Public Service Council

DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE LEARNING GRANTS

Purpose
Departmental Service Learning Grants provide up to $5,000 in support of group initiatives to incorporate meaningful public service and service learning into the curriculum. Generally no more than four awards will be made annually. Initiatives should have broad curricular impact and lead to the integration of public service or service learning opportunities into a department or program's curriculum. The development of single, isolated courses will not be supported. Initiatives funded under this program should link the content of new or existing courses with meaningful public service, enhance student learning through public service, and enable DePaul to continue to expand its mission of service to the community. Public service or service learning should become a component of the program or department's curricula

Public service is understood as activities that carry resources of the university into the community. Such resources might be the time and talent of people (faculty and students), materials, programs, and the like. Service learning benefits both the student and the community. This reciprocal relation differentiates service learning from experiential learning.

Eligible academic units may request up to $5,000 each to underwrite the costs of projects. Faculty release time is not an eligible expense. Creativity and experimentation are encouraged, but the Public Service Council (PSC) also welcomes departmental use of techniques proven effective elsewhere. Long-term connections between outside organizations and DePaul departments are expected and public service or service learning opportunities should be integrated into curricula, not just courses offered on a one-time basis.

Possible uses of Departmental Initiative Grant funds include:

• Developing service learning components of core/foundations courses in a major or minor;
• Creating service learning opportunities in liberal studies courses;
• Creating a network of external groups to be linked generally to a department's curricular offerings.

Deadlines
The program deadlines are 5 pm, October 15 and March 15. Projects can begin after December 1 or May 1 and run no longer than 18 months. Late applications will not be accepted.

Eligible Expenses
Applicants are referred to the General Guidelines - Expenses for a complete list of eligible and ineligible expenses.

Final Report
A narrative final report will be due to the Chair of the Public Service Council within one month after the project is completed. The report should describe the project activities and address the following questions:

1) How was public service or service learning integrated into the department or program curricula?

2) How were the resources provided by the council utilized and what role did the council's support play in the project?

3) How are the initiatives being sustained after the expiration of the grant and how have the results been shared with colleagues?

4) How were students' experiences enhanced by participation in the project?

5) What kind of impact (negative or positive) did the activities have for the host organizations?

Reports are evaluated annually by the council to refine its programs and to serve as a guide to other service-learning projects. Failure to submit a report will result in faculty being ineligible for future funding from the councils.

Institutional Compliance:  Management Standards Training
Completion of the Financial Affairs internal grants training workshop is mandatory for internal grant recipients and satisfies the annual Management Standards Training requirement for budget managers at DePaul.  No grant funds will be released until the recipient has completed budget manager training.  Workshop participants receive a resource guide that includes quick reference materials and a current Management Standards Handbook. 

Any published work resulting from a Department Initiative Grant must include credit to DePaul for support. 

Outline of Proposal
All proposals must be in an editable text format.  Only the CV may be submitted in PDF format.  Applicants should review the General Guidelines when preparing proposals. A complete online application will include:

1. An abstract of the project, not more than 10 lines long. This should be a summary of, rather than an introduction to, your project.

2. The following information, in not more than 5 double-spaced pages, in no less than 11 point font:

• an description of how public service or service-learning well be integrated into the department or program curricula;
• a description of courses and the proposed changes;
• the extent of faculty involvement;
• a description of how the activity will be sustained after the end of the grant;
• an overview of how students experiences will be enhanced by the project;
• a description of how the learning and service will be assessed.

3. A timeline for the project;

4. A description of external organization(s) to be involved, how it (they) will give input into the development of the project, and how the
organization(s) will be affected;

5. A detailed budget and budget narrative (click here to download the budget form);

6. Endorsement from the appropriate chair(s) or dean(s). Endorsement letter(s) from external organization(s).

Proposals will be reviewed competitively by the Council. Up to four awards will be made annually.

Submit online applications to the Chair of the Public Service Council by 5 pm, October 15 or March 15.