The SFS Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) has announced a 2019/2020 Request for Proposals for projects that address Objectives and Goals of the SFS Five-Year Strategic Plan. The LRPC is allocated $25K annually by SFS to encourage efforts to implement Strategic Plan elements.
The competition is open to SFS members only, and proposals should be submitted according the process and guidelines outlined below:
2019/2020 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO ADVANCE SFS STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The SFS Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for projects that address Objectives and Goals of the SFS Five-Year Strategic Plan. The LRPC is allocated $25K annually by SFS to encourage efforts to implement Strategic Plan elements. The competition is open to SFS members only, and proposals should be submitted according the process and guidelines outlined below. Initial review of the proposals will be conducted by the LRPC, which will make funding recommendations to the SFS Board of Directors, where the final decisions will be made. Two formal RFP rounds will be considered each year. The deadline for the first round will be August 15, and the deadline for the second round will be January 31. Proposals may be submitted to the LRPC at any time in the year, but priority consideration will be given to those received by the two deadlines.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must be current members of SFS. Past recipients of funding are eligible to apply for new funding only after their previous projects are complete.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please submit all proposal materials as pdf files. The proposal should consist of 3 parts:
Part 1. Include the following applicant information: Name(s), institution, mailing address, telephone/fax number, email address, and project title. In addition, include a short paragraph indicating specifically how the project will directly address one or more Goals and Objectives of the Strategic Plan (list the specific Goals and Objectives being addressed).
Part 2. The project description must be limited to two single-spaced pages of text (excluding budget) written in 12 point font with standard 1" margins on all sides and should contain sufficient detail for evaluation. Project descriptions should include a clear, concise description of objectives, methods/approaches, anticipated outcomes/deliverables, and significance of the project.
Part 3. The budget must contain sufficient detail and explanation of how the award will be used. The project duration should be for no longer than one year. Funding will not be provided for salaries, travel expenses for the SFS annual meeting, or institutional overhead costs. Proposals lacking any of the requested information will not be reviewed.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Application materials should be submitted in electronic form by August 15, 2019 and January 31, 2020 to the LRPC Chair. The subject line of the email should read: LRPC Strategic Plan Proposal.
Proposals received by the deadlines will be reviewed by LRPC within four weeks, and the LRPC will forward funding recommendations to the Board to be considered at their next meeting. Authors will notified of the Board decision immediately after the Board meeting. A strong component of the proposal evaluation will be related to how well the proposed activity addresses Strategic Plan Objectives and Goals. Individual proposals have an annual budget limit of $25K, although the LRPC prefers to fund smaller individual proposals so that more Strategic Plan Objectives and Goals can be addressed each year. For projects that may be considered long-term, the proposals should suggest a transition pathway to permanent funding sources. Strategic Plan awards are intended to be starter/incubator funding -- not permanent funding Authors of funded proposals will be expected to submit a short report to the LRPC Chair detailing the outcome or ongoing progress of the work. Reports shall be submitted for each annual meeting that occurs during the project timeframe. If work is ongoing as of the annual meeting, the report should detail progress. After project conclusion, the final report will be submitted at the next annual meeting. The reports will be included in the LRPC Committee Report to the Board.
For questions about the LRPC RFP process, please contact the LRPC Chair.