New Approaches Grant

The University of Georgia (UGA) is committed to creating and improving efforts to make our campus a more diverse and inclusive community. To support these efforts, the Office of the President and the Office of Institutional Diversity invite proposals for New Approaches to Promote Diversity and Inclusion grants. Drawing from $300K in private funds dedicated by the President, grants will provide between $10K and $25K per awardee for the implementation of new initiatives to enhance the academic experience of underrepresented, first-generation, rural, and other underserved students at UGA.

Purpose of the Grant

• to encourage the schools/colleges and administrative units to consider how they can expand support for underrepresented and underserved students; and
• to develop or adopt new programs that foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for all UGA students.

The New Approaches grant program will generate ideas, foster initiatives, and stimulate programs that are tailored to the needs of the various schools/colleges and administrative units at UGA. Projects should have the potential for ongoing or sustained impact. Priority will be given to requests that demonstrate ability to directly impact the recruitment, retention and academic success of underrepresented student populations at the University of Georgia.

Who is Eligible to Apply?
All requests must be sponsored by an office or department within a school/college or administrative unit at UGA. Requests must be approved by the Dean or Vice President of the sponsoring unit.

Timeline: Not currently accepting new applications for 2023.

Applications
Completed applications will contain the following information:

• Principal Investigator Information – name(s), email address(es), phone number(s), and mailing address(es).
• Project Title – a title that accurately describes the project.
• Project Synopsis – a very brief synopsis of the project for purposes of advertising.
• Project Objectives –specific goals to be achieved.
• Project Rationale – (new proposals) the compelling case of why this project has strong potential to positively affect recruitment and retention of current and prospective underrepresented and underserved students; (continued funding proposals) a description of how this project has positively affected recruitment and retention of current and prospective underrepresented and underserved students.
• Implementation – the plan for implementation of the project, including timeline and assessment plan.
• Line-item Budget – a line-item budget for the proposal. (Note that these funds are not to be used for personnel or staff/faculty development)
• Budget Rationale – a justification for the proposed budget request. 
• Letter of Support – a letter from the Vice President, Dean or Director of the unit indicating support of the proposal. 

Application Review Process
Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee.
The core criteria for evaluation are:

• Degree to which the project represents a new program for the unit or department (new proposals only)
• Degree to which the project supports underrepresented and underserved (current and prospective) students
• Potential to enhance the academic experience of underrepresented, first-generation, rural, and other students at UGA (consideration of breadth and depth)
• Feasibility
• Degree to which the project’s impact both quantitatively and qualitatively can be evaluated and assessed
• Potential sustainability/transferability

Submission of Proposals 
Application should be submitted as one complete PDF document. 

Questions or inquiries about the proposal process should be directed as follows: Proposal-related questions can be directed to Alton Standifer, Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Chief of Staff to the Provost, at alton@uga.edu, or 706.583.8195. Questions related to the online submission process or other administrative issues can be directed to Wendy Starnes, Office of Institutional Diversity, at wendy.starnes@uga.edu or 706.583.8195.