WICCD Grant Program

The WICCD grant program funds projects submitted by UW university employees and students that support WICCD’s vision and mission. WICCD’s vision is for the Universities of Wisconsin to be national leaders in producing and disseminating knowledge and enhancing democracy through civil dialogue in a robust marketplace of ideas.  Accordingly, its mission is to provide resources, opportunities, and support for teaching, learning, and practicing viewpoint diversity; freedom of expression; academic freedom; civil dialogue; and civic participation within our universities and communities.

WICCD prioritizes funding grant projects likely to have positive impacts on campus culture.

Grant Areas

WICCD seeks proposals in four areas:

• (R) research
• (E) events and related activities
• (A) assessment and evaluation
• (D) curriculum and professional development

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by individual or multiple administrators, faculty, staff, or students, or by an academic unit or center housed in a UW university. All proposals must identify a Project Lead and all other project team members. All student-led proposals must include a faculty or staff mentor/supervisor. Any project constituting human subjects research must be exempted or approved by its university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to receipt of grant funds.

Process

Proposals are screened initially by the WICCD director (or a qualified designee) to determine completeness, appropriateness, and feasibility.  Proposals that do not pass the initial screening will receive feedback on why they failed to qualify for further consideration.  Proposals that pass the director’s screening are sent to content experts to evaluate.  These experts will make a recommendation to the director to either (a) fund the proposal as submitted or with minor specified modifications, (b) offer applicant the opportunity to re-submit with specified corrections or improvements, or (c) reject the proposal for specified reasons.  The final decision on all proposals is made by the WICCD director.

Due to limited grant funds, it is likely some proposals will not be funded. Updated proposals may be re-submitted in a subsequent grant cycle.

Evaluation criteria

Proposals (no longer than 1500 words) should explain:

• The project’s alignment with WICCD’s vision and mission.
• The rationale for the need for the project.
• Clear and attainable objectives/impacts.
• If applicable, the project’s methodology/process.
• A plan for assessing the project and disseminating results.
• The qualifications of the person/s and/or unit/center involved in the project.
• An itemized budget, including any other funding sources or partners supporting the project. Examples of allowable expenses include personnel salary and fringe, supplies, event marketing, curricular materials, student-centered programming, and travel expenses essential to conducting the project. Expenses not allowed include indirect costs, travel not essential to conducting the project, and the cost of project dissemination or publication.

Additional Information

Distribution of Funds

Grant funds will be provided to the appropriate office or department at the home university and subject to all applicable UW and home institution policies and procedures.

Unspent Funds

Any unspent grant funds will be returned to WICCD.

Post-Grant Report

Within 60 days of the grant project’s completion, the Project Lead must submit a report to WICCD which includes these four sections.  (1) A description of the project’s implementation, including any changes to the original project proposal and all project results / outcomes. (2) An account of how grant funds were spent and any unspent grant funds.  (3) An assessment of the quality of the project and significance of its impact(s), including any plans for improvements for future projects.  And (4) any completed or planned dissemination of the project’s results/outcomes.

Questions?

Contact Interim WICCD Director Tim Shiell at shiellt@uwstout.edu or 715-232-1490.