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2009 Arts and Environmental Education Grants

Introducing the 2009 Arts and Environmental Education Grants   The main purpose of these Arts and Environmental Education grants is to help the North American Association for Environmentl Education's (NAAEE's) commissions train educators to deliver an increased level and quality of environmental education using an artistic component or components.

  NAAEE will use a competitive process to select four Commissions to participate in this activity at the 2009 NAAEE conference in Portland, Oregon. Each commission selected must present a workshop on Wednesday, October 7, or a series of at least 2 sessions to be delivered on Thursday-Saturday, October 8-10, 2009.

  Grant Overview   As a result of this grant, four commissions will provide a multi-pronged, interdisciplinary approach to using the arts as a means of enhancing environmental education experiences.

  ·        The maximum amount available under this request for proposals for 2009 is $1,000 per Commission.  

·        The activities described in each proposal should be aligned with one of the substrategies in the Arts and Culture Commission's program model, as follows:

1)      Skills development – activities that help conference participants develop a specific artistic technique (drawing, painting, photography, dance, poetry, writing, etc.)

2)      Methodology – activities that help conference participants learn a specific method for teaching about the arts

3)      Message content – activities that provide conference participants with information on how to artistically deliver environmental education content on a particular topic, such as environmental justice or climate change

4)      Media content – activities that provide conference participants with information on how to use specific media to deliver their artistic messages

5)      Finding existing resources for EE and the arts – activities that tell conference participants how to find existing resources for using the arts to teach about the environment

6)      Finding existing expertise on practicing the arts (not specifically environmental-related)

7)      Emphasizing participation over performance – activities that show conference participants the importance of participation in the arts over precision in artistic technique

8)      Performances – activities that provide conference participants with the opportunity to showcase their skills in using the arts to teach about the environment

  ·        Commissions receiving funding are expected to provide a 25% match, or $250 in cash or in-kind contributions. The in-kind contribution may be documented by volunteer time of the commission members organizing the events or the participants in the events or both.

·        Presenters at the conference will be expected to pay registration fees, but these fees may be included as part of the grant budget.

·        The grant time frame will be from the date of award to October 10, 2009.

·        Only one proposal per Commission is allowed.

  Steps for Submitting a Proposal   1.      Develop a proposal that includes a work plan and budget describing the activity or activities your commission is proposing. Please keep this to two pages maximum. A proposal template is provided.

2.      Include the following components in all proposals:

a)         In Part A, specify what commission should receive the award. Identify two key leaders of the commission who will attend NAAEE conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2009, and to whom NAAEE can send end-of-year questionnaires about the project.

b)    In Part D, commissions will be asked to seek out partners to provide additional financial and implementation support. The proposal should list partners with whom the commission may be able to collaborate.  

c)     In Part E, include a detailed budget of how the grant award would be used.

d)    An evaluation plan must be included in the proposal that shows how people who attended the workshop or sessions used what they learned after the conference. The evaluation plan must describe how the proposal matches the NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence. An evaluation pre/post test also will be provided by NAAEE to be used at each session.

3.      Email the proposal as a Word attachment by January 26, 2009, to NAAEE at [email protected]. Proposals will only be accepted from commission chairs.

  How Proposals Will Be Evaluated   Each proposal will be reviewed by three people from a review committee consisting of 1 NAAEE staff, 1 Board member, and 1 Arts and Culture Commission member. Review criteria include:

  1. How well the proposal provides an interdisciplinary approach to using the arts as a means of enhancing environmental education experiences.

2. Selection of an option from the sub-strategies list provided. 3. Potential for ongoing effect of the event after the conference. 4. Evaluation plan. 5. Number of partners providing financial and implementation support, and amount of support provided.

6. Appropriate use of budget funds. 7. How matching funds will be documented.   Your Obligations if Your Proposal is Accepted   1.   If your proposal is selected for funding, you will be notified by email by January 30, 2009.

2.   If your proposal is submitted, you will be responsible for submitting your proposal into the NAAEE conference system by the February 2, 2009, deadline.

3.   Submit all the pre/post test responses to NAAEE by November 10, 2009.

4.  Submit a report of how participants are using the information received at the 2009 conference by April 10, 2010.

  Reporting Requirements   Administer a pre/post test for the workshop or sessions. No more than 10 questions for the test will be provided by NAAEE to elicit feedback from those trained about what they learned and how they will practice the knowledge they've received. (Additional questions should be asked by the Commission based on the specific content of the workshop or sessions.) The use of uniform questions by all Commissions is essential for NAAEE to provide feedback to its funder (the Pierce Foundation) about the outcome of the entire project. Send hard copies of the questions and answers following the workshops directly to Sue Bumpous at NAAEE.

  A report will be due by November 10, 2009. You must include in this report:

 1.   A list of all sessions conducted and a list of participants with contact information in a format prescribed by NAAEE.   

2.   Documentation of project activities suitable for use in promotion efforts on NAAEE's Web site or in the NAAEE Communicator. Provide copies of workshop agendas and any workshop publicity documents (announcements, invitations, newsletter articles, etc.).  

  NAAEE Responsibilities

NAAEE will provide the following:   1.   Space at the conference to conduct the selected workshop or sessions.

2.   Promotion of project efforts in the Communicator and on the NAAEE Web site

3.  Complete Final Report to the Pierce Foundation.   Questions? To discuss any questions or concerns prior to submitting the grant proposal, applicants are encouraged to contact Sue Bumpous, (202) 419-0413 or [email protected]