NASPA Innovation Grants Program

All information must be submitted online by April 8, 2020. 

Grant applications should adhere to the word limits below and should contain the following:

• Applicant and Institutional Profile
• Proposal Abstract — (500 word limit) A succinct, yet comprehensive description of project goals and objectives, plan of work, intended outcomes, and measures of success
• Innovation Project Plan — (2500 word limit) Should include a detailed description of the following:
  • OBJECTIVES (What are the project goals, objectives, and learning outcomes?)
  • SIGNIFICANCE (What is the project rationale? How is it significant and original? How does it relate to the NASPA Strategic Plan?)
  • DESIGN (What are the methods for achieving plan objectives, desired outcomes, and assessing plan objectives?)
  • APPLICABILITY and TRANSFERABILITY (How is it applicable to similar challenges within and across campuses? What can other campuses take away from this project? How do you propose sharing your results?) o INNOVATION (How does the project make something new, different, significantly improved, or enhanced in a creative way?)
  • IMPACT (How will this project impact your campus’s ability to develop and sustain a culture of innovation?)
  • PRACTICALITY (Define the extent to which project objectives address cost-savings, increased efficiency of internal processes and productivity, improved employee and/or student morale, enhanced campus constituent satisfaction, clearer communication throughout the college/university, or other target area for your department/division/campus.)
• Management Plan and Budget — An outline of proposed plan activities with related timelines with a budget detailing allocation of grant funds to specific plan expense items, including justification.
• Approval from SSAO
• Supplemental Materials (Optional) — Supplemental materials are not required. However, applicants are invited to submit a PowerPoint presentation (up to 5 slides), video clip (up to 3 minutes), or other supplemental material to communicate their innovation concept.

The intent of this grant program is to help successfully implement new ideas. However, we understand that not every innovative idea becomes an innovation. Many fail. That’s the nature of experimentation. Therefore, while our goal is innovation, what we’re really looking for is innovative ideas — along with a plan to apply those ideas. We’re encouraging campuses and individuals to try new things.

If you are wondering whether your new program or process qualifies as an “innovative idea,” consider these questions:

1. Does it seem innovative to you?
2. Do you hope it will create new opportunities or significantly improve ways of operating?
3. Is it new for you or your campus — and also not standard practice in the student affairs and higher education community? (If others have tried something similar, with any degree of success, that’s okay with us, as long as it’s new and not commonplace. In fact, you might build on the concepts of innovative project you’re observing elsewhere.)

If your answer to all three questions is yes, your idea will probably sound innovative to our review committee as well. As you can see, we’re not defining this narrowly because we don’t want to limit your creativity.

When reviewing applications, we consider the following major areas:

• Significance
• In looking at a proposal’s potential significance, we examine how well the project plan addresses either the NASPA Strategic Plan or the relative importance of the issues addressed in relation to the NASPA Guiding Principles of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and inquiry.
• Project Design and Practicality
• The project design should state specifically the actions and process by which the project will address the underlying need and achieve the objectives. In order to evaluate the design, we must have a good sense of what you intend to do and how you intend to accomplish your tasks. We look for a vision, a plan for integration, and projected next steps that are carefully considered and clearly articulated. The methods for achieving project objectives, the desired outcomes, and the process for evaluating plan objectives should all be well-defined and understood.
• Applicability and Transferability
• Although each campus community is unique, a common tie throughout all of our campuses is the advancing of student learning and success. A core element for this program moving forward is funding projects that can serve as inspiration for other campus communities facing similar challenges, problems, or opportunities. These grants intend to grow innovation in the higher education and student affairs community but it also seek to share models for innovative efforts. Therefore, we examine each proposal with regard to broader application, adaptation, and transferability.
• Impact

• We are looking for projects that will have long-term effects for your institution and students. We look for projects that can potentially disrupt the status quo by implementing new ideas, creating new models of engagement, and transforming campus culture. Additionally, we take into account the project’s potential for far-reaching impact and/or appeal to other institutions of higher learning.

In addition to the above major criteria, reviewers also look at the project’s objectives, the applicant’s potential and commitment to innovation, the clarity of the application, the project management plan and budget, and the organizational commitment and resources. Please continue reading for more information about the major areas.

Grant Recipients

Spring 2019

• Doane University CONNECTIONS Program and Leadership Retreat for First Year First Generation College Students - Doane University
• Evaluating the Work of the Womxn of Worth Project - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
• EWU Loot Camp - Eastern Washington University 

Fall 2018

• Assessing the Campus Climate for Sexual and Interpersonal Violence - Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey
• CapABLE Voices: The Photovoice of Students with Disabilities - University of Texas, El Paso
• Diversity & Inclusion Departmental Reviews - University of Houston
• empowerMENt - Newbury College