Situation:

In alignment with Strategy 11 of UBC's Strategic Plan - Shaping UBC's Next Century - and funded by the UBC’s Academic Excellence Fund, a dedicated fund of $1.5 million over two years was allocated to mobilize this strategy. This fund aimed to propel projects within three focus areas: enhancing teaching effectiveness, restructuring programs with a focus on developing program-level outcomes, and advancing graduate programs. Strategy & Decision Support initiated the project with a specific focus on the comprehensive process of running a special call for proposals, encompassing planning, selection, and implementation.

Our Actions:

• Collaborated with the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) to develop comprehensive guidelines and processes for proposal submissions and selection
• Strategically identified internal capacities, collaborated with the Learning Technology Hub (LT Hub) to implement a seamless online application process. This step aimed to automate and streamline the application submission and review procedures
• Worked with the UBC Communications team to ensure the call for proposals was supported by a robust communication strategy

Results:

• A total of 21 projects were funded, effectively utilizing $1.3 million from the allocated fund
• The funded projects spanned across different educational levels, benefiting both undergraduate and graduate students
• The projects demonstrated a strategic focus on the identified priority areas, contributing to the overarching goals outlined in UBC's Strategic Plan
• In addition to these tangible results, we extended our impact by compiling a comprehensive toolkit. This toolkit encapsulates insights from the planning, selection, and implementation processes, offering valuable resources for future call administrators. This knowledge-sharing initiative aims to facilitate seamless replication and adaptation of successful strategies in funding calls at UBC