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Incentive Grants for Engaged Scholarship

Application Process

The application period for AY 2024-2025 is now open.

Applications are due Friday, April 19, 2024
 
Need help with your proposal idea? Make an individual appointment or join our incentive grant information session on March 14th, 28th and April 11th, from 12-1pm. For questions, please contact Dr. Christina Holub, Faculty Director, at cholub@csusm.edu.

Community Relations & University Engagement (CRUE) announces faculty grant opportunities to support community engaged scholarship (CES; also referred to as engaged scholarship, defined below). All California State University San Marcos faculty are eligible to apply.

There are two categories for funding:
     (1) Incentive Grant for Building Partnerships, and
     (2) Incentive Grant for Community Engaged Projects
 
Category 1: Building Partnerships
To prepare faculty for future community engaged scholarship projects, proposals to build partnerships should outline: (1) how your engaged work would benefit from an academic-community partnership; (2) a description of potential community partner(s); and (3) activities planned for engaging your potential partners. Awards will range from $500 - $1,000, based on the proposal and budget specifications. This category also include attendance to at least 1 workshop on building partnerships among all grantees, offered by CSUSM’s CRUE.
 
Fundable activities for building partnerships include, but are not limited to:
  • Community partner meetings and hospitality
  • Materials for interviews to assess community partner needs
  • Learning opportunities (e.g., attendance to trainings, workshops or conferences focused on community partnerships)
  • Attendance at community events (e.g., registration, tickets, booth fees)
Category 2: Community Engaged Projects
In keeping with the parameters of engaged scholarship, project proposals must involve faculty partnership with a community organization(s) on research/creative activity, teaching or service. No partnerships with other institutions of higher educations will be considered. Successful proposals will: (1) demonstrate a mutually-beneficial, reciprocal relationship (both partners share tasks through all stages of the project and both benefit from the outcome); (2) demonstrate a contribution to the public good (defined below); and (3) enhance the mission of the university in the creation, transfer and/or application of knowledge. Awards will range from $2,000 - $5,000, based on the proposal and budget specifications.
 
Categories of fundable activities include, but are not limited to:
  • Design and implementation of engaged scholarship research project or creative activity
  • Development of curricular or pedagogical strategies involving engaged scholarship
  • Collaboration with a community organization by providing subject matter expertise
  • Travel to conference to present on an engaged scholarship project

Priority will be given to project proposals that are in their first two years of partnership. Priority is also given to proposals that are rebuilding partnerships and collaborations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selection Process:

Members of the the incentive grant committee will conduct a review of the proposals, based on the evaluation rubric.  
 

Funds:

The grant funds will be available for use from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. A range of $500-$5,000 will be awarded per proposal. All professional development funds must be spent and all paperwork appropriately completed prior to June 30, 2024. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to follow up on any documentation/travel claims with their respective department before the deadline.

*DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP

Community Engaged Scholarship (CES) is centered on a mutually-beneficial collaboration between the university and a community partner outside the academy. The purpose of the collaboration is to bring together the specialized knowledge of the university with the specialized knowledge of the community to generate new knowledge that is applied to solve critical issues of interest to both. CES meets the needs of the community partner as defined and expressed by the partner, with measurable outcomes. The collaborative work is characterized by robust participation by both the university and community partners and results are disseminated to all partners and beyond.

  • By community we mean an organization, entity, or simply people, outside of academia.
  • By engaged we mean a partnership between community members and the university that is  marked by mutual respect, in which all partners are significantly and equitably involved in the partnership, community needs are the motivation for the partnership, and the goals and outcomes of the partnership are mutually beneficial.
  • By scholarship we mean a process of inquiry that applies a suitable methodology to answer a question driven by community needs and goals, and that contributes to a body of knowledge. The outcomes of CES include both traditional peer-reviewed products as well as items of use to the community partner that would not have been created without the scholar’s input.

**DEFINITION OF PUBLIC GOOD

The term “public good” speaks to the commitment to civic [engagement] and social responsibility, to serving and protecting ... [societal well-being].  It implies a moral obligation on the part of individuals and institutions to attend to social problems.

~ Higher Education for the Public Good: A Report from the National Leadership Dialogues