cet seed grantS

Call for Proposals

The Center for Expressive Technologies (CET) is pleased to announce a grant opportunity for the 2024-25 fiscal year (July 1st 2024-June 30th 2025). The CET Seed Grant Program funds small pilot projects that will produce results or data that faculty members need to apply for larger, externally funded projects. A PDF version of this information is available here.

Deadline: Friday, April 26th at 11:59 pm

Eligibility: Tenure-track/tenured faculty, lecturers, and staff in all colleges

Funding: Up to $4000 for student assistants, equipment, travel, and faculty compensation + an additional $1000 available for studio costs

Scope: Projects that study or use technology in creative ways to advance collective good

Submission: Cover page and project proposal (3-5 pages), via email to cet@calpoly.edu

program goals

CET Seed Grant projects support research and Learn by Doing experiences that study, make, or use expressive technologies.

What is an expressive technology? Expressive technologies allow us to tell stories, build community, inspire creativity and imagination, engender empathy, promote the importance of history and diversity, and build a more just future in our technological age. Projects funded by CET usually engage with visual, creative, or digital technologies, however, when considering whether your project involves an expressive technology, please refer to the broad definition provided here.

Projects appropriate for the CET Seed Grant Program include but are not limited to: using expressive technologies to foster community development and community engagement; immersive art or environment design; developing and using technologies to support public interests; or interactive games that address pressing sociotechnical challenges facing our society. We particularly welcome proposals that focus on the intersection of creative technology and social justice.

Titles and investigators of current and past projects can be found here.

USE OF ETS Studio & Tech

CET Seed Grant Projects can utilize the new Expressive Technology Studios (ETS) located at the center of campus in the Frost Building. The ETS space features industry-quality projection (and 3D projection), 3D Dolby Atmos immersive sound with Dolby authoring system, motion capture technology, virtual reality via Oculus headsets, and a sound-isolated environment for audio or video recording. The ETS is also a space for the exhibition of immersive art, video, audio or mixed reality experiences, live performances, and community engagement.

Project teams can propose to borrow specific equipment or use the studio space, though this is not a requirement of funding. ETS related proposals should include a PI or Co-PI who has demonstrated technical expertise with the relevant technologies and must address the following in the ‘ETS Equipment or Space’ section of the application:

• Specific technologies that will be used

• Explanation of demonstrated technical expertise of the PI or a Co-PI related to the specific technologies to be used

• Plan for how the technologies will be used or integrated with any software and hardware currently used by the PI or Co-PIs

• Specific details for any proposed use of the ETS space including number of hours and approximate date(s) of studio time needed and technical needs (e.g. detailed projection and sound specifications for a visiting artist, speaker or workshop).

Projects approved for use of the ETS space will receive an additional $1000 that will be directly allocated to ETS for studio costs. This will fund about 7-8 hours of total studio time for proposed activities during the project period. This $1000 should be listed in the project budget labeled as studio costs.

evaluation criteria

Proposals for Seed Grants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Integration of technology, creative components (stories, art, photography, video imagination, creativity, or play) and community benefit (enhancing justice, education, beauty, or other human values)

2. Potential for future grant development

3. Engagement with clearly defined and identified community or industry partners

4. Proposed role of students

Projects that propose to borrow ETS equipment or utilize studio space will additionally be judged based on description of demonstrated technical expertise of PI or Co-PIs and proposed plan for use of technologies or space.

Funding Guidelines

Work should take place between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. All Seed Grant funds must be spent by June 30, 2025.

Awards will range between $1000 and $4000, with an additional $1000 available to cover studio costs if the project includes use of the ETS space. Funds are available for materials and equipment, as well as for student participation on the project. Budgets can include limited funding for travel. Student travel should be prioritized over faculty travel. Modest additional compensation for faculty is also an allowed expense.

 Applicants who served as lead applicant on a successful CET Seed Grant in the previous funding cycle are not eligible to apply as lead applicant in this funding cycle.

 Seed Grants can be combined with other funding from Colleges or the University, however this must be made clear in the application.

While applying to an external funding agency is not required during the Seed Grant period, any applications to external funders based on CET Seed Grants must be routed through CET when they are submitted.[1]

application procedure

Please submit the cover page which includes: names, departments, and abstract.

 Please also submit a three to five-page overview of your project that speaks to the Goals and Evaluation Criteria articulated above. Your synopsis should include at least the following sections:

Introduction/Background

• Objectives/Goals

• Methodologies

• Proposed use of ETS equipment or space (if applicable)

• Outcomes and Deliverables (including measures of success)

• Work Already Completed (if applicable)

• Budget and Brief Justification (including list of other funds secured or being sought)

• Timeline

• Role of Students

• Future Funding (specific funders and programs that might fund future related work)

Include citations and references to relevant academic literature. If the research will involve human subjects, please include discussion of ethical issues involved. IRB approval is not required before applying but must be secured before beginning data collection.

Examples of successful applications are available upon request.

Please email your submissions to the Center for Expressive Technologies by Friday, April 26th @ 11:59 pm to cet@calpoly.edu. The cover page and your project proposal should be submitted as one combined PDF or Word file.

reporting

Recipients of CET Seed Grant funds must track their expenses and submit a report of their accomplishments by September 1, 2025. The final report should include a discussion of project outcomes, including how you assessed/measured outcomes; a list of specific outputs (e.g., publications, conference presentations, technology developed, community partnership/project); plans to submit proposals for externally funded projects (and/or proposals submitted during project); a list of names of students involved in the project and their role in the project; and a summary of expenses.