The Purpose of Community Engagement Is

Overview

The Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service (The Nashman Center)annually supports community-engaged scholarship at GW through small grants to faculty doing this work. Our definition of community-engaged scholarship includes teaching, research, orcreative activities that occur in partnership with the community to both prepare active citizens and benefit the public good.

Community-engaged scholarship represents a,“…collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

The purpose of community engagement is:

the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity;
enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens;
strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility;
address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.” [1]

Quite simply, this educational experience enables students and faculty members to apply academic knowledge and critical thinking skills to meet genuine, pressing community needs and disparities, such as those in education, housing, health, and the environment.

Goal

The purpose of these awards is to promote the development and institutionalizationof newcommunity-engagedscholarship opportunities that are consistent with the University strategic plan. The Nashman Faculty Grants for Engaged Scholarship are designed to: promote and support engaged teaching and research; improve communication among faculty about engaged scholarship; and, support professional development opportunities related to engaged scholarship.

Funds are available to support (details on p. 4-5):

Development of new academic service-learning courses;
Service-learning course support;
Evaluation of existing engaged research or teaching;
Strategic planning for the intentional engagement of an entire academic department;
Community-based participatory research;
Research on community-engaged scholarship; and
Individual or group professional development in community-engaged scholarship.

Applications will be accepted from GW faculty who are regular full-time or regular part-time who can demonstrate a long-term commitment to GW.

Faculty members are strongly encouraged to consult the Nashman Center’s staff in order to develop meaningful, reciprocal opportunities that will create sustainable relationships and meet genuine needs.

Department Chairs should endorse faculty members in their departments for these awards with a brief statement of support. Please use the required cover sheet (provided below) for the chair’s comments and signature.

Funding is distributed to the recipient’s academic department, via the departmental Oracle account. If funds are requested to be directly paid to the faculty member, funding appears as supplemental pay and is subject to income tax.

Timeline

January 9, 2016 / Proposals due
February 6, 2017 / Grant recipients announced
March 15, 2017 / Funds available for distribution to academic departments
Spring Semester, 2017 / Project planning and professional development, including Nashman Center sponsored seminars and individual consulting
Academic Year 2017/2018 / Funded projects implemented (e.g. courses offered, research and evaluation projects implemented, etc.)
June 1, 2018 / All funded activities completed by end of spring semester, 2018

Expectations and Deliverables

Faculty members selected to receive funding:

Participate in applicable professional development activitiesprovided by the Nashman Center (i.e. 3-4 service-learning seminars, 2 community-based research seminars, and at least one Nashman Center event for engaged scholars such as faculty meet-ups or brown bags). The Nashman schedule of professional development and events for engaged scholars will be available in November.
Present their work (or support their students’ presentations)at the Academic Service-Learning Symposium, held at the end of each semester.
Acknowledge the support of the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service at The George Washington University in all publications, presentations, or events resulting from funded projects.
Submit a Final Project Report, one month from completion of the project, with June 1, 2018 being the final deadline for this funding cycle. This report will include:
A brief narrative of the results of the project
A final expense report indicating proposed and actual spending.
Documentation of expenditures. Please consult with your department finance manager with regard to the required documentation for expenditures.
Any applicable end-products of the project, such as new course syllabi, re-designed assignments, photos or other documentation of community-based activities, data-collection tools developed, evaluation findings, or written work submitted for publication. The Nashman Center may distribute these further to promote engaged scholarship at GW and/or share them for future faculty development.

Types of Funded Projects

Service-Learning Course Development

Purpose:Create or redesign a course to include community service-learning or community-based research.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $3,000.

Preference will be given to those course proposals that:

Advance priorities in the GW Strategic Plan[ creating rigorous courses that integrate curricular and co-curricular activities; teaching strategies that promote student citizenship and leadership; advance diversity and inclusion, intercultural competence)
Engage K-12 schools in service-learning
Are submitted by faculty who have not received grants from the Nashman Center previously

Please note: If this proposal is for a new or significantly altered course at GW, further departmental approval may be necessary and is the responsibility of the applicant.

Optional: Course Design Institute, Sponsored by the University Teaching and Learning Center

An optional opportunity for faculty proposing service-learning course development projects includes participation the University Teaching and Learning Center’s Course Design Institute. This highly recommended opportunity is an intensive five-day program, held mid-May each year. GW faculty learn the latest research on learning-centered course design with built-in time to workshop their own syllabi and assignments.

This year, the Nashman Center is partnering with the UTLC to providea service-learning track during the Course Design Institute for a small cohort of faculty who will apply the course-design literature to the context of a service-learning course. For faculty supported by this Nashman Grant, attendance at the Institute is free (and in addition to the funding awarded by the grant itself). Please indicate your intention to participate in the Institute on the Application Cover Sheet by entering “SL Course Development and Course Design Institute.”

Service-Learning Course Support Grants

Purpose: Support the activities of an existing service-learning course, such as student travel, supplies, and honoraria for community partners.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $500.

