READI Innovation Fund
Description
With the establishment of the READI Innovation fund, supported by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, these grants aim to support faculty and staff in pursuit of our institutional priorities. The goal is to approach DEI opportunities and challenges with an innovative lens to invest in staff and faculty who shape the student experience so that students feel a greater sense of belonging at Loyola.
The READI Innovation Fund is not intended to support work and initiatives that are already happening and funded. Innovation grants, instead, are meant to be investments in proposals aiming to address the systemic barriers that prevent those who hold minoritized identities from living up to their fullest potential while here at Loyola University Chicago.
Eligibility
Proposals may be submitted by a unit, department, or college with an established DEI committee or DEI advocate along with the support/endorsement of your Vice President or Dean. Additionally, all applicants must have an established strategic plan for their unit, department, or college with articulated goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please note that projects focused directly on students only will not be funded. Some examples of potential projects aligned to the OIDEI Strategic Priorities include:
- Launching of a series of professional development or training for a unit or department focused on an area of need pertaining to DEIB (learning & development, culture & climate).
- Hiring a consultant to facilitate data-based decision-making for systemic change towards inclusivity and equity to address racial disproportionality in unit or department level data (systems & structures, culture & climate).
- Developing an aspiring leaders program for staff and faculty focused on practices and supports for inclusive leadership in higher education institutions (recruitment & retention, culture & climate, learning & development).
- Establishing a grant program for faculty to engage in program-wide curriculum mapping to incorporate scholarship related to DEIB that is relevant to the discipline (scholarship & teaching, culture & climate).
Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria described below. Evaluations will be competitive and performed by an appropriate review panel of leaders across Loyola. The review criteria include:
- Innovation and Potential Impact
- Alignment to DEI Institutional Priorities and University Enduring Values
- Scalability and Sustainability
- Clarity of proposed objectives and deliverables
- Connection to evidence based / research-based practices
Application Process
In order to apply for this fund, please complete the online application. Click here to begin. Be sure to have all of the necessary materials before continuing, including a letter of support from a Vice President or Dean responsible for supporting the proposed project.
If your application aligns to OIDEI’s priorities and focus on staff and faculty, you will be asked to present the project to a panel of leaders at Loyola for consideration at the next review committee meeting. Meetings are held during the second Friday of each month. Please refer to the Office of IDEI website for further details.
Questions about this application can be emailed to institutionaldiversity@luc.edu.
Supportive Resources
- Download this application worksheet to preview the full list of questions. We encourage you to fill in the worksheet before applying to think through your answers and then copy and paste them into the online application.
- For any application, please complete this budget worksheet and upload the completed worksheet into your application.
- When preparing for your project presentation to the review committee, the rubric and criteria that will be used for evaluation can be found by clicking here.
Description
With the establishment of the READI Innovation fund, supported by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, these grants aim to support faculty and staff in pursuit of our institutional priorities. The goal is to approach DEI opportunities and challenges with an innovative lens to invest in staff and faculty who shape the student experience so that students feel a greater sense of belonging at Loyola.
The READI Innovation Fund is not intended to support work and initiatives that are already happening and funded. Innovation grants, instead, are meant to be investments in proposals aiming to address the systemic barriers that prevent those who hold minoritized identities from living up to their fullest potential while here at Loyola University Chicago.
Eligibility
Proposals may be submitted by a unit, department, or college with an established DEI committee or DEI advocate along with the support/endorsement of your Vice President or Dean. Additionally, all applicants must have an established strategic plan for their unit, department, or college with articulated goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please note that projects focused directly on students only will not be funded. Some examples of potential projects aligned to the OIDEI Strategic Priorities include:
- Launching of a series of professional development or training for a unit or department focused on an area of need pertaining to DEIB (learning & development, culture & climate).
- Hiring a consultant to facilitate data-based decision-making for systemic change towards inclusivity and equity to address racial disproportionality in unit or department level data (systems & structures, culture & climate).
- Developing an aspiring leaders program for staff and faculty focused on practices and supports for inclusive leadership in higher education institutions (recruitment & retention, culture & climate, learning & development).
- Establishing a grant program for faculty to engage in program-wide curriculum mapping to incorporate scholarship related to DEIB that is relevant to the discipline (scholarship & teaching, culture & climate).
Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria described below. Evaluations will be competitive and performed by an appropriate review panel of leaders across Loyola. The review criteria include:
- Innovation and Potential Impact
- Alignment to DEI Institutional Priorities and University Enduring Values
- Scalability and Sustainability
- Clarity of proposed objectives and deliverables
- Connection to evidence based / research-based practices
Application Process
In order to apply for this fund, please complete the online application. Click here to begin. Be sure to have all of the necessary materials before continuing, including a letter of support from a Vice President or Dean responsible for supporting the proposed project.
If your application aligns to OIDEI’s priorities and focus on staff and faculty, you will be asked to present the project to a panel of leaders at Loyola for consideration at the next review committee meeting. Meetings are held during the second Friday of each month. Please refer to the Office of IDEI website for further details.
Questions about this application can be emailed to institutionaldiversity@luc.edu.
Supportive Resources
- Download this application worksheet to preview the full list of questions. We encourage you to fill in the worksheet before applying to think through your answers and then copy and paste them into the online application.
- For any application, please complete this budget worksheet and upload the completed worksheet into your application.
- When preparing for your project presentation to the review committee, the rubric and criteria that will be used for evaluation can be found by clicking here.