About SIUE

SIUE Innovation Grant

Thank you for your interest in SIUE’s Innovation Grant program. The past proposals have been successful and we are appreciative of your innovative efforts to improve SIUE. Until we hear more about Federal and State funding related to the General Operating Budget and COVID support, we are not accepting applications or proposals. As we learn more about our budget for 2021-2022, we will reassess the Innovation Grant program and will announce when the next round of proposals will be accepted.  

Overview

An Innovation Grant is now available to SIUE community members as a valuable tool in promoting the University’s Strategic Plan and its mission, vision and values. This fund is designed to generate creative thinking that considers what SIUE could become, and explores new ways of doing things that lead to long-term benefits for the University and beyond.

Innovation Grant funding in the amount of $1 million has been identified for use on an annual basis, subject to University and State guidelines and providing funds are available, to support concepts and proposals that will enhance the SIUE experience for students, faculty and staff at all levels of operation.

Innovations will be evaluated according to the following measures: breadth and impact on the University; clarity of outcome; clarity of budget; ability to generate new revenue or save funds; and practicality of implementation.

Innovation ideas may relate to a number of areas, including, but not limited to, improvements to the University’s:

• educational environment (eg. technological infrastructure for teaching and learning) to support pedagogical innovations, student engagement, or new modalities
• academic quality
• academic reputation with prospective students
• student life
• research and artistic activity
• recruiting and retention
• promoting diversity, equity and inclusion
• academic programs and delivery systems
• financial foundations
• facilities improvements and/or efficiencies

Additionally, ideas stressing partnerships within and outside of the campus community are highly encouraged and are eligible for funding. Priority consideration will be given to ideas that also substantially generate revenue, reduce costs or significantly improve our university environment.

We are particularly interested in interdisciplinarity and collaborative approaches to confronting challenges that yield the following outcomes, beyond new revenue or cost-savings:

• Increases in enrollment
• Improvements in retention and graduation rates, particularly for under-represented students
• Increases in research productivity that yield student research opportunities, build research capacity, and enhance SIUE's infrastructure for future grant activity
• Increases in the number of High Impact Practices such that all students have greater access to opportunities earlier in the curriculum
• Expanded support for High Impact Community Engagement Practices
• Non-traditional credentialing (eg. prior learning, badging, etc.)

Those submitting proposals do not necessarily also have to be the implementers of the concept(s). Proposals may be on a one-time basis or eligible for annual renewal (ie. recurring funding).  Evaluation criteria will be developed and administered by a review panel with oversight by the Chancellor’s Council and the University Planning and Budget Council.

The grant request process will occur once per academic year in the Spring semester.