Springboard Education grants
Springboard Education grants advance the Tufts Beyond 175 strategic vision by supporting interdisciplinary academic innovation that connect schools, colleges, and central units in the creation and implementation of transformative, flexible, scalable and inclusive learning opportunities.
Innovation at Tufts is deeply rooted in the leadership and creativity of its faculty who serve as the intellectual and operational drivers of new programming. Funded Springboard grant teams become part of the broader university community as a cohort supported by OVPE and the Impact Learning Network.
GOALS
For the 2026-2027 academic year, Springboard will prioritize applications for projects that are interdisciplinary, with an experiential learning or AI component. Faculty and staff may apply for direct funding and/or in-kind support eg. marketing and communications, networking, micro-credential development, industry partnerships, and institutional support through Tufts Educational Technology Services (ETS), University College, and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). Fiscal support will complement intramural funding opportunities available through Tufts schools and units and are not meant to replace school funds. Springboard grants may also be used to supplement already funded projects. These time-limited grants, between $8,000-$12,000, should be considered seed money rather than continuing support.
Q&A DROP-IN SESSIONS
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Education, Mary Davis will be holding Q&A office hours for those interested in applying to Springboard Education grants. These sessions will take place via Zoom on:
QUESTIONS
If you have questions about the process or would like to discuss an idea before submitting a proposal, please contact ovp.education@tufts.edu.
To be eligible for funding and/or in-kind support, a project will advance the Tufts Beyond 175 strategic vision by:
- Developing an innovative learning opportunity or educational programming anchored in experiential learning and/or pedagogical best practices.
- Supporting the development of Tufts students as responsible leaders and change makers who are driven to advance social good.
- Representing, including, and empowering the broad Tufts community of learners.
- Bringing together an interdisciplinary and cross-university team, including members from at least two schools at Tufts.
- We encourage teams to include external community and/or industry partners.
- Preference will also be given to proposals that address one of the following university strategic priorities:
- AI
- Experiential Learning
- We welcome applications from cross-school interdisciplinary teams.
- The Lead Team Member must be a current faculty or staff member who has a primary appointment with the University. Tufts faculty and staff from any department, school, and division are welcome to apply.
- The project team may include Tufts faculty or staff, as well as community members, students, alumni, employers, etc.
- Past recipients are eligible to apply if the project is distinct or represents an innovative extension to their previously funded project.
Selected teams are highly encouraged to leverage university resources, such as Tufts Technology Services Design Practice, Global Tufts, the Office for Institutional Research, Tufts Educational Technology Services, University College, and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, with the goal of supporting the current and future work of the project. Throughout the lifecycle of the activity, Springboard teams will make data-informed decisions, including evaluating whether to proceed, delay, or cancel offerings if enrollment falls short of minimum targets. After completion, the Springboard team will gather feedback and evaluations from participants to assess impact, identify lessons learned, and ensure continuous improvement. Funded Springboard grant teams will also meet with OVPE throughout the duration of the project, and a final report and presentation is expected.
The proposed project should be completable within one calendar year.
Proposals for in-kind support only will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The timeline for funded proposal submissions is detailed below. An off-cycle proposal may be considered dependent on several factors, including availability of funds.
Timeline:
- Call for Proposals released: October 7, 2026
- Applications Due: November 30, 2026
- Award performance period begins: January 1, 2027
- Award performance period ends: December 31, 2027
Applicants who receive Springboard grants will meet with OVPE at the beginning of the award period and will provide quarterly updates on the progress of the project. Following the conclusion of the project, teams will provide a final report and presentation describing the project’s activity, impact, and lessons learned.
