Provost’s Fund for technology seeks proposals

The Office of the Provost makes funds available to faculty for University projects that promise to alter and improve teaching and learning through the use of technology. The Provost’s Instructional Technology Fund is made up of two funds: the Innovation Fund and the Content Fund. The Innovation Fund is for large-scale projects that propose to introduce a novel approach to teaching and learning using information technology. The Content Fund is aimed toward creating online content for educational purposes. To date, the fund has made awards to more than 90 projects across the University to support innovations in asynchronous learning, experiments in learning from a distance, the creation of interactive learning modules, content digitization, and more.

Applications for the Innovation Fund must demonstrate a novel use of information technology as a tool in teaching and learning. The projects should be faculty sponsored, and the work should be related to a curriculum-based initiative. Grants up to $50,000 are suggested, although grants up to $150,000 will be considered.

The deadline for the innovation fund mandatory draft application is April 1. Final proposals are due May 1.

Content Fund projects create, digitize, or convert new or existing academic content for use on the Web. The projects should be faculty sponsored, and the work should be related to a curriculum-based initiative. Content grants range from $2,000 to $10,000. Applications for Content Fund projects are accepted on a rolling basis.

Applications for both funds need endorsement of local information technology (IT) departments. Visit http://www.provost.harvard.edu/funding/ to learn more about the fund. Contact Mary Spidle at mary_spidle@harvard.edu for more information or help preparing a proposal.