Service-Learning Evaluation Grants

Purpose: Support well-designed evaluation of student learning outcomes and community impact from a service-learning course or community-based research project.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $2,000.

Engaged Department Grants

Purpose: Support plans to engage an entire department or school in the development of community- and civically-engaged scholarship and service-learning teaching.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $10,000

Funds might be used to support, for example:

micro-grants for course development or implementation
seminars on engaged scholarship in the discipline(s) or focused on a specific issue
course release to support colleagues in developing service-learning courses and engaged research
evaluation and assessment of engaged scholarship

Community-Based Participatory Research Grants

Purpose: Advance research on significant social issues in collaboration with local residents that will provide potential solutions and contribute to long-term, sustainable change in the community. Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves an equitable relationship between residents, community organizations and university researchers that is reflected in all levels of project design and dissemination. CBPR is a partnership between community and university investigators in which each group contributes their expertise and they share equal ownership of the process and products of research collaboration.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $5,000.

Research on Engaged Scholarship

Purpose: Advance research for publication on the practice and outcomes of engaged scholarship and teaching. Preference will be given to those proposals that support the research and publication efforts of junior faculty.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $5,000.

Professional Development Grants

Purpose: Supports faculty professional development related to engaged scholarship. Proposals should emphasize the learning objectives of the activity, the potential of the activity to advance reciprocal and sustained partnership between GW and the community, and the potential for information from the conference or training to be shared to better inform the work of the entire GW community.

Funding guidelines: Generally, up to $2000

Funds might be used to support, for example:

conference travel and registration for engaged scholarship or service-learning conferences or to present a paper on engaged scholarship at another academic conference
a seminar or other collaboration to explore the use of engaged teaching and research to address a community or social need
a speaker on engaged research and/or teaching within a particular discipline

Proposal Application

Proposals should not exceed five pages (cover sheet and attachments excluded). For any questions, please contact Wendy Wagner or Amy Cohen, .

Cover Sheet (form provided below):
The project title, name(s) of applicant(s), and departmental/program affiliation.
A 2 to 5 sentence proposal abstract, briefly describing the proposed activities.
A brief statement of endorsement from the department chair of no more than 250 words
Project Description
The project purpose.
A detailed description of what you intend to do and the way in which your project will be carried out, including specific dates and locations for project activities. Please indicate if this is a multi-year project for which you may request future funding from the Nashman Center.
A statement describing the significance of your project and the outcomes expected, including, for example, innovation and improvement in teaching; enhanced student engagement in the discipline; community outcomes for teaching or research; research publications, that are expected to result from the proposal. Please be specific.
The partners in your project, for example, schools, community organizations, academic associations, and other GW offices or departments.
Budget
An itemized budget
The budget narrative/justification. Briefly explain how the costs were estimated and justify the need for each expense.
A funding history. Describeother funds received or applied for to support the project. Please include internal GW funding that was awarded competitively, such as Office of Diversity and Inclusion Grants, CCAS service-learning funds, or Teaching and Learning Collaborative funding. No need to report divisional conference travel funding.
Attachments
Include any relevant supplemental material such as current syllabi, conference programs, or literature reviews.

High- quality proposals will consider the following:

How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities outlined in your proposal support the goals of the GW Strategic Plan, Vision 2021?
How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities you propose support the objectives of your course/department/discipline?
How will the community-engaged scholarship and service-learning activities you propose make an impact on a need or issue in the community?
How will this work advance knowledge in your academic field?
How will you measure and demonstrate the success of your activities?
How will you disseminate the results of your work?

Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service

Mission and Goals

Mission

The mission of the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service is to integrate civic engagement into George Washington University’s educational work as a key component of the diversity and inclusion strategy. By focusing GW’s resources to meet community needs beyond the campus; the Nashman Center promotes active, inclusive citizenship in a diverse democracy; helps recruit and retain diverse students and faculty; and enhances teaching, learning and scholarship at GW.

Goals

Meet Community Needs

Develop strong reciprocal, respectful, active democratic partnerships in a range of communities, especially those that have limited access to GW resources
Use GW’s expertise and resources to address pressing human needs
Use evidence based strategies
Ensure that projects have demonstrable outcomes for community
Focus on several strategic partnerships with multiple programs

Promote Active Citizenship in a Diverse Democracy

Engage GW with the District of Columbia and the world
Unite people of diverse backgrounds in meaningful relevant common experience
Learn the values and skills needed to participate in public decision-making and community life

Enhance Teaching, Learning and Scholarship

Promote and support engaged scholarship, including service-learning and community-based research
Support scholarship about service and civic engagement
Collaborate nationally and internationally to further higher education’s commitment to civic engagement

Nashman Center Faculty Grants for
Community-Engaged Scholarship /

COVER SHEET

Name: ______Email: ______

Project Type (see pgs 3-4): ______

Department: ______

Chair:______Email: ______

Chair Signature: ______

Endorsement from the Chair, 2-5 sentences (may be appended):

Proposal Abstract, 2-5 sentences (may be appended):

This Cover Sheet must accompany each proposal.

Email by January 9, 2017