Kellogg Mini-Grants

History of the LINC initiative at Penn State & Cheyney University

In 1998, Penn State and Cheyney University initiated a partnership that was funded by the Kellogg Foundation for the purpose of developing new leadership models that will allow land grant institutions to respond more effectively to the needs of their constituents. Known as the Leadership for Institutional Change Initiative (LINC), the project featured a national dialog among selected land grant universities about defining flexible and dynamic leadership models for the 21st century. Leadership Learning Communities were formed at Penn State, Cheyney and the other land grant universities funded by the initiative. In July 2001, funds were awarded to Penn State and Cheyney for Phase II of the LINC initiative.

Description of the Mini-Grant Award Program

A significant portion of Phase II activity has been the awarding of mini-grants to diverse teams of campus and community members who are working on projects that address recognized campus/community issues. The LINC project extends the boundaries of the university, and all forms of collaborative team projects that represent the university's internal and external stakeholders will be considered for funding. The community, as defined in the grant requirements, may extend beyond the borders of the local area.

It is anticipated that the average amount awarded will be in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 per project, but grants up to a maximum of $10,000 are possible. Mini-grant award recipients will be introduced to a collaborative leadership model and will be represented on the LINC Leadership Consortium at Penn State. The Consortium will meet yearly to exchange effective practices and share learning experiences.

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MINI-GRANT CRITERIA

The criteria listed below will be used in the review process and should be addressed in the proposal:

Collaborative Impact - Does the applicant's team represent a diverse group of people from the campus and the community? Is the team expected to further collaborative goals?

Assessment - Are the objectives clearly written and defined? Are appropriate methods of evaluation proposed?

Feasibility - Is the applicant likely to be able to accomplish the objectives of the project? Are the resources adequate? Is the proposed strategy likely to succeed?

High impact - How many students, faculty, staff, and community members will be served by the expected results? What is the importance of the initiative to the campus and community? Is there a clear educational benefit?

Leverage - Does the project build on existing, successful projects or ongoing activities? Is there a potential to leverage funding from external sources? Will the project extend or create resources in ways consistent with campus or community missions?

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Funds must be expended no later than June 30, 2003 and all awardees must submit an evaluation of their project by July 30, 2003.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Funded projects will be evaluated at the end of the performance period to determine attainment of the evaluation measures described in the project proposal, as well as attainment of other quality outcomes.

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TIME LINE

September 19, 2002- Mini-Grant process announced

October 18, 2002 - Proposal review begins

November 1, 2002 - Proposal review ends

June 30, 2003 - Date by which funds must be expended

July 30, 2003 - Project evaluations due

MINI-GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

All applications should be submitted electronically via email attachment or diskette, using the proposal outline below. Send electronically to psucqp@psu.edu

Submit proposals to:

Kellogg LINC Initiative
c/o Penn State's Office of Planning and Institutional Assessment
405 Old Main
University Park, PA 16802

For information or assistance, please contact Louise Sandmeyer at 814-863-8721, or David Day at 814-865-3180.

PROPOSAL OUTLINE

Three to five page narrative description of the project to include:

1. APPLICANT INFORMATION

1.1 Name, address, phone, affiliation, and email address of the project contact.
1.2 Name, address, phone, affiliation, and email address of all other team members.

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Campus/community challenge to be addressed
2.2 Project objectives
2.3 Project timetable
2.4 Project evaluation plan

3. PROJECT BUDGET

3.1 Include a statement of need, as well as a listing of any other sources of funds that are expected.

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