The purpose of the CECI Dean’s Innovation Grant is to increase sponsored research, interdisciplinary programming, and/or creative activities. The source of this one-time funding is through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), and the acquisition of funds for the CECI Dean’s Innovation Grant from CSCE/OSP is dependent on success measures of funded projects which will be evaluated in two years. The recipient of the funding will be required to seek external funding within the timeline of their application.

The Dean’s Innovation Grant is designed to support faculty in developing innovative projects with the potential to secure external funding. This Policy outlines the eligibility criteria, application process, and evaluation procedures for using the grant to pursue external funding opportunities.

• Faculty members (tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track)
• Collaborations between faculty (internal and external to the College) and students are highly encouraged

• Funding may be utilized for activities directly related to the development of a competitive proposal for external funding. Such activities may include, but are not limited to:
  • Seed money necessary for an identified external grant proposal
  • Course release for faculty to write a proposal for an identified external grant opportunity
  • Course release so that faculty can gather preliminary data to inform a larger, external grant submission
  • Funding for student wages to assist faculty in gathering data for a larger, external grant
  • Funding to attend grant writing courses/seminars to assist with an identified external grant opportunity
  • Hire a grant writer/editor to assist with proposals for an identified external grant
  • Other ideas will be reviewed

• Funding cannot be used for standard operational expenses such as salaries, equipment purchases that are not directly related to the proposal development, or travel that is not specifically for proposal development.