Proposal Format FY26

All Stanford faculty, instructors, and Shared Research Platform staff are eligible to apply. A proposal should address an experiential educational activity, whether it be planning a new course or workshop, preparing materials to support hands-on learning, implementing a course supported by one or several different Shared Research Platforms, running a quarterly hands-on workshop series, or further enhancing a developed course. Proposals should be submitted online at seedfunding.stanford.edu following this link to the opportunity listing.

You will be asked to enter the below information. The application should be concise, 2 pages plus the title page, budget table, and requested supporting information.

***Please be sure to address the applicable track-specific criteria in the Narrative section.***

1. Primary applicant

Stanford faculty/instructors and Shared Research Platforms staff can be the primary applicant. An individual can serve as PI on only one proposal for an experiential educational activity per year.

2. Co-applicants

Anyone can be included as a co-applicant, including a primary applicant of another proposal. For curriculum requests, the course instructor(s) should be represented as the primary applicant and the director(s) of participating Shared Research Platforms should provide a letter of support detailing the commitments of their shared resource to this curriculum effort. There is no limitation on the number of proposals on which an individual can be a co-applicant.

3. Proposal Information

Title (limit to 120 characters): Begin the title with the Track of the project being submitted (i.e., Curriculum Pilot/Exploration/Enhancement or Non-Curriculum Pilot/Expansion) followed by a colon, and the title of the proposal. For example, “Curriculum Exploration: Incorporating xxx technology into MED### for an immersive student experience”
Total funding amount requested
Total number of experiential learning hours per student/participant (not including lectures or non-hands-on activities)
Number of expected students/participants in the proposed experiential learning activities

4. Proposal (.pdf upload)

4a. Title Page (limit 1 page)

Experience name

For Curriculum efforts, provide the course name and number
For Non-Curriculum efforts, provide the workshop/activity title

Personnel and Shared Research Platform(s)

List instructors and affiliations, Shared Research Platform(s) and their staff who will be supporting the experience. For the PI and each co-applicant, provide a one-line summary of their contribution to the proposed activities.

Requested Amount

The maximum request amount is $25K.

Primary benefiting school(s)

List the Stanford School(s) that will benefit from a successful proposal.

Synopsis

A single sentence summarizing the name, mission, and audience of the proposed experiential learning activities.

4b. Narrative (limit 2 pages)

Format: letter paper size, 1 inch margin in all directions, Arial 11 point font, single line spacing. Figures, tables, formulas, and equations can use any font as long as it is readable.

In the narrative, consider such factors as experiential training, access to real-world techniques, and new research technologies, as well as growth of potential long-term benefits for users and shared resources. Also describe how this offering cannot be fully supported under current funding from other sources such as Departments, Schools, Centers, or Shared Research Platforms.

This section is limited to a maximum of 2 pages. A proposal must respond fully to the program description in this solicitation. The narrative must include the following section titles in the order that they appear and must address all applicable prompts:

Justification of Need:

Clearly describe the proposed experiential learning activity and explain how the plans for carrying out the activities are well-reasoned and well-organized.
Lay out the proposed goals and ensure that these goals are meaningful and achievable within the given context and timeframe.
Demonstrate why this specific course, workshop, or activity is needed and how it provides unique, innovative hands-on learning experiences at Stanford.
Show how the proposal aligns with the goals and missions of the participating shared platforms, departments, programs, or other relevant stakeholders.

Impact:

Explain how the hands-on learning experience will advance training, research and/or use of Shared Platforms.
Discuss how broadly the proposed course or workshop will impact students or participants across different disciplines.
Outline the expected outcomes and provide a sound method for measuring success.
If including external participants, explain how the needs of Stanford students and/or researchers are being prioritized.
Describe how the proposal encourages sustained student engagement and supports diverse and underserved populations.
Describe how Shared Platforms will contribute to the hands-on experience
Specify how you will integrate new instruments and technologies into the experiential learning, with a focus on those acquired through C-ShaRP funding.

Finances:

Ensure that all likely costs incurred at participating shared platforms for the intended experience are well-accounted for.
Ensure that the costs associated with the proposed activities are comprehensively justified and reasonable.
Exclude salary payments from C-ShaRP funds and ensure all salary support is covered by departments, programs, shared platforms, or other sources.
Justify any requests for durable teaching equipment/software within the $5K limit, explaining how it will enhance the learning experience.
Detail plans for cost-sharing with departments, programs, or external sources during the funding period to ensure the financial viability of the proposed experience
Demonstrate how the proposed experience can be sustained in the future after the C-ShaRP funding period, considering anticipated cost-sharing and/or registration income as applicable.

Facilities and Resources:

Demonstrate the adequacy of resources (e.g. instruments, materials, teaching assistance, technical support, etc.) at the proposer's home unit and shared platforms for project success.
Ensure suitable space is available and well-equipped for participants to engage in hands-on activities.
Include contingency plans to accommodate larger cohorts if necessary.
Justify any requests for durable teaching equipment/software within the $5K limit, explaining how it will enhance the learning experience.

Track-specific Criteria:

(Use this section to address the points below for the appropriate track)

Curriculum Pilot:

Clearly demonstrate the necessity of introducing new experiential learning courses and explain their potential impact.
Highlight the innovative aspects of the proposed new course

Curriculum Exploration:

Clearly demonstrate the necessity of introducing new experiential learning elements and explain their potential impact.
Highlight the innovative aspects of the addition of hands-on components to existing lecture-based courses.

Curriculum Enhancement:

Thoroughly articulate the specific enhancements you plan to make to existing experiential learning courses.
Clearly outline the expected benefits of these enhancements for students.
Provide the development history of the course, including any previous C-ShaRP funding it may have received.

Non-Curriculum Pilot:

Clearly demonstrate the necessity of introducing new experiential learning activities and explain their potential impact.
Highlight the innovative aspects of the proposed new activity

Non-Curriculum Enhancement:

Thoroughly articulate the specific enhancements you plan to make to existing experiential activities.
Clearly outline the expected benefits of these enhancements for participants.
Provide the development history of the workshop, including any previous C-ShaRP funding it may have received.

[end 2-page limit for proposal body]

5. Budget

Budget Table: Create a budget table using the template available via this link. Download a copy of the template, modify it for your application, then save as a spreadsheet (e.g. .xlsx) and upload into your application on seedfunding.stanford.edu. Include a narrative Budget Description in the designated space in the spreadsheet.

C-ShaRP funding is intended to support the time and effort of Shared Research Platforms in providing experiential learning activities. The budget should include specific breakdowns for the amount and cost of Shared Research Platform staff time, instrument time, consumables, and other miscellaneous items. Time for activity development, preparation, and refinement should be included and described, e.g., revamping, refining, expanding or adding module(s). Durable teaching equipment or necessary software for data analysis practices up to a total of $5K will be considered within the total budget, with appropriate justification. If there is any anticipated income, e.g., workshop registration fees; or cost sharing, e.g., departmental support, provide revenue projections and an explanation of how the revenues will be utilized.

Reasonable costs associated with starting a new activity are anticipated to be higher than costs to support an ongoing activity. Developed experiences should demonstrate and describe strategies to offset further expenses.

[Not included in page limit]

6. Supporting letters or other information

Optional, upload .pdf file. Acceptable material includes letters of support, supporting figures, cost-sharing verification, etc. Further narrative or exposition should not be included.