CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Nashman Center Faculty Grants for Engaged Scholarship

OVERVIEW

The Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service (The Nashman Center) announces a mini-grant competition to supportengaged scholarship and teaching at GW.

We ask Department Chairs to endorse faculty members in their departments for these awards with a brief statement of support.Please use the required cover sheet (p.7) for the chair’s comments and signature.

Wedefineengaged scholarship and teaching as“…collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. [Further,] the purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.” [1]

Quite simply, this educational experience enables students and faculty members to apply academic knowledge and critical thinking skills to meet genuine, pressing community needs and disparities, such as those in education, housing, health, and the environment.At GW, we have referred to this work in teaching as academic service-learning; when faculty and students conduct research in partnership with community residents and organizations, we have referred to this as community-based participatory research or participatory action research. Engaged scholarship is a form of civic engagement that leverages the resources of the academic enterprise to generate democratic engagement, meet community needs and enrich the process of scholarship itself.

GOAL

The purpose of these awards is to promote the development and institutionalizationof newcommunity-engagedscholarship opportunities that are consistent with the University strategic plan.

The Nashman Faculty Grants for Engaged Scholarship are designed to:

  • Promote and support engaged teaching and research;
  • Improve communication among faculty about engaged scholarship; and,
  • Support professional development opportunities related to engaged scholarship.

Funds are available to support:

  • Development of new academic service-learning courses;
  • Efforts to engage entire departments community-engaged scholarship through teaching, learning and research;
  • Activities that promote individual or group professional development in community-engaged scholarship;
  • Ongoing academic service-learning activities;
  • Community-based participatory research
  • Research about engaged scholarship and teaching
  • Engaged scholarship publishing opportunities

Please see pp. 4-5 for further explanation of these opportunities.

Faculty members are strongly encouraged to consult the Nashman Center’s staff in order to develop meaningful, reciprocal opportunities that will create sustainable relationships and meet genuine needs.

Faculty members whose proposalsfor a service-learning course are selected for funding will participate in ongoing professional development activities and an end-of-the-semester Symposium featuring their students’ service-learning work. In addition, faculty will share the end-products of their course—syllabus, assignments, and project outcomes—with the Nashman Center for future faculty development. Similarly, faculty whose community-based research projects are selected will share those research products or publications with the Nashman Center for dissemination.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

The proposal should include the following, in no more than five pages, submitted by email to . Please see pp. 4-5 for additional guidance.

  1. On the Cover Sheet:
  2. A brief statement of endorsement from the department chair of no more than 250 words
  3. The project title, name(s) of applicant(s), and departmental/program affiliation.
  4. A 2 to 5 sentence proposal abstract, briefly describing the proposed activities.
  5. A coversheet (form found at the end of document) must accompany each proposal.
  1. A 3 to 5 page description of the project, including:
  1. Purpose of funding.
  1. A detailed description of what you intend to do and the way in which your project will be carried out, including specific dates and locations for project activities. Please indicate if this is a multi-year project for which you may request future funding from the Nashman Center.
  1. A statement describing the significance of your project and the outcomes expected, including, for example, innovation and improvement in teaching; enhanced student engagement in the discipline; community outcomes for teaching or research; research publications, that are expected to result from the proposal. Please be specific.
  1. The partners in your project, for example, schools, community organizations, academic associations, GW offices or departments.
  1. An itemized budget, budget justification, and budget narrative.
  1. A funding history that describesother funds received, and those applied for, to support this work. Please include internal GW funding that was awarded competitively such as Office of Diversity and Inclusion Grants, CCAS service-learning funds, or Teaching and Learning Collaborative funding. No need to report divisional conference travel funding.
  1. Includeany relevant supplemental material such as syllabi, conference programs or literature reviews.

Proposal Guidance:

  • Applications will be accepted from GW faculty who are regular full-time or regular part-time who can demonstrate a long-term commitment to GW.
  • All funds will be distributed to a departmental Oracle account. Iffunds are requested to be directly paid to the faculty member, funding appears as supplemental pay and is subject to income tax.
  • Proposals are due December 11, 2015. Decisions onfunding will be made by January 29, 2016. Funds will be distributed by March 2016.All activities for this round of funding are expected to be completed by the end of spring semester 2017.
  • Proposals should be no less no more than 5 pagesin length.
  • If this proposal is for a new or significantly altered course at GW, further departmental approval and funding may be necessary and is the responsibility of the applicant to procure.
  • Publications or events resulting from this funding will acknowledge the support of the GW Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service

High- quality proposals will consider the following:

  • How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities outlined in your proposal support the goals of the GW Strategic Plan, Vision 2021?
  • How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities you propose support the objectives of yourcourse/department/discipline?
  • How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities you proposemake an impact on a need or issue in the community?
  • How will this work advance knowledge in your academic field?
  • How will you measure and demonstrate the success of your activities?
  • How will you disseminate the results of your work?

