope of an existing IITG project. Applicants are strongly encouraged to pay special attention to projects seeking renewal:

• Progress against original objectives must be well documented;
• Structure and process for moving forward must be clearly articulated;
• Budget narrative and accompanying excel file must justify the need; and
• A vision for sustaining the project without IITG funds in the future must be articulated as part of the narrative.

Applicants may review previously funded projects: http://www.suny.edu/provost/
iitg2012recipients.cfm. Three separate funding tiers are available to meet different levels of program objectives. At the request of previous applicants, examples have been added to illustrate the contrast of funding levels, but should not be construed as narrow exemplars of program objectives. The number of awards for each tier will vary according to available funds and proposals received.

Tier 1 – Up to $10,000 maximum

• Supports professional development workshops or symposia up to $5,000.
• Workshops that include substantial development of materials, resources or outcomes that extend beyond a one-time meeting or event, and include small proof-of-concept objectives are eligible for funding up to $10,000.
• Campus or external in-kind resources are strongly encouraged in the budget, but not required to be eligible for funding.

Example of a $5,000 project: A campus wishes to host a workshop featuring a recognized leader of a particular practice. Tier 1 funding covers the speaker’s travel and conference planning expenses, but a small registration fee, sponsorship or campus funds (or combination) may be required to cover additional costs such as providing refreshments for participants. Following the conference, a final report, materials distributed at the conference, and (if allowable) a video of the presentation is posted/linked in the SUNY Learning Commons.

Example of the same project eligible for up to $10,000: A group of faculty and staff conduct a proof-of-concept exercise based the practice described at the conference, evaluates the outcomes and makes recommendations that are posted in the SUNY Learning Commons to enable others to consider or adopt as a “best practice.”

Tier 2 – Up to $20,000 maximum

• Supports development of a new innovation or process as a proof of concept.
• 25% of the funds requested must be matched in-kind by the campus or from an external funding source.

Example: A group of professors within a department wish to develop a small game that demonstrates a concept. They also develop an assessment rubric and students provide feedback from several course sections for future refinement. The funds cover a stipend for the professor(s), software, and mobile devices for app testing and collaboration with a peer from another campus, as well as attendance at CIT to present outcomes. 25% of their project funds are from in-kind services from the software vendor and significant contributions of instructional support staff time for project development.

Tier 3 – Up to $60,000 maximum

• Supports development of a new innovation or process as a proof of concept.
• 33% of the funds requested must be matched in-kind by the campus or from an external funding source.

Example: Faculty from several campuses collaborate to design and test a self-paced tutorial for students intending to pursue a particular discipline. They develop an assessment rubric and students provide feedback from several course sections for future refinement. The funds cover faculty stipends, travel for the group to meet several times, and purchase of specialized software. They also fund a faculty member outside of the discipline who specializes in assessing the project outcomes, as well as attendance at CIT to present the outcomes.

Project Requirements and Limitations

All SUNY faculty, staff and administrators (including community colleges) are encouraged to respond to this RFP within the following guidelines:

• Any campus submitting a proposal(s) must have a minimum of one campus FACT² representative who actively participates in FACT² webinars, and serves as a “grassroots” liaison communicating campus concerns and coordinates distribution of SUNY activities throughout their home campus. This requires campus level support for the representative to attend the CIT Conference to meet with the SUNY Provost.  A campus FACT² rep is NOT required to “sign off” on an IITG proposal, but applicants are encouraged to consult in advance with their campus FACT² representative who should be notified and receive a copy of the final proposal at the time of application.
• Proposals that require expenditures prior to the availability/distribution of University-wide funds during the fall semester must indicate how they will execute their project plan. Any funds allocated by a campus department prior to IITG distribution may request a journal transfer from an IITG account through their campus business office to replace the funds advanced. The IITG application requires identification of a departmental level contact name for project budget and purchasing support to communicate funding status as it develops.
• Any projects requiring technology support or that have potential network security implications must consult with appropriate campus technical support staff in advance of project submission. IT support staff should not be assumed or obligated to support non-standard device(s) at a campus without prior consultation to avoid conflicts in meeting project objectives.
• All local campus policies and procedures must be followed for appropriate use of State funds. Funds used as part of project participation incentives must follow very strict guidelines.
• All projects must be openly shared through the IITG group of the SUNY Learning Commons. As the Learning Commons matures, specialized areas are being developed to encourage the building and sharing of outcomes through disciplined based communities of practice. Use of a Creative Commons license is required. All PI’s are expected to present findings at the annual SUNY CIT conference as follows:
  • Tier 3 (Up to $60,000) recipients are required to present a status report at the 2014 CIT Conference.
  • Tier 2 (up to $20,000) and Tier 1 (up to $10,000) and are encouraged to submit abstracts to present at CIT, but at minimum must participate in a poster session describing project outcomes.
  • All proposals must follow IRB and Human Subjects policies and processes. This should be considered as part of the proposal in order to initiate the process immediately upon receipt of an award to avoid any delays related to data collection.
  • Each project must effectively communicate how a proposed innovation will be evaluated for its contribution to a body of knowledge and/or the benefit of SUNY as a whole. Assessment must be described to a level of sufficient detail as to demonstrate measurable outcomes.

Proposal Evaluation

Each proposal will be evaluated in three stages:

1)      Projects are blind peer-reviewed from a rubric specific to each funding tier based on the project quality and adherence to the RFP. These scores are then compiled and rank-ordered;

2)      Ranked scores are submitted for a second review by the SUNY Provost’s Staff, who consider initial review scores and comments, as well as alignment with “Power of SUNY” strategic objectives; and

3)      Projects are then re-ranked and recommended for final review by the SUNY Provost for funding within available resources.

Reviewers will evaluate proposals for evidence of:

• Innovation;
• Overall quality;
  • Clear project description and vision
  • Feasibility (project timeline and budget)
  • Assessment Plan (how the project goals and outcomes will be assessed, measured and reported)
• Communication Plan (how the innovation will be shared with colleagues across SUNY);
• Clear justification for the proposed funding tier;
• How well the proposal engages expertise regarding the proposed topic or project, both internal and external to SUNY;
• How well the proposed innovation, practice or method can be shared, adopted and replicated either within a particular discipline, or across disciplines;
• Appropriate letter(s) of support from the campus that communicates commitment to the proposed project; and,
• In-kind services or matched support committed to the project. (This may be realized through public or private funding to assist in realizing project goals depending upon the specific tier criteria.)

Questions regarding this RFP may be directed to the IITG Project Team at iitgrants@suny.edu