Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG)
Round Six (2017) Request for Proposals
“Transformational Impact”
Introduction
Since 2012, SUNY has awarded 168 campus-based Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG), totaling
over $3.5 million, to enable faculty, librarians, and instructional support professionals the opportunity to
demonstrate the Power of SUNY. The founding program goals remains the same: to incubate “technologies
in service of pedagogy” and to encourage faculty and staff to reach outside of departmental and campus
boundaries to share and “scale up” innovations.
The 2017 RFP, Round Six of this program, builds on previous rounds, and expands last year’s theme of Taking
Collaboration to Scale by funding scalable projects that have the greatest potential to make a
Transformational Impact on teaching and learning SUNY-wide by:
1) Seeding faculty-level start-up projects that have potential to significantly impact student learning and
success;
2) Rewarding evidence-based strategies that are aligned with SUNY’s completion agenda and SUNY
Excels performance framework (Access, Completion, Success, Inquiry and Engagement);
3) Further scaling previously funded projects; and
4) Aligning with campus Performance Improvement Plan goals and leveraging Performance funds, or
foundation and federal grant opportunities.
About this RFP
There are two significant changes from previous rounds that are detailed in this RFP:
1. Funds may be used for project or initiative planning; and
2. Multi-campus proposals that offer “transformational impact” but exceed the top-tier funding cap of
$60,000 will be considered under very narrow, well-articulated conditions in the application.
Given the wide range of activities that can be supported, applicants are strongly encouraged to review
successful past proposals. For example, this compilation of past proposals illustrate either direct
transformational impact or have strong potential for large scale collaboration.
The IITG Website features the “CAIT Matrix”1 to help identify project outcomes (or
projects underway) by theme. Applicants are encouraged to review previously
funded projects in order to include in their proposal narrative:
1) How an idea scaffolds from any previous efforts;
2) Evidence of project differentiation (contrast with a previously funded
project)
3) Expansion of an existing project (taking a previous project to “the next
level”)
4) Identification of potential collaborators to increase the return on
investment and impact of a newly proposed project.
The Collective for Academic Innovation and Transformation (CAIT) is a collaborative partnership of higher education
research and faculty development centers that explores and advances efforts to transform teaching and learning in the
academy through collaborations. The CAIT Themes are currently in draft form to test collaboration opportunities.
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State University of New York  IITG Request for Proposals
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Respondents to this RFP are strongly encouraged to pre-register for informational webinars on Tuesday,
January 31st, 2017 at 11am (Orientation) with an optional session on Thursday, February 9th at Noon (Q&A
session) detailing updates in the IITG proposal process. Both sessions will be recorded and available on the
IITG website.
IITG seed grants are limited to two rounds of funding. As with all previous grant rounds, projects receiving
IITG funds must select a Creative Commons license when submitting final outcomes. If you are developing a
project with commercial market implications, you are strongly encouraged to consult with IITG
administrators in advance, as this may not be the most appropriate funding source.
Awards will be announced prior to the May 2017 SUNY Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT) to
enable principal investigators time for project planning prior to the start of the summer months.
Funding Tiers
IITG continues to offer three funding tiers:
 Tier 1 – Up to $10,000 for small, proof-of-concept projects. Campus or external in-kind budget
resources are encouraged, but not required.

Tier 2 – Up to $20,000 to develop and/or pilot proof-of-concept projects. 25% of the requested
project funds must be matched by the campus or an external partner through in-kind resources*2.
Interdepartmental or cross-campus collaborations are strongly encouraged, but not required.

Tier 3 – Up to $60,000 to develop and/or pilot proof-of-concept projects. 50% of the requested
project funds must be matched by the campus or a partner through in-kind resources.* Projects that
do not include a cross-campus/multi-campus collaboration at this level are rarely funded.
In addition:

Shared Funding for Multi-Campus Initiatives that exceed the $60,000 funding cap will be considered
under very narrow, well-designed circumstances. If a shared proposal across multiple campuses
supports a high-impact solution (e.g., shared courses, new programs, alternative credentialing), the
IIRC will consider funding levels that exceed the $60,000 Tier 3 funding cap (not to exceed $100,000).

IITG for Planning of transformational change utilizing technologies to enhance student success will
now be considered under very narrow and well-designed circumstances. Outcomes connected to
planning grants must be “shovel ready” with all planning completed by end of the grant cycle. The
guiding assumption is that all planning would result in a fully executable project upon receipt of next
stage funding (e.g., performance improvement funding or other funding resources).
All grant expenditures must comply with the approved project budget and campus guidelines for
expenditures of State funds.
Eligible and Ineligible Expenses
IITG does not directly support technology infrastructure. A proposal that seeks direct expenditures on
technology without a clear narrative on how the technology will serve pedagogy will not be eligible for funds;
however, if the technology is secondary to the pedagogical solution and learning outcomes being explored,
such as testing or assessing a newly developed discipline-based application (“app”) or implementing a new
process that can be broadly replicated to benefit SUNY, the cost of pilot technology may be funded.
*2Please refer to FAQ guiding budget issues and in-kind matches
State University of New York  IITG Request for Proposals
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Please refer to IITG FAQ for details regarding in-kind matches, but in general, it is allowable to budget the
value of campus services such as video production, students, and a portion of faculty/staff time dedicated
exclusively to the project. All project applications MUST use the IITG budget template provided.
Please see FAQ Budget Questions for more detail.
Target Dates and Deadlines
December 30, 2016
March 5, 2017
March 6-24, 2017
March 25 – April 10, 2017
May 17, 2017
June 1, 2017
June 30, 2018
Online IITG Application Site Opens
Application Deadline (Sunday Evening - 11:59pm)
Peer Review Begins
IIRC & SUNY Provost Staff Review
Award Notification Target
State Accounts Assignment Target (MOU’s distributed shortly thereafter)
All 2017 Funds MUST BE Expended or Encumbered – (Hard Deadline)
Project Requirements and Limitations
All campus-based SUNY faculty, staff and administrators (including community colleges) are encouraged to
respond to this RFP within the following guidelines:

All local campus policies and procedures must be followed for appropriate use of State funds.
Campus business officers (or their designees) responsible for any funds distributions will need to be
aware of any special circumstances involving cross-campus collaborations.

All project content and outcomes must be openly shared as broadly as possible with Creative
Commons licensing. All PI’s are required to present findings at the annual SUNY CIT conference, to
provide details on the IITG website, and to describe additional curricular or discipline based
communities of practice that will benefit from the outcomes.

For any project that requires campus-based technology support or that may affect network security,
appropriate technical support staff must be consulted before the project application is submitted.

All proposals must follow Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Subjects policies and
processes.
Proposal Evaluation
Note: All SUNY Faculty and Staff are invited to serve as IITG reviewers. Information for how to apply as a
reviewer is posted on the IITG website.
Each proposal will be evaluated in three stages:
Stage 1: Proposals are blind peer-reviewed using a rubric based on the RFP. Reviewers have access
to the complete proposal as submitted, but all reviewer identity and scores are hidden from
each other. Peer review scores and comments are ranked and compiled;
Stage 2: The Innovative Instruction Research Council and Office of the SUNY Provost staff review all
peer rankings and recommendations for funding consideration in alignment with SUNY
priorities;
Stage 3: The Office of the SUNY Provost makes final funding decisions within available resources.
Questions regarding this RFP should be directed to the IITG Project Team at: [email protected].
State University of New York  IITG Request for Proposals
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