Reporting:

A brief narrative of the results of your proposed activity, along with a final expense report,is required. The report will be due within 30 days of the close of the semester in which the work is completed. As applicable, syllabi, publications, photos, video or other media documentation of your activities are also requested. All activities for this round of funding are expected to be completed by the end of spring semester 2017.

Documentation of Expenditures:

You must consult with your department finance manager as to required documentation for expenditures. As noted above, a final, detailed expense report will be due to the Nashman Center 30 days after the end of the project.

Additional Proposal Guidance – Purpose of Funding

Service-Learning Course Development Grants

Purpose:Create or redesign a course to include community service, community-based research, or other engaged scholarship

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $3,000.

Preference will be given to those course proposals that:

  • Advance priorities in the GW Strategic Plan[ creating rigorous courses that integrate curricular and co-curricular activities; teaching strategies that promote student citizenship and leadership; advance diversity and inclusion, intercultural competence)
  • Engage K-12 schools in service-learning
  • Are submitted by faculty who have not received grants from the Nashman Center previously

Service-Learning Course Support Grants

Purpose:Support the activities of an existing service-learning course

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $500.

Funds can be used to support travel, supplies, honoraria for community partners.

Community-Based Participatory Research Grants

Purpose:Advance research on significant social issues in collaboration with local residents that will provide potential solutions and contribute to long-term, sustainable change in the community.[2]

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $5,000.

Research on Engaged Scholarship

Purpose: Advance research on the practice and outcomes of engaged scholarship and teaching

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $5,000.

Publishing Support

Purpose:Support the publication of research on the practice and outcomes of engaged scholarship and teaching

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $1,000.

Preference will be given to those proposals that support the publication efforts of junior faculty.

Engaged Department Grants

Purpose: Support plans to engage an entire department or school in the development ofcommunity- and civically-engaged scholarship and service-learning teaching

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $10,000

Funds might be used to support, for example:

  • micro-grants for course development or implementation
  • course release to support colleagues in developing service-learning courses and engaged research
  • evaluation and assessment of engaged scholarship
  • seminars on engaged scholarship in the discipline(s) or focused on a specific issue.

Professional Development Grants

Purpose:Supports faculty professional development related to engaged scholarship

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $2000

Funds might be used to support, for example:

  • conference travel and registration for engaged scholarship or service-learning conferences or to present a paper on engaged scholarship at another academic conference
  • a seminar or other collaboration to explore the use of engaged teaching and research to address a community or social need
  • a speaker on engaged scholarship and teaching to work with faculty.

High-quality proposals will demonstrate:

  • Learning objectives that will be met through this professional development activity
  • Potential to advance reciprocal and sustained partnership between GW and the community
  • Potential for GW to replicate or share the conference or training to better inform the work of the entire GW community.

Questions? Please contact Maurice Smith, or Amy Cohen, .

Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service

Mission and Goals

Mission

The mission of the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service is to integrate civic engagement into George Washington University’s educational work as a key component of the diversity and inclusion strategy. By focusing GW’s resources to meet community needs beyond the campus;the Nashman Center promotes active, inclusive citizenship in a diverse democracy; helps recruit and retain diverse students and faculty; and enhances teaching, learning and scholarship at GW.

Goals

Meet Community Needs

Develop strong reciprocal, respectful, active democratic partnerships in a range of communities, especially those that have limited access to GW resources

Use GW’s expertise and resources to address pressing human needs

Use evidence based strategies

Ensure that projects have demonstrable outcomes for community

Focus on several strategic partnerships with multiple programs

Promote Active Citizenship in a Diverse Democracy

Engage GW with the District of Columbia and the world

Unite people of diverse backgrounds in meaningful relevant common experience

Learn the values and skills needed to participate in public decision-making and community life

Enhance Teaching, Learning and Scholarship

Promote and support engaged scholarship, including service-learning and community-based research

Support scholarship about service and civic engagement

Collaborate nationally and internationally to further higher education’s commitment to civic engagement

COVER SHEET

NASHMAN CENTER FACULTY GRANTS FOR ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP

Name: ______Email:______

Type of Grant (see pp 4-5):______

Department: ______

Chair:______Email: ______

Chair Signature: ______

Endorsement from the Chair, 2-5 sentences (may be appended):

Proposal Abstract, 2-5 sentences (may be appended):

**This Cover Sheet must accompany each proposal. Email **

1

[1]New England Resource Center for Higher Education Carnegie Community Engagement Classification web page, accessed September 2015.

[2]Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that promotes positive change. It involves an equitable relationship between residents, community organizations and university researchers that is reflected in all levels of project design and dissemination. CBPR is a partnership between community and university investigators in which each group contributes their expertise and they share equal ownership of the process and products of research collaboration.