Request for Proposals
2012-2013 POD Network Grant Program
Proposals due Friday, June 15, 2012

Purpose
The purpose of the POD grant program is to provide funding to support POD members´ efforts to contribute new knowledge that can be applied to the fields of faculty, TA, instructional, and organizational development. The Core Committee has made a total of $9,000 available to be divided for multiple awards. The number and size of awards will be determined by the Grants Committee, based on the quality and potential impact of the work on the POD community and beyond. Our intent is to fund one larger grant (e.g. $5,000) and two or three smaller "seed" grants (e.g. $1,000-$2,000).

Eligibility

• The principal investigator must have been a POD member for at least the previous 12 months.
• Previous grant recipients are eligible to submit another proposal only after 3 years have passed since the submission date of the previous proposal. After that time, previous recipients who have submitted the required reports may submit a proposal for an unrelated new project or a related project that represents a considerable advancement of the previous project.
• Eligible expenses (not exhaustive list):
  Wages, consulting or data-analysis fees, equipment, supplies, travel for conducting research.
• Ineligible projects & expenses (not exhaustive list):
  Dissertation research, conference/institute travel and fees, an individual´s scholarship that is not of relevance to a large proportion of the POD membership, implementation of a new program (face-to-face or online), routine operation expenses.

Previously funded projects include a range of topics and institutional types.

Proposal Review & Evaluation Criteria
All grant proposals undergo blind review. Please limit identifiable information to the Cover Page. The committee will not review proposals that include information identifiable to an individual, center or institution, except on the cover page.

POD Grants Committee: Shaun Longstreet, Chair; Emily Donnelli, Beth Fisher, Sue Hines, Carolyn Oxenford, Suzanne Tapp; Phylis Dawkins, Liaison to Executive Committee.

Reviewers will use the following criteria to evaluate grant applications:

1. Importance & scope of the project
   Strong proposals will successfully argue for the centrality or critical nature of the issue addressed. They have a clear problem statement that outlines what issue the proposal writer will address with the funds from the POD Grant Committee. The text should include a brief literature review and indicate how this project adds to the existing research and holds promise for a sustained impact on the POD community. Strong proposals will advance the mission and values of POD, and will demonstrate that other POD members and institutions are interested in and will be able to access and use the results of the project. Cross-institutional projects are encouraged but not required.
2. Proposal rationale and description
   Each proposal should include explicit objectives for the project that are clearly tied to the problem statement, a one-year timeline, an indication of who will perform the various roles, and a description of the intended products.
3. Probability of success
   • Evidence of sufficient institutional support (e.g. letter from supervisor, Dean, Provost)
   • Evidence of PI´s and CoPIs´ prior experience with a similar project or ability to undertake the project (e.g., through academic preparation or prior work experience).
   • Proposed year-long time line is sufficient to achieve objectives
4. Budget and justification
   • Each item in the budget should be associated with an amount and a brief justification for its inclusion.
   • The amounts should be reasonable and the outlined expenses should be directly relevant to meeting the project objectives outlined above.
5. Evaluation and dissemination
   • A clear and feasible plan for evaluating the success of the project should be included. Are the identified evaluation methods likely to provide evidence that the objectives have been achieved?
   • Presenters should also plan for dissemination beyond the required submission of a POD conference proposal or a To Improve the Academy chapter (reminder: acceptance of proposals and manuscripts is not guaranteed).

Awardee Expectations
All recipients are expected to:

• Conduct the research as proposed, to the best of their ability, and keep the POD Grants Committee Chair apprised of changes that might need to be made in their plans.
• Keep the Chair of the Grants Committee informed of IRB status if Internal Review Board approval is required or advised.
• Provide a brief mid-year report by February 1, 2013 .
• Submit a one-page final report that describes: a) project activities, b) impact on recipients´ professional development, and c) usefulness to faculty and TA development community by September 1, 2013.
• Submit a POD Conference proposal or a manuscript to To Improve the Academy in 2013 or 2014 based on the findings of your grant work. (all conference proposals and manuscripts will undergo peer review; acceptance is not guaranteed)
• Acknowledge the funding from POD when collecting data, and presenting and publishing the findings.
• Be willing to serve on POD Grants Committee in future years.

Grant Submission Process

• Follow the format outlined in the POD Grant Proposal Checklist 2012-2013 Proposal due date: Friday, June 15, 2012
• Proposals accepted as Word or PDF documents.
• Document naming convention: Principal Investigator´s Surname
• E-mail your proposal to Grants Committee Chair, Shaun Longstreet: shaun.longstreet@marquette.edu
• Use subject heading: 2012 POD Grant Proposal
• Applicants will be notified of the decision by Monday, August 6, 2012

Suggestions for first time grant authors:

• Structure your proposal accordingly