CCG Collaboration Capacity Grants-Request for Proposal
A printable version of this RFP is available here.
Overview
The USG Complete College Georgia (CCG) Collaborative Capacity grants for 2016 provide funding for one-time symposia or a series of gatherings to address strategies to meet CCG goals for institutions across the state.
The grant’s purpose is to support the convening of faculty and staff from at least two (and preferably more) institutions of higher education (IHE) to create plans, policies and procedures to assist the institutions and state to better meet CCG goals.
The Collaborative Capacity grants are a follow-up to the 2016 CCG Regional Meetings that gathered schools from four different regions of Georgia to pool resources in search of solutions to CCG challenges. As stated at the Regional Meetings, these grants are intended to be the next stage in planning to produce concrete, actionable steps to address identified challenges. The notes from each of these meetings can be found at: www.completegeorgia.org/ccg-regional-meetings.
CCG envisions each symposium to be a one-day meeting or a series of meetings taking place from June 1 to December 1, 2016, consisting of collaborative teams of thought leaders from multiple institutions. Within these parameters, the format is flexible.
The primary deliverable to CCG will be an actionable plan or plans to solve college completion challenges identified by CCG and/or the Regional Meeting participants in 2016. Preference will be given to plans that provide the promise of solutions that are scalable to multiple USG institutions and/or the USG System Office. All plans will be shared throughout the System.
Description of Awards
- Each award will be a one-time sum of a maximum of $6,000 granted to a single, coordinating institution
- There will be a minimum of four Capacity Grant awards in this RFP process; additional awards will be subject to available funds at the USG
- All USG institutions are eligible and encouraged to submit proposals
- Proposals must include participation of multiple institutions (2 minimum), but there is no maximum number
- Proposals should focus upon the solution(s) to a specific challenge or closely-related set of challenges and demonstrate a process to pool the resources of participants and other USG institutions to address the issue
- Preference will be given to proposals that:
- Present a clear plan to facilitate action steps
- Address potential solutions that are scalable
- May have impact across multiple institutions
- Lead to solutions that are sustainable
- Are transformative in accordance with CCG goals
Proposal Criteria
Successful Capacity proposals will explain a collaborative convening and reporting process that has the potential to maximize the assets of USG institutions to solve completion challenges. Meetings can take place in multiple sessions, in-person and across media. Proposals should include a plan to solicit ideas, synthesize them into a coherent plan and disseminate this plan to the USG and (where appropriate) Georgia institutions. The awarded grant must be completed by December 1, 2016.
Capacity symposia are expected to address key concerns of the CCG initiative (www.completegeorgia.org/). Of particular interest are the Key Issues identified during the CCG Regional Meetings 2016:
- Faculty Involvement in CCG efforts
- Instructional Design, particularly for remediation
- Academic Advising
- Credit Intensity/15 to Finish
- Predictive Analytics
- First Year Experiences
- Peer Instruction
Preferably, each proposal should target one of the above topics, or another of statewide interest.
Symposium Report (Deliverable)
The symposium report is the final project deliverable and must be provided to the CCG staff within 30 days of the institution’s meeting(s), or December 1, 2016, whichever date is earlier. Reports will be summarized at FY2017 CCG gatherings, as appropriate. The report should be created in Word format and emailed to Lesley.Fenton@usg.edu. Reports should be 5-10 pages, 12-point font, single-spaced.
Proposal Details
Format
- Maximum three pages in length + Cover Page
- Submit as a Word document
Cover Page – One page, maximum
- Title of the project
- Proposal project lead/contact
- Other team members (name, title, institution, e-mail; USG staff, where appropriate
- Overview of project (100 words or less)
- Potential impact of Capacity symposium results (50 words or less)
Symposium Description – Two pages, maximum
- Identify the area of need per CCG goals and/or CCG Regional Meeting 2016 results and describe how this meeting can produce a plan to address them
- Define the symposium’s potential impact on student success and college completion
- Explain the potential lessons learned from the symposium and the impact it could have on the institution, collaborators and the USG if it were scaled.
- Describe the process/structure for collaboration
Project Budget – One page, maximum
- Please provide a projected budget and brief justification for each budget item. Budget items should be directly connected to project advancement.
- Budgets may not include equipment, materials/supplies not directly related to the convening and reporting process. This also excludes purchase of IT equipment such as computers, projectors and audio-visual hardware and software.
- Budgets may include materials and supplies directly related to the convening process, as well as food and beverages for attendees. In addition, awardees may use funds to reimburse travel expenses, where necessary.
Please Note: Budgets may be supported by State funds and therefore institutions spending project money must ensure compliance with State, BOR and institutional policies and procedures. Selected projects may have to submit revisions or clarifications for budgets.
State funds may be used for a meal if it is served during a meeting that is 4+ hours long and the meeting neither starts or ends with the meal. The agenda must show a working lunch with the activity described. Unless otherwise indicated, institutions must abide by per diem rates of the location (typically - $7.00 or $9.00 person), and maintain a sign-in list for the attendees of the meeting.
Logistics
Please submit any questions you may have in advance to Lesley Anne Fenton, USG Project Manager.
Proposals must be submitted under signature of the institution’s Vice-President for Academic Affairs. The VPAA may email the proposal to Lesley.Fenton@usg.edu, or if your VPAA prefers to sign an actual document, he/she may sign the cover page and submit that page as a PDF, with the remainder of your proposal submitted as a Word document.
Proposals must be submitted as a Word document via email to Lesley.Fenton@usg.edu by 5pm EST, May 25, 2016.
Follow up questions or interviews may be requested of applicants.
An announcement of grant awards is expected June 8, 2016.
Awardees will be required to submit a simple contractual timeline of deliverables with the original or modified proposal serving as the statement of work. Please note that awardees’ successful applications will be made available to all USG institutions. The USG may also request that applicants with promising proposals that were not funded share their ideas with the USG community.
FAQs
Which institutions are eligible?
All USG institutions or partnerships between USG institutions and other organizations are eligible. However, funds will only be granted to one USG institution directly.
May an institution submit more than one application?
An institution may serve as the lead institution on only one application.
Are institutions expected to provide matching funds?
Institutions are not expected to provide financial or in-kind support or matching for these contracted funds.
Should the budget include a line item for overhead costs?
No.
When must grant funds be expended in full?
Institutions will be required to expend their grant funds by December 1, 2016. There will be no extensions.
If funded, what types of information and data will we have to provide?
You will need to provide data that proves the project met the grant objectives. This evidence will generally entail the provision of the required symposium report to CCG 30 days after the symposium, or by December 1, 2016. Also, the CCG may require telephone interviews, where necessary, to determine progress towards objectives and/or clarify the symposium report.
Who can I contact if I have additional questions?
For questions related to the RFP, including budget and criteria, contact Lesley Anne Fenton
