What We Fund
Our grant activity supports developmental projects, instructional projects, and training programs in engineering education and research that fit our fields of interest. These currently include the availability and use of published information, women in engineering, and information access in developing countries. You may want to review our recent grants to give you a better idea of the kinds of projects that interest us. Click here to see how proposals will be selected. We may infrequently sponsor proposals that do not fit strictly within our guidelines.
What We'd Really Like to See
- Innovative projects, with measurable results
- Projects that promote significant and lasting change
- Projects that can be successfully replicated elsewhere
- Methodologies that are specific, well-defined and cost-effective
How Much Should You Ask For?
We suggest that you request a grant amount between $5,000 and $25,000. We encourage you to attract a matching grant from another source, if necessary. Requests for multi-year grants are discouraged.
How to Apply
We welcome grant proposals that fit our fields of interest. Our guidelines and applications procedures follow below
Review Process and Deadlines
- Our Directors generally meet in April and October of every year. To allow time for review, deadlines for submissions are:
- February 28
- August 31
- If a deadline falls on a weekend, the application should be postmarked the previous Friday
- We will briefly acknowledge your proposal upon receipt
- We will ask for more information from you if we need it
- All proposals must be reviewed by EiF's entire Board of Directors
- Decisions on applications will generally be forwarded within two weeks following board meetings
What to Do
- Send us an initial proposal via mail (online applications are not accepted at this point) with a cover letter on your organization's letterhead. Click here for our mailing address. No fixed format is required. Describe your program and why we should fund it. Suggested proposal length is three (3) pages, but this is not a requirement.
- Add supporting information:
- Detailed budget
- Program goals and objectives
- Statement of work tasks to be accomplished, with timeline
- Staff qualifications
- Information about the organization and evidence of tax status. List of directors/key personnel, financial statements, and sources of support. For non-U.S. institutions please include: an affidavit of equivalency, and/or name of intermediary organization.
- No overhead is allowed.
Criteria for Selection
- Proposals should begin with a problem statement and make a case for why this problem is significant and why the approach recommended is the best one to solve it.
- Grants are awarded based on a good fit with EiF's fields of interest and budgetary considerations. We tend to support smaller projects.
- Proposals will be judged on:
- Overall quality of the project, including its chances to be successfully implemented
- Potential to contribute to what is known about furthering the goals of the program area
- Potential for continuing past the funding period
- Reach of the project - how many students will be involved?
- Cost effectiveness - what is the cost per student compared to other projects?
- How will the project leverage previous work and what is the unique contribution?
What We DO NOT Fund
Everybody has to say NO to something. This is our list.
We say NO! to
- operating expenses
- requests solely for equipment
- for general overhead
- campaigns
- conferences
- scholarships, fellowships, assistantships
- support for doctoral candidates
- loans
Program Areas/Fields of Interest
What we focus on
Enhancing Communication and Use of Information in Engineering
Problem Statement:
New engineering accreditation standards recognize the importance of incorporating communication skills in engineering education. Studies of working engineers show that communication – including writing, speaking, group interaction, listening, information seeking, and understanding – are essential components of their work. Yet educational programs and research projects do not seem to be effective in this area. New models should be developed and all approaches need to be evaluated to establish benchmarks for effective ways to improve communication skills in engineering programs.
How can we develop, test, and identify the best approaches?
Our Goal:
We want to assist in improving communication skills of engineers by identifying successful approaches for including communication behavior into engineering curricula. Your project might focus on identifying innovative educational models, implementing them in your curriculum, and testing your approach or testing models already in place. Collaborative projects between schools of engineering, communications, and/or information science are especially welcome.Click here for more information.
Do you have an approach currently underway that needs testing or ideas for new approaches?
| EiF Director Contact: | Dr. John J. Regazzi |
Women in Engineering - Projects Directed by Engineering Educators
Problem Statement:
Although the majority of new entrants to the workforce in the coming years will be women, women remain under-represented in the areas of engineering and technology. In order for our nation to remain competitive, we must ensure that more women gain the competencies to equip them for leadership in these areas. Studies have shown that women stay away from engineering because of negative perceptions deeply ingrained throughout their social development. Women fail to pursue careers in engineering, and of those who do, the retention rate is unacceptably low.
How can we change this?
Our Goal:
We want to encourage middle school-aged girls to pursue engineering degrees. Your project might focus on orientation and recruitment of women, or on staying the course after the first year in engineering school. We think that the negative effects of gender-related behavior in the classroom ought to be eliminated. Click here for more detailed guidelines for this program area.
Do you have a project that addresses this problem?
| EiF Director Contact: | Dr. Julie A. Shime |
Developing Countries
Problem Statement:
The technology gap between the developed and developing worlds is getting larger every day. The need for access to engineering resources as well as the skills to use the information effectively is of increasing importance as countries move along in their technological development.
Do you have a project to improve access to engineering information in the developing world?
Our Goal:
To support and strengthen educational and service center programs that help students and teachers find and use the engineering information they need. Your project should focus on instruction in engineering schools and libraries or support for improvement of information systems. Click here for more information.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.eifgrants.org/info/index.html