The Wilmington Partnership Mini-Grants

Call for Proposals

The Wilmington Partnership invites University of Delaware faculty and staff to apply for a Wilmington Partnership Mini-Grant, to foster and support mutually beneficial community-engaged research in collaboration with community organizations and/or individuals in Wilmington.

Mini-Grant Purpose

The primary purpose of these mini-grants is to advance the mission of the Wilmington Partnership in its aim to support and facilitate community-engaged research through mutually beneficial partnerships with organizations, communities and people in the city of Wilmington.

Eligibility Requirements

Grants are limited to UD faculty and staff.

What is the process to apply for a Mini-Grant?

Please see the Mini-Grant application guidelines and rubric (below). Once completed, please submit your application along with any additional attachments/supporting documents to Dr. Ann M. Aviles at amaviles@udel.edu. Please include Wilmington Partnership Application in the subject line of the email.

For what amount can I apply?

The maximum amount awarded for any Wilmington Mini-Grant is $5,000. Details on applying are below.

Due to limited resources, the Wilmington Partnership may not be able to fund all requests. Applicants are encouraged to seek matching support from their own departments or other organizations.

The Wilmington Partnership will accept proposals through March 15, 2024.

Applicants will be informed of funding decisions by March 29, 2024.

Proposals are primarily evaluated relative to:

The extent to which the proposed grant is consistent with the Wilmington Partnership mission.
The extent to which the proposed project advances equity, specifically improving material conditions and outcomes for historically marginalized communities in Wilmington.
The extent to which an equity issue in Wilmington is addressed.
The extent to which the project meets the expressed needs of community organizations, and/or individuals impacted by the issue under investigation.
The extent to which the project meets the needs of both UD and community partners; specifically, projects must address the needs of the community, simultaneously employing rigorous theoretical, methodological and/or evidence-based intervention approaches.

What are the responsibilities of grant recipients?

Collaborate with community partners in developing your proposal.
Submit a letter of support from the community partner documenting their expressed need for the proposed research project, and the benefits of the research to their organization/program.
Upon consultation with the Wilmington Partnership team, develop a reflective product on partnership work.
Submit an interim and final budget report that accounts fully for use of grant funds.
Complete work within a year.
Present funded research at the Provost’s Symposium on Engaged Research.

Wilmington Partnership Assessment Grant Application Evaluation Rubric

Measure	Low	Mid	High
Project description and significance	Project description is missing, unclear, or does not align with goals of RFP	Project is described and aligns with goals of RFP, but is unclear or incomplete; or significance is low	Description is full and clear; addresses significant need or gap
Partnership is collaborative, including history/plans, roles, and mutual interests	Partnership description is missing, unclear, or does not align with goals of RFP; or mutual benefits are not described	Partnership is described and aligns with goals of RFP, but description is incomplete or lacks feasibility	Partnership is described and aligns with goals of RFP; processes are feasible and adhere to good practice; benefits for all partners are clear
Project advances equity, specifically improving material conditions and/or outcomes for historically marginalized communities in Wilmington.	Advancement of equity is missing, unclear, or do not align with goals of RFP; or mutual benefits are not described	Advancement of equity is described and aligns with goals of RFP, but description is incomplete or lacks feasibility	Advancement of equity is well-described and aligns with goals of RFP; processes are feasible and adhere to good practice; benefits for all partners are clear
Project meets and appropriately addresses the expressed needs of the community partner, utilizing rigorous theoretical, methodological and/or evidence based approaches	Project ability to address the expressed needs is missing, unclear, or does not align with goals of RFP; or methods employed are not evidence based.	Project ability to address expressed needs is described and aligns with goals of RFP, but description is incomplete or lacks feasibility.	Project ability to address the expressed needs is well-described and aligns with goals of RFP; processes/methodologies are feasible and adhere to evidence based practice/outcomes.
Evaluation is tied to project objectives	Description of evaluation is missing, unclear, or does not align with project objectives.	Both formative and summative evaluation processes are described, but need improvement.	Formative and summative evaluation processes are described in full and will allow assessment of project implementation and effectiveness.
Plan for dissemination of findings	Dissemination plan is missing, unclear, or does not include both academic and public dissemination	Dissemination plan is included, but insufficient details are mentioned and/or relevance to target audiences is weak.	Dissemination plans are clearly stated, detailed, and relevance to target audiences is strong.
Anticipated next steps	Missing or unclear what this project will lead to	Implications and next steps are present, but unclear or lack feasibility	Proposal makes clear what this project may catalyze
Budget	Budget is incomplete or unreasonable	Budget is generally appropriate but some changes or clarifications are needed.	Budget is complete and reasonable.
Timeline	Timeline is missing or incomplete.	Timeline is generally adequate but some changes or clarifications are needed	Timeline is clear and in alignment with the rest of the proposal.