Grants 101 Training 10:30am – 11:30am —Searching for funding sources NIH, NSF, NIMH, UT grants, private foundations Using the fdn center

Go backwards to see who funds your competitors Solicited vs. Unsolicited proposals; How to initiate contact —How to make a strong case for your research: 1 page summary —Finding a PI/getting credit as a co-PI —Assembling the team & a basic timeline —Writing & editing the grant: see LIFT grant example —Building an evaluation plan into your research —Developing a budget —Dealing with OSP & navigating UT Austin bureaucracy Break 11:45am – 12:30 pm Reviewing case statements Group exercises Q&A

What central problem or research question does your research seek to answer? How is your project different from or build upon previous research in this area? How much funding do you need? Would an evaluation be part of this? Who would be your dream team? Who would definitely commit to being on your team? How will you know if your project is successful? Show your project writeup to a peer. They will each come with a half-page writeup of their proposed project, and we would have them do some small group activities — then help them troubleshoot and share where they’re at. Have them recite back in one or two sentences what your research will accomplish? What questions do they have?

How  &  Where  to  Find  Grants  

Grant Seeking 101

Funding  Sources  

Each  funding  source  has  different  approaches,  processes,  and  requirements                            

                           1Private  Founda;ons                              2Corporate  Founda;ons  

                               3Government  Grants  

               

                           

                       

               

Private  Founda;ons  

Non-­‐governmental  en8ty  that  is  established  as  a  nonprofit  corpora8on  A  private  founda8on  derives  its  money  from  a  family,  an  individual,  or  a  corpora8on.  An  example  of  a  private  

founda8on  is  The  Bill  &  Melinda  Gates  Founda8on,  The  Rockefeller  Founda8on,  or  The  Jus8n  Timberlake  Founda8on    

1

Foun

da;o

n  Fund

ing  Re

sources  

Where  to  look?      

 Non-­‐Profit  Resource  Center    United  Way    Community  Founda8ons    Library      

founda8oncenter.org  guidestar.org  (990)  

cof.org  (council  on  founda8ons)  communityfounda8ons.net  

Individual  Founda8on  Websites    

                           

                       

                                                           2 Corporate  Founda;ons  &  

Corporate  Funding  

Corporate  Founda8ons  receive  their  funds  from  their  parent  companies,  but  are  separate  legal  en88es  Corporate  Giving  Programs  are  not  separate  legal  en88es,  and  include  employee  matching  giSs  and  in-­‐kind  

giSs  as  part  of  their  grant  making  ac8vi8es      

Corporate  Fund

ing  Re

sources  

Where  to  look?      

Non-­‐Profit  Resource  Center    United  Way    Community  Founda8ons    Library    

therivernetwork.org  corporatephilanthropy.org  

founda8oncenter.org  SEC  Filings  (EDGAR)  

Lexis  Nexis  Corporate  Founda8on  Websites  

 

                           

                       

                                                           3 Government  Grants  

An  award  of  financial  assistance  from  a  government  agency  to  a  recipient  to  carry  out  a  public  purpose  of  support  or  s8mula8on  authorized  by  a  law  of  the  United  States.    

A  federal  grant  may  not  be  used  to  acquire  property  or  services  for  the  federal  government's  direct  benefit.  

Governmen

t  Fun

ding  

Resources  

Where  to  look?        

Local  County  and  Municipal  Offices    Library      

grants.gov  therivernetwork.org  

cfda.org  Ferderal  Register  (gpo.org)  

usa.gov  usaspending.org  

Office  of  Sponsored  Projects  

                           

                       

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Environ Development of an educational game to promote high-level decision making skills in students and simultaneously build an infrastructure for educational game development at UT Austin with the ultimate goal of improving teaching, learning, and research throughout the university.

Requested Amount $100,000

College/School/Unit(s) Center for Teaching and Learning - Digital Media Institute Program (http://dmi.utexas.org)

Space Requirements No additional space would be required for this project.

Primary Participants Name Unit Email Address Peter Elam, MA Program Manager - Digital Media Institute

Center for Teaching and Learning - Digital Media Institute

peter.elam@austin.utexas.edu

Matt O’Hair, MA Education Technology Specialist

Center for Teaching and Learning - Digital Media Institute

omatthew@gmail.com

Digital Media Institute Student Staff

Center for Teaching and Learning - Digital Media Institute

Faculty and Graduate Student Subject Matter Experts

Several departments from across UT Austin

Matthew O'Hair� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [1]: Should we mention the subject matter as well? Something like “…while exploring environmental and economic issues,” Jessie Torrisi � 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [2]: What if we say “decision making skills for environmental science, economics, public policy, and political science students” – focus less on the subject matter but emphasize all the types of students this game will be useful for.

