Call For Proposals

This Spring, the selection committee for the Technology Innovation Grant will award funds totaling $100,000 to full and part-time faculty, staff, and administrators to fuel innovative use of instructional technology at TCC. The Technology Innovation Grant Committee encourages all full and part-time faculty, staff, and administrators with progressive, practical ideas regarding educational technology to submit a grant application.

Beyond the $100,000 designated for the Technology Innovation Grant, there are no limitations to proposal ideas and funding for individual projects. While past grant proposals have included funding for student assistants, outside speakers, software, hardware, stipends, travel, and food for special events, the Technology Innovation Grant Committee encourages applicants to think creatively as well as small, large, and in between.

Themes will be created each year to coincide with the TCC administration’s current focus.  Adherence to the theme is preferred but not required.  This year’s themes are “multi-campus,” “multidiscipline,” and “student success.”

Proposals will be ranked by how well the project advances TCC's long-term progress in putting instructional technology to effective and practical use.

Criteria include:

• Benefits to students, to colleagues, and to the college,
• A project’s overall cost effectiveness per student,
• The feasibility and achievability of a project,
• A project’s creativity and innovation,
• The clarity of a proposal,
• An assessment of services that already exist, and
• Adherence to the year’s theme(s).   

You can view the rubric used to evaluate the proposals at the following link:

Technology Innovation Grant Rubric for Assessment of Proposals

Deadlines

• TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT proposals may be submitted between February 20 and March 10.  Proposal Form in Word format.
• The TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT committee may request clarification and/or suggest refinement of proposals up to April 10; all requested revisions must be submitted by April 20.
• Both the March 10 and April 20 deadlines must be satisfied to qualify for funding.
• The selection committee will notify applicants of their decisions by May 1.

Rules Regarding the Proposal Submission and Review Process

• All grant proposals must be submitted without names for blind review; names may ONLY be on cover pages.
• Considering that not all grants are accepted and some individuals at the College have specialized experience and knowledge that is often needed for technology grants, the same person may be on multiple grant proposals.
• Incomplete forms may not be reviewed.
• Selection committee members are not allowed to submit grant proposals.
• While the TLTC designs, elects the chair (or co-chairs), and oversees the results of the grant, the TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT is not a TLTC grant, nor is the TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT committee a TLTC subcommittee.  As such, TLTC members who are not on the selection committee may submit grant proposals without creating a conflict of interest.
• The only person(s) on the TLTC who may be on the TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT committee is the TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT committee chair (or co-chairs), who does not vote.  This person is elected from the TLTC membership.
• The TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT chair (or co-chairs) will be the only member to know the names connected to each grant.  As such,

  a) s/he will not vote on grant proposals;
  b) s/he will only comment on proposals as needed to inform the committee of potential problems, such as conflict of interest; and
  c) s/he will act as a conduit to the potential grantees should more information be needed.

Requirements of the Grantees

All Grantees must:

• Participate in the TCC Teaching with Technology Showcase in academic year following the completion of the grant,
• Include a video or PowerPoint in their end-of-year summary, which must be submitted to the TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT chair before the May TLTC meeting, and
• Submit a five-to-ten-minute presentation to the TLTC at a regular TLTC meeting within the same academic year.

Budget

• The TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT does not fund release time, but applicants can include in their projected budget expenses any stipends for estimated time spent on their project.
• All work done in connection with an accepted grant must be documented in order to qualify for compensation.
• Compensation equates to $650 per thirty hours of documented contact time. 
• Thirty hours of real time equates to one stipend hour. 
• Grantees may be compensated up to nine stipend hours, for a total of up to $5850.
• Funding for execution of the grant is up front; stipends are funded at the completion of the grant.

Selection Committee Membership

• TLTC member(s) (as chair or co-chairs)
• Educational Technology representative
• OIS representative
• Counseling representative
• Chesapeake Faculty representative
• Norfolk Faculty representative
• Portsmouth Faculty representative
• Virginia Beach Faculty representative
• Academic or student services dean
• Associate vice president of Technology (as ex officio)

Questions should be directed to the Selection Committee Co-Chairs Beth Callahan, bcallahan@tcc.edu and Kim Edwards, KEdwards@tcc.edu.