Provost’s Digital Innovation Grants (PDIGs), a recurring GC Digital Initiatives program, provide financial support to doctoral students at the CUNY Graduate Center as they design and develop digital scholarship that makes a clear contribution to the GC’s research, teaching, and service mission. Since 2012, PDIGs have supported a range of inventive projects across the disciplines, including: an online, open-access, crowdsourced database of mentor relationships within the field of writing studies; an app to support street medics and promote health and safety among activist communities; and a computational analysis of Cold War diplomatic history.

 

ELIGIBILITY

Graduate Center doctoral students at any level who are in good academic standing and currently enrolled are eligible to apply.

 

TYPES OF PROPOSALS

Projects at any stage of development are eligible for PDIG awards, which are designed to support the creation of new methods or techniques for a particular field of study, including research, preservation, or public-facing scholarship. Proposals may also include the development of a prototype, wireframe, or best practices model for continued research. Projects may also request continued funding for ongoing development, growth, and deployment of established individual or team projects. Such projects may require additional resources to make a tool presentable to an academic audience or to improve the design of an early prototype based on feedback and evaluation. Proposals should articulate an innovative approach to a recognizable challenge in the applicant’s scholarly field.

 

Successful applicants will be asked to share a description on the Provost’s Digital Innovation Grant website and to write a white paper upon completion of the grant that will also be published on our website.  Additionally, grantees will be expected to present publicly on their work in progress during the academic year, including presenting at the 2024 Digital GC Showcase and participating in occasional collaborative meetings and discussions with current and past grantees.

 

BUDGETS

• Up to $300 for travel or workshop registration fees toward learning digital skills for which training is not already available at The Graduate Center or CUNY.
• Up to $2,000 for projects at all stages of development to support purchase of equipment, time, digital services, or technical support.

 

HOW TO APPLY

Complete the form at http://cuny.is/pdig23-24, which includes the following:

• Contact information for the project lead (one primary point of contact must be designated).
• Contact information for project team members (if any).
• A short abstract of no more than 100 words.
• A 300 word justification for travel/training awards or a 750-1000 word project narrative for project support.
• CVs for the project lead and any co-investigators.
• A budget spreadsheet including the total amount of funding requested and itemized list of expenses with item names and descriptions (eg. salary, webcamera, cloud storage).

 

Applications for Training Grants include the following sections:

1. Applicant information: name and full contact information, including email, mailing address, and phone number where we can reach you.
2. Type of training you propose to attend: title, website, time, date, and location of the training or activity to be attended.
3. Abstract: a one-paragraph abstract summarizing the type of training or other activity that the applicant would like to use funding to participate in and how it will be useful to the student’s continued pursuit of research goals.
4. Narrative: A 300-word justification (about 1800 characters) of the training or other activity that the applicant would like to participate, an explication of how the skills will further the applicant’s research goals, why the training could be useful for scholars in the applicant’s particular field, and ways in which the applicant’s participation could be made useful to other students at the GC. Please also describe any further research activities, papers, or scholarly work that would be made possible by participating in the proposed activity.
5. Budget (max $300): a detailed account of travel, registration, housing, or other expenses related to attending the event.
6. A 1-page CV

 

Applications for Project Grants must include the following sections:

1. Applicant information: name and full contact information of the project lead (who must be a doctoral student at the GC in good academic standing) including email, mailing address, and phone number where we can reach you.
2. Abstract: a one-paragraph abstract summarizing the innovative contributions of the project.
3. List of participants: a list of participants involved in the project (include title/affiliation for each participant).
4. Narrative: a 750 – 1000 word description of the nature and goals of the project and the work that has already been completed (if any).
5. Work plan: a brief roadmap of planned activities with a timetable tied to project goals.
6. Budget (max $2,000): an explanation of how and why funds will be spent on particular activities, services, or purchases (funds can be used for any aspect of the project, but must be justified in this section).
7. Appendices: 1-page CVs of major project participants and any ancillary material.
8. Faculty reference: Name and contact information for a faculty mentor or advisor who knows about and can speak to its merits.

 

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated by a review committee according to the following criteria:

• Scholarly excellence and innovation of the project;
• Contribution of the project to the development and promotion of the mission of the CUNY Graduate Center;
• Contribution of the project to the larger scholarly community and to the public;
• Experience of the project staff;
• Likelihood that work can be accomplished within the proposed budget and time period.
• Given the GC Digital Initiatives’ strong commitment to open-access scholarship and free software platforms, preference is given to projects that use open-source tools and that focus on making work publicly accessible.

 

Please direct any questions to Lisa Rhody, Deputy Director of Digital Initiatives at lrhody@gc.cuny.edu. 

 

Proposals are due Friday, March 8, 2024 @ 11:59 p.m.