Jessie Torrisi � 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [3]: Include the number of students and subject matter experts if you have an estimate.

Project Description

Overview The Digital Media Institute (DMI) is a part of the Center for Teaching and Learning at UT Austin. DMI employs students with innovative technical skills and ideas to assist in the development of high-end instructional technology projects for the University. We recruit students from across the University to work on projects from colleges and departments all over campus. DMI also actively promotes partnerships within UT Austin, and with external organizations which are leaders in the fields of instructional technology, design, and development. It is in our DNA to be collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and to form partnerships within the university and with external organizations. In alignment with UT Austin initiatives to transform educational delivery models, DMI is working to build an educational gaming infrastructure that will position UT Austin as a leader in high-quality educational gaming development. As a part of the Center for Teaching and Learning, we are uniquely positioned to help create this infrastructure that will enhance teaching, learning, and research across the university. The university is actively laying the groundwork for this infrastructure, and UT has unique advantages to allow it to become a leader in educational gaming. However, developing a high-quality educational game is challenges; in these early stages it is crucial to build credibility and momentum by being able to demonstrate successful games. At DMI we have developed an very early-stage prototype of an educational game called Environ. Environ is a game that puts students in the role of decision maker. The game is set in near-future Earth, and the player must take a series of actions to help improve the earth’s environment without destroying its economic output. Resources are limited, so the player must deeply analyze different options to make difficult, complex decisions. We are seeking a LIFT grant to fund the development of this game past the early prototype phase, to create a finished product that could be used in classrooms across campus – and the world. The game is grounded in real science and would be a valuable teaching tool for courses in a variety of disciplines. FOR EXAMPLE, (Add an example or two of how this could be used in a variety of disciplines.) In addition, Environ can serve as a showpiece, developed with the help of subject matter experts across campus, which would both bring together faculty from across disciplines to get behind gaming and begin establishing UT Austin as a leader in educational gaming.

Innovation Level Environ incorporates an innovative pedagogy that promotes critical thinking and high-level decision-making. The game is set in a time where environmental issues have started to significantly damage the world economy. The player is given a limited amount of money, and a limited amount of political capital, and is presented with a series of decisions. Every decision costs a specific amount of money and political capital, and will lead to different outcomes for the environment.

DMI students working on the prototype Jessie Torrisi � 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [4]: This is an awesome sentence! A great way to describe & brand yourselves….

Jessica Lindley� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [5]: Provide examples of this

Each decision affects the cost and availability of later decisions, and every choice represents an opportunity-cost. With limited resources, students learn that they must analyze and prioritize in order to have maximum impact. Students also learn how early decisions affect later opportunities, and how complex systems interact. Sometimes the “right” decision is too politically costly, or an investment in one technology precludes an investment in another. In other words, the game simulates real life. As in life, students are put in a position to appreciate the complexity and difficulty of the decisions that world leaders must make. In addition to the innovation inherent in the game, Environ is developed in a revolutionary way – as DMI employs undergraduate student staff from across the university, the game is not simply designed for students, it is a game that is also designed and developed by students. Equally important, the game has the ability to improve the quality of instruction and how faculty integrate technology into their classrooms by _____.

Benefit to UT Teaching tool for classrooms at UT and across the world - As UT looks to shape the learning experience of the 21st century students, we must consider what that experience will look like. Environ promotes active learning and high-level critical thinking and decision making skills. It also forces students to view complex problems in a cross-disciplinary way. Environ will be playable on the web, and could be used as a component of a variety of courses across campus. The subject matter is relevant to courses in Engineering, Natural Sciences, Geosciences, Public Policy, Economics, Political Science, and other disciplines. It could be also used in high schools around the world. There is some precedent for this at UT Austin as well. Alien Rescue, an educational game developed at UT (and a project which the team applying for this grant has worked on), is used in middle schools across the country. Foundational piece for educational game development infrastructure at UT - The city of Austin has the third highest number of video game development companies in country. The University has started down the path of developing expertise and infrastructure for video game development, but that infrastructure is in its infancy. As a leading research university, UT Austin can leverage its expertise in education, as well as its enormous reservoir of subject-matter expertise, to become a leader in educational game development. A high-quality, successful educational game builds credibility, and raises the profile of the University as a place for serious game designers and developers. This, in turn, attracts higher caliber students and faculty to the University. It also opens the door to new opportunities, which may include revenue-generating titles, or partnerships between UT and established game studios or educational technology organizations.

