A new grants program

The NCIIA is pleased to announce our new Sustainable Vision grants program. These exploratory grants will support the creation of new US and international initiatives and will help define transferable and replicable models for effective and sustainable technology entrepreneurship.

Sustainable Vision grants will fund innovative educational programs that move ideas to commercialization for the benefit of the environment and people in need. The grants will support enrichment and deepening of ongoing programs by building and strengthening interpersonal and inter-institutional networks, and creating new initiatives within existing programs.

Our definition of a successful Sustainable Vision grant project:

• Positive economic impact on a targeted population
• Growth that is sustainable through internally generated resources
• Ongoing partnerships capable of bringing about further change
• A documented process that can be replicated in other settings

Who may apply?

Tenured or tenure-track faculty and staff from NCIIA member institutions may apply on behalf of collaborative teams involving representatives from education and industry. Collaborations with governmental and non-profit organizations are also encouraged. If you are a US university or college, click here for membership information.

What will be funded?

Sustainable Vision grants will support programs that apply technology entrepreneurship to address poverty and environmental degradation, and/or meet basic human needs such as clean air and water, nutrition, health care, and shelter. Preferred proposals will:

• Build upon existing relationships (e.g. historic exchange programs between the applicant institution and an institution overseas)
• Establish measurable educational objectives
• Follow a collaborative rather than an aid model
• Plan to engage beneficiaries of new technologies in their design and development
• Generate entrepreneurial opportunities
• Demonstrate sustainability after the end of the grant period
• Include documentation of market potential
• Examine environmental and social outcomes
• Apply technological innovation or innovative use of resources
• Show potential global impact
• Address the needs of people living in poverty

Scope of grants

In the program’s pilot period, Sustainable Vision grants will range in size from $10,000 to $50,000. The award period will range from twelve to eighteen months. Grant recipients will share their work through a summit-style workshop. Grantees will work with the NCIIA on continuous program evaluation and follow-through, defining and refining an evaluation plan and developing transferable models.

Eligible expenses

• Faculty time up to $20,000
• Travel expenses related to network development and program plans or attendance at related meetings
• Expenses related to early implementation of program, including materials, prototypes and testing
• Graduate student support up to $5,000
• Up to 5% institutional overhead

How to apply

Create an account and login at here!
Submission deadline is October 27, 2006. Start early!
The online application system will require the following:

1. Name of your proposal
2. Name of the institution you represent
3. Names and contact information of team members (full résumés will be required as attachments), including principal investigator and administrative contact.
4. An attached narrative (see description)
5. Other appendices (see requirements)

Proposal narrative

Your proposal narrative should not exceed twelve pages in length. Please upload it via our online application system, using Microsoft Word, 12-point Times font. We request that you respond to the questions below in the following format:

- Title: Name of program, name of institution, principal investigator’s name and contact information
- Abstract: (150 words or less) A compelling and concise description of your program
- Introduction: (1 page) What problem(s) are you addressing?
- History and context: (1-3 pages) What have you done so far? What support have you received for your work? What are others doing in the same field? What interesting models will you build upon?
- Team: (1-2 pages, or 1 paragraph for each team member) Who is on your team? What does each individual bring to the team? What role will each play? (Note: full CVs will be submitted as attachments)
- Work plan and outcomes: (Up to 4 pages) What do you hope to achieve? What changes will the program bring about? What steps are involved? What processes will you follow? How will you communicate among partners? How do you know the program will succeed? Referring to the grant guidelines, also address the following:

• How does the program build upon existing relationships?
• How does it establish measurable educational objectives?
• In what ways does it follow a collaborative model?
• What entrepreneurial opportunities are generated?
• How does it demonstrate self-sustainability?
• How does it demonstrate market potential?
• What are the environmental and social outcomes?
• How does it apply technological innovation or innovative use of resources?
• What is its potential global impact?
• How does it address the needs of people living in poverty?

- Evaluation and sustainability plan: (2 pages): How will you know if you have succeeded? What are your program’s internal measures of success? Referring to the grant guidelines, also address the following:

• How will you determine whether your program had a positive economic impact on the target population? How will you tie positive economic outcomes to your program?
• How will you measure the program’s self-sustainability?
• How will you define ongoing partnerships capable of creating further change?
• How will you document your process? How will you determine if the process is replicable and transferable?

Appendix requirements (maximum of 10)

• CVs of participating team members
• Documentation of work completed to date
• Budget table and any budget justification
• Other supporting documents (optional)
  

Submission deadline: October 27, 2006

Address questions to the NCIIA at (413) 587-2172, or email us.