Eligible Funding Categories:
- Project-related supplies, materials, and equipment that are outside of pre-existing resources available at the school, department, or unit level
- Student and participation compensation for studies involving human subjects; technological tools that enable the project’s evaluation
- Marketing & recruitment efforts; student compensation for project support; stipend and honoraria with sufficient justification
- Experiential opportunities for students; reasonable requests for faculty and staff will be considered for travel that is core to the goal, outcomes, and impact of the project
- Development funds for credentials including but not limited to certificates of participation, badges, internships, course credit, and continuing education units
- Modest requests for faculty stipends, i.e., to support the development of innovative curricular tools and online materials
- Any expense not included in the above and below categories will be considered with justification
Ineligible Funding Categories:
- Travel to conferences or professional meetings
- Tuition and scholarship costs
- Student health insurance
- Indirect costs and overhead
- Salary for faculty, with the exception of stipends for specific activities
- Salary for collaborators outside of Tufts, with the exception of stipends and honoraria for specific activities
Please note the following:
- Proposals should be developed in consultation with the appropriate department chair, curriculum committees, and school-based policies.
- Funds can be requested for equipment if the equipment will be primarily used by Tufts faculty, students, and staff for the proposed activities or experiments described in the proposal.
- All expenditures must be made by the project end date, and any unused funds will revert to OVPE.
- The Springboard Lead Team Member will be responsible for financially managing the award.
- If seed funding is granted and the Springboard team is using human subjects, funds cannot be disbursed until after project approval by the Tufts Institutional Review Board (IRB).
All applications must be submitted electronically via Qualtrics. Projects descriptions, budgets, and other supporting materials may be uploaded directly during the application process.
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- Description (450 words): Describe the goal of the project and provide an overview of the main activities/components. How does the project align with the Tufts Beyond 175 strategic plan?
- Approach & rationale (450 words): Describe the approach that this project is taking to advance its goal and provide a rationale for those choices. What is new about this approach, and why do you expect it to be successful?
- Outcomes (450 words): Describe how the proposal will provide a transformative experience for Tufts learners. How will this project impact learners, the community, faculty/staff, and/or Tufts institutional capacity for innovation and collaboration?
- Key personnel (100 words per collaborator): Briefly explain the role of each collaborator on the project and how their expertise and experience allow them to contribute to the success of this initiative. What is the value of the unique collaboration developed by bringing together this team?
- Assessment plan (900 words): Provide a plan for how you will learn from the successes and challenges of this initiative. Describe what will constitute success, and how you will understand your impact. How will this information be shared or used to improve the program?
- Sustainability, scalability and lasting impact plan (800 words): If the project is successful, how do you plan to ensure its continued impact on the Tufts community after your funding has ended? How will you share resources created during this project? How will lessons learned be shared to enhance learning at Tufts? If one of your project goals is the establishment of a lasting initiative, how do you plan to pursue funding to continue it, and what resources would be required to increase the scale of the project? Describe how this project fits within both your department curriculum and school strategic priorities?
- Budget Justification: Outline each budget item, the total request, and the justification for expenses.
- Chair Support: A brief email confirmation of support from the Department Chair of the Lead Team Member is required. Emails should be sent to ovp.education@tufts.edu prior to the application deadline.
- Project Goal Alignment - The project clearly aligns with the TB175 and will be meaningful for Tufts learners.
- Feasibility & Potential Impact The project should be feasible given the requested resources and time frame, and team should have the required expertise to successfully lead the project.
- Innovative – The project should be a novel approach or opportunity for Tufts.
- Collaborative – The project is cross- or multi-disciplinary and collaborative.
- Evidence-based & Transformative – The project will meaningfully engage learners through evidence-based pedagogical approaches.
- Sustainability & Scalability – The project has the resources needed for success, as well as a plan for how the program will be sustained and scaled beyond the award period.
- Impact Assessment – The project has a robust plan for how learner experiences will be understood and evaluated, and how insights from this project will be shared.
Proposal review will be led by OVPE and include a select group of faculty members as well as representatives from CELT and ETS. Proposals in areas outside of the scope of the work of the proposal review committee will seek input from experts in that field for review.
Selected teams will be notified within four weeks of the submission deadline. Applicants for in-kind support only will be notified shortly after their submission.