Screenshot from the Environ prototype

DMI is perfectly positioned to partner with the relevant programs on campus to foster the development of that infrastructure. We are already working with the Digital Arts and Media track of the Bridging Disciplines Program, the Game and Mobile Media Applications program, the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy, the new Digital Arts program in Fine Arts, and the Electronic Game Developers Society. These organizations form a solid base of expertise, and DMI recruits heavily from many of them. However, none of these organizations have a focus on education. DMI, as a part of the Center for Teaching and Learning, has a direct focus on innovative in education. True cross-disciplinary project - DMI has deep expertise in both education and multimedia development. The content of Environ touches upon a large variety of subjects that are outside our expertise, but within the expertise of many faculty and graduate students across campus. A great strength of a physical campus, such as UT Austin, is the variety of disciplines that are in close proximity to each other. We can use this project a platform to develop true cross-disciplinary collaborations.. A significant portion of the money from this grant will pay for faculty and graduate student time from departments across campus. We need the input of these subject matter experts to guide the development of the game, and we need the perspectives of their various disciplines. Environ is a cross-disciplinary project at its core.

Scope of Project Environ has only been developed to very early stage prototype. The scope of this project is to finish the development of Environ, publish it on the web, and have it used as a component of the curriculum of one or more courses at UT Austin. In order to accomplish this, we need to hire _____.

Plan for Evaluating Success and Effectiveness

Evaluating the effectiveness of Environ is very important to our team, and we will use a variety of instruments to establish that effectiveness. Straightforward metrics for success include number of UT courses that use Environ in the Spring 2015 semester (our goal is at least 4), total number of students in those courses (our goal is at least 150). Mixed qualitative/quantitative metrics such as usability scores, Environ’s effectiveness as a learning tool, and the level of student engagement will be assessed using data collected from the following sources:

● Formal user testing on Environ beta version ● Feedback from informal user testing with students in game development focused programs (such as

courses that are a part of the Game and Mobile Media Applications program) ● Survey data from students in UT courses that use Environ ● Focus groups with UT students in courses that use Environ ● Survey and interview data from instructors at UT that use Environ in their courses

Goal Outcome Short-Term Impact Long-Term Impact

ADD METRICS from above

Environ in implemented in 4 UT Austin courses by Spring 2015

150 students access Environ

INSERT INSERT

Project Timeline and Milestones

● Aug 15 - Engage faculty and grad student subject matter experts to start consulting on Environ content. Begin full-scale development

Matthew O'Hair� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [6]: Should we mention specific features that we’d build in if we receive the money? We could mention the potential for the game to be multiplayer and how that would vastly enhance the educational value of it. Jessica Lindley� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [7]: Add timeline for deployment and estimated time for adoption. Once this is deployed how easily can it be integrated? Jessie Torrisi � 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [8]: Here’s where you really need to make your pitch of what you would do with the money & how crucial that is to the game's success. Jessica Lindley� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [9]: List out specific metrics in table as indicated; maybe add a goal addressing the cross-discipline/teamwork of the project?

Jessica Lindley� 8/24/2015 2:00 PMComment [10]: Create a chart/graphic for this

● Oct 1 - Complete Alpha version of Environ, conduct internal user testing ● Jan 15, 2015 - Complete Beta version of Environ, conduct external user testing and collect feedback ● March 1 - Complete development of Environ ● March 30 - Starting from this date, Environ is used as a component of courses across campus, and

possibly beyond campus as well ● April 15 - Student and Teacher evaluation data collected ● May 1 - Final report

Sustainability Plan The Digital Media Institute is a permanent program of the Center for Teaching and Learning. The maintenance of Environ will require far fewer resources than its development, and the DMI program commits to support Environ after its development and release. Environ is being developed with the Unity game engine, which allows us to output versions designed for the iPad or other mobile devices. A revenue-generating mobile version of the game could be developed with minimal effort if the project team determines that is a desirable long-term direction for the project.

Budget Breakdown

Cost Type Amount Requested

Salaries/Personnel Staff Salaries

Student Staff Salaries Faculty/Graduate Student Stipends

$40,000 $40,000 $15,000

Game Development

Materials, Supplies, and Misc. Costs

$5,000

TOTAL

$100,000

Budget Justification Staff Salaries - Digital Media Institute staff will manage all aspects of the project, hire and supervise student staff, participate in Environ production, and evaluate the effectiveness of the game. Student Staff Salaries - DMI will hire student staff to work on all phases of design and production for this project. This includes game design, UI design, 3D modeling, programming, visual asset creation, sound effects, music, etc. Faculty/Graduate Student Stipends - We will buy the time of faculty and graduate students from disciplines across campus to consult in the core game design, and to lend their subject matter expertise to the content of the game. Game Development Materials, Supplies, and Misc. Costs - Costs associated with game development, which include plugins for Unity, music licensing, online code repository and versioning fees, specialized software, and other miscellaneous expenses.