2023-2024 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost in conjunction with the President’s Commission on Diversity & Inclusion
PURPOSE OF THE GRANT
The Diversity & Equity Innovation Grant (DEIG) was established to support educational projects, scholarly research, creative activities and other innovative programmatic initiatives that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, access, anti-racism and social justice for the benefit of the CSUN community.
IMPLEMENTATION TEAM
The DEIG is administered by the President’s Cabinet in collaboration with the President’s Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. The Commission establishes the operating and reporting guidelines, develops procedures for implementing the guidelines, and selects grant recipients. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion provides administrative oversight to support the Diversity & Equity Innovation Grant.
SUCCESSFUL PROPOSALS
Proposals will be selected based on the following criteria:
Relevance to grant objective supported by knowledge and evidence of understanding campus needs with a connection to campus values of Inclusive Excellence;
- Alignment with CSUN’s Strategic Directions and priorities established in the 2022 CSUN’s Road Ahead document;
- Innovative program that embeds values of inclusive excellence (social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, access, and anti-racism) and leverages processes and frameworks (such as innovation frameworks, equity-centered design thinking, equity-mindedness, participatory action inquiry, Data-Practice-Leadership, creative and disruptive thinking, etc.) to address equity gaps and advances understanding, education, awareness, and engagement in addressing systemic inequities and injustices;
- Potential for broad institutional impact and sustainability beyond the grant period;
- Broad collaborative institution-wide effort with other departments/divisions/schools or outside organizations;
- Complete detailed budget demonstrating strong support for the overall project.
Proposals should be written without technical jargon and include a literature review where appropriate. Sustainable and replicable projects are particularly encouraged. All submissions are considered part of the application process and become the property of the Diversity & Equity Innovation Grant.
Examples of proposals may include the following:
- Programs that support members of diverse populations in academic disciplines in which they are traditionally underrepresented, present evidence of needs, and intentionally designing activities that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, access, anti-racism, and/or social justice.
- Proposals that seek to address equity gaps, reimagine practices and redesign policies to advance understanding, education, awareness, and engagement in addressing systemic inequities and injustices.
- Scholarly research which integrates results of innovative studies and research projects on underrepresented groups into courses throughout curricula.
- Seminars, workshops, programs or projects on topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, anti-racism and social justice.
- Seminars, workshops, programs or projects that focus on advancing understanding, education, awareness, and engagement to address systemic inequities and injustices.
- Creative endeavors such as exhibits or performances that illustrate aspects of diversity, equity, inclusion or social justice.
GRANT AWARDS
Proposal requests of all sizes are encouraged and will be considered. However, most awards will receive funding between $5,000 and $50,000.
The DEIG can provide funding for student workers to assist with research, contracting off- campus speakers or performers, printing costs and materials.
Reassigned time and summer salary are not covered. Additional compensation for faculty and staff may be considered and must comply with the CSU 125% policy. Staff may be eligible for additional compensation as outlined in their respective Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or auxiliary policies. The grant may be used to provide payments to students for participation; any such payment must be processed through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships as a Scholarship Award. The grant may be used to fund student employment; students must be hired through their respective Human Resources departments. Proposals must comply with minimum wage guidelines for student employment.
The DEIG cannot provide funding to cover food or refreshment expenses associated with these activities.
The DEIG does not cover travel, office furniture, living and/or childcare expenses, laptops, computers, phones and/or other electronic equipment.
Requests that are for recurring funding will be considered as pilot programs. The Commission will reassess annually based on outcomes contained in the Final Report (see below).
ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS
All current members of the CSUN community (full and part-time faculty), staff (including current auxiliary employees) and students may apply for grants. Proposals with matching funds will be considered, and supplementing this grant is strongly encouraged.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE & IMPORTANT DATES
Proposals must be submitted online no later than Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 11:59 pm Pacific time. Notification of decisions will be emailed no later than June 2023.
- Projects can begin once grant recipients have been notified, but no earlier than July 1, 2023; Funding approval is from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.
- Funding must be spent before the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2024).
- Recipients must submit a Final Report after the conclusion of the project but no later than July 29th, 2024. The Final Report template will be provided to all recipients and will include how you have shared or plan to share your outcomes, findings, or research with the larger community, e.g., presentation at academic conference or publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your proposal online . It is recommended that you answer the following questions in a Word Document, once completed, submit your responses directly to the online application system. Proposal application contains the following information:
- Project Title
- Name of Contributors
- Unit or Division
- Contact information
- Have you previously submitted a DEIG proposal to provide the services described below?
- Yes/No
- If yes, was your proposal funded?
- If yes, what year(s) did you receive funding?
- What outcomes were achieved with previous funding?
- Description of Proposal
- In what ways does this proposal align with the strategic directions and priorities stated in the University’s Road Ahead?
- What is the implementation plan and timeline for this project? How do you envision this project being carried out from beginning to end?
- What are the project’s expected outcomes and impact on students and/or the campus community?
- How will you determine if the outcomes and impact have been achieved (i.e. assessment of project)?
- How will this project be sustainable beyond the DEIG funding?
- Complete this Budget Document: Thoroughly examine your budget breakdown and make sure it does not include items that are NOT covered by the Grant. I.e. travel, food, lodging. You will be asked to upload this file.
Complete and sign your approval letter from your Academic Department Chair, Director or Vice President from your area.
You can submit your proposal by accessing this QR Code or Website:
Diversity & Equity Innovation Grant: 2023-2024 Call for Proposals (PDF)