Evergreen Fund for Innovation

Applications are due October 7, 2013 at 5 pm

Download the RFP

The Evergreen Fund for Innovation supports pioneering efforts  that will shape the college's future. Former president Jane Jervis, inspired by the planning year when founding faculty developed the Evergreen's ground-breaking curriculum, launched the endowment in 1996 to keep Evergreen on the leading edge of higher education.  Visit the Fund for Innovation history page for a list of past awards and select sample applications.

In 2013-14, successful proposals will address one of the following goals:

1. Create and pilot curricular innovations or other initiatives with potential for broader application to improve student learning and retention. Projects that would enhance the teaching of quantitative reasoning or the arts in a multi-disciplinary context are especially encouraged; or
2. Create and pilot systemic solutions that promote and enhance cross-discipline faculty collaboration and result in more team-taught, interdisciplinary academic programs.

Successful proposals may be broad or narrow in scope and will:

• Focus on innovative ideas that can be replicated or sustained after the award. Projects that show promise for systemic change or a lasting legacy are much more likely to be funded than projects that offer a one-time opportunity without longer-term impact.
• Be unlikely to receive the needed funding from regular college resources. Matching support from other college sources (in-kind or actual funding) is encouraged.
• Be submitted by teams of two or more Evergreen community members. Teams may include faculty, staff, students, alumni and, with adequate justification, individuals from outside the college.
• Designate a faculty member as project leader. Leaders of each awarded proposal will be identified as a Distinguished Evergreen Innovator for 2013-14.
• Represent the best Evergreen has to offer in interdisciplinary and cross-divisional collaboration.

How to apply

A complete application packet includes:

• A cover sheet including the title of the proposal; total funding request; name, signature and contact information for the faculty leader; and names and titles of all team members.
• A five-page narrative addressing:
  • The need or opportunity for the proposed project. What problem would the project help solve?  What value would it add? What possibilities might it create?
  • Project description, work plan, responsibilities of team members, and anticipated outcomes.
  • The project’s new approaches to teaching, learning and other aspects of the student experience that are innovative and true to Evergreen’s core values. How would the project advance the Evergreen’s unique approach to higher education?
  • A plan for disseminating findings to college and external audiences.
• A detailed, one-page budget with justification.
• A timeline for the major benchmarks of the project.  (Projects must be completed by June 30, 2015.)
• Resumes or vitae for all team members (two pages maximum each; selection panel may request references for non-college participants).
• Statements from the appropriate dean or director authorizing staff or faculty release time for members of teams requesting it.

The selection committee includes the college’s president and four vice-presidents and one participant each from faculty, staff and students. 

Email proposals (a single document in PDF is preferred) to sponsres@evergreen.edu by 5 pm October 7, 2013. For more information, contact John McLain, Academic Grants Manager, at ext. 6045 or mclainj@evergreen.edu.