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INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE FUND AWARD INITIATIVE AND GUIDELINES

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity announces the launch of its inaugural Inclusive Excellence Fund and subsequent request for proposals (RFP) for mini-grant awards. The Inclusive Excellence fund will provide “seed funding” to encourage positive institutional changes that highlight the educational benefits of diversity and create a more inclusive and vibrant intellectual community. Available to academic and administrative units, the awards are designed to provide small investments towards the advancement of diversity, inclusion and excellence related efforts throughout the campus community. 

Successful projects and programs funded by the Inclusive Excellence initiative will (1) represent Auburn University’s values and principles of diversity, inclusion, excellence and community across the campus, (2) advance key institutional strategic priorities and goals, and (3) exemplify recommendations from the 2016 #AUTogether Climate Assessment process.

Proposals will be accepted beginning September 19 through October 19, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. The Inclusive Excellence mini-grant selection committee will begin reviewing proposals on October 12, 2017.  The program funding and implementation cycle will begin November 1, 2017 through May 1, 2018. OID will offer a maximum award amount of $3,000.

Undergraduate and graduate student organizations will have an opportunity to submit proposals for inclusion and diversity climate mini-grants via a separate RFP process administered by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity's Center for Cross Cultural Excellence (CCCE).  For further information, please contact Mr. Allen Sutton, CCCE Director.  

The launch of the Inclusive Excellence fund program fulfills one of the seventeen (17) #AUTogether recommendations for action outlined following Auburn University’s 2016 Institutional Climate Assessment. Given the importance of the University’s current Critical Conversations Speaker Series, speaker-focused events will not be granted priority consideration. 

Criteria

The Inclusion Excellence fund will be awarded through a competitive grant proposal/application process and not all projects will be funded. The Inclusive Excellence mini-grant review and selection team places a high priority on projects and programs that advance institutional progress with regard to key inclusion and diversity indicators. The committee invites grant proposals that accomplish one or more of the following:

  • Improves and enhances departmental climate for all faculty, students and staff
  • Enlivens the practice of intergroup dialogue through focused approaches
  • Inspires and creates opportunities to engage intellectual/viewpoint diversity and civil discourse in support of Auburn’s Critical Conversations series
  • Increases the recruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty and staff to the unit.
  • Promotes discipline-specific cultural competency educational sessions or inclusion and diversity-focused professional development experiences
  • Increases faculty scholarship and engages teaching and curricula on issues of inclusive excellence and diversity.
  • Supports the development of curricular innovations designed to improve learning experiences for all students
  • Promotes curricular and co-curricular collaborations to enrich teaching and learning
  • Promotes high impact undergraduate learning experiences
  • Advances inclusion and diversity assessment efforts contributing to positive change regarding inclusion and diversity


Proposal/Application Submission Procedures

  • Mini-grant proposals must include a completed cover sheet and a program narrative. 
  • The program narrative must provide an overview of the proposed project/program including details regarding goals, participants, timeline and proposed budget. 
  • Proposals must also include details regarding how the success of the project/program will be evaluated, specifically how the project/program met its stated goals.


Eligibility

Mini-grant applications may be submitted on behalf of any official Auburn University department, unit, or campus organization by a faculty or staff member. Proposals for speaker funding will be restricted given the University’s 2017-2018 Speaker series.


Selection Committee

Projects/programs will be selected by the Inclusion Excellence mini-grant review and selection team. The Special Assistant for Operations & Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, Dr. Timothy Fair, is the official point of contact for inquiries and assistance regarding the Inclusive Excellence mini-grant initiative. 


Submission Deadline and Notification Date

October 19, 2017        Deadline to apply
October 25, 2017        Notification to all applicants
November 1, 2017      Grant funding begins
September 30, 2018    Deadline for expenditures for all awarded mini-grants projects in 2017 fiscal year cycle
December 1, 2018       Deadline for submission of final report for all awarded projects


Proposal Instructions

To submit a proposal, please review the proposal program information list below.  Completed proposals must include all sections and should be submitted to tfair@auburn.edu by October 11, 2017 at 5pm.

 

1.  Title:

 

 

Examples:
Proposal to offer intercultural dinner focused on enhanced intergroup dialogue

Proposal to sponsor a graduate student to present research on an inclusion and diversity related topic at a national conference

 

2.  Sponsor:

 

Examples:
Department of Art & Art History

Graduate School

 

3. Program Narrative:


Provide a comprehensive description of the opportunity, program or initiative.  Include the intended goals and/or outcomes for students, faculty and staff participants. Describe how the program will enhance inclusion and diversity at Auburn University.

 

4. Budget:


Prepare a project budget that is as detailed and accurate as possible.


Please note: OID will offer a maximum award amount of $3,000 .

 

5. Plans for assessment: 


An assessment plan should describe how the success of the project/program will be evaluated, specifically how the project/program met its stated goals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: September 19, 2017