Engaged Engineering Departmental Challenge Grants 2026

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The purpose of Engaged Engineering Departmental Challenge Grants is to incentivize and support engineering schools and departments in developing signature engaged programs that leverage their unique disciplinary strengths with community engagement opportunities. These grants are intended to embed Engaged Engineering into the core of departmental curricula and culture. Departmental Challenge Grants complement the college-level Engaged Engineering Curriculum Grants (which support individual faculty in developing or enhancing single courses) by operating at a larger scale. These grants empower schools and departments to take a strategic, coordinated approach to embedding engagement across their programs.

Signature programs may take the form of engaged design courses, community-partnered undergraduate research tracks, or other innovative models aligned with departmental priorities. Funded programs are expected to serve as exemplary, replicable models that advance Cornell Duffield Engineering’s goal of 100% undergraduate participation in high-quality CEL.

Proposed programs must address the four Engaged Engineering Criteria:

Address real-world challenges or opportunities valued by community partners, including place-based, interest-based, non-profit, government, and industry;
Include working with and/or learning from a community partner, whether on campus or outside the university, through in-person or virtual engagement;
Connect and integrate engaged engineering experiences with educational content; and
Include structured, documented critical reflection that addresses both technical and social aspects of the engagement.

A high priority is placed on proposals that demonstrate a credible path to sustainability beyond the grant period, including plans for how the school or department will institutionalize the program using existing or anticipated resources. The Einhorn Center of Community Engagement is committed to assist the awarded schools and departments with leveraging campus-wide resources to develop CEL best practices that fit their individual contexts. Project team members are encouraged to participate in the Engaged Faculty Fellows Program, or on-line learning program.

If you are wondering whether your anticipated departmental strategy idea is a good fit, you're encouraged to reach out to Max Zhang (kz33@cornell.edu), Provost Fellow for Public Engagement, to talk about through your ideas and questions. Opportunities to learn more about community-engaged departmental approaches will be made available before the submission deadline through the suite of resources and expertise of the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.

Title of Departmental Challenge Proposal

Succinct public summary (to be shared publicly) describing the proposed signature program and its public purpose

(maximum: 1,500 characters with spaces)

FACULTY/STAFF TEAM MEMBERS

Any department or program within Cornell Duffield Engineering may apply. Cross-departmental proposals involving two or more engineering departments, or proposals developed in partnership with programs outside the College, are also welcome and encouraged.

Each proposal must include:

A faculty lead (PI) who is a tenured or tenure-track faculty member, or a senior lecturer, professor of practice, associate and full teaching professors within the lead department
At least one additional faculty collaborator as co-PI from the department to ensure the effort extends beyond a single individual.
A member of the departmental leadership team as co-PI confirming departmental commitment to the proposed program, and a discussion on sustainability of the program beyond the grant period.

Staff, graduate students, and community partners may serve as team members but cannot serve as PI. Participation of community partners in the proposal development process is strongly encouraged.

TEAM LEAD INFORMATION

Team Lead First Name (PI)	Team Lead Last Name
Team Lead Position/Title	Team Lead Net ID
Team Lead Email Address
Team Lead College/School/Division	If "Other," please enter Team Lead College/School/Division here
Team Lead Department/Unit	If "Other," please enter Team Lead Department/Unit here

TEAM MEMBER INFORMATION

Team Member's First Name (Co-PI)	Team Member's Last Name (PI)
Team Member's Position/Title	Team Member's Net ID
Team Member's Email Address
Team Member's College/School/Division	If "Other," please enter team member's College/School/Division here
Team Member's Department/Unit	If "Other," please enter team member's Department/Unit here

Team Member's First Name (Co-PI)	Team Member's Last Name (Co-PI)
Team Member's Position/Title	Team Member's Netid
Team Member's Email Address
Team Member's College/School/Division	If "Other," please enter team member's College/School/Division here
Team Member's Department/Unit	If "Other," please enter team member's Department/Unit here

Please attach a signed letter of commitment by the PI and co-PIs.

COMMUNITY PARTNER(s) INFORMATION

Organization	Primary Contact
Email	Website
City	State
Country	Please choose County if within New York State

Please attach a letter(s) of collaboration and/or Memo of Understanding from the community partner(s), if known. The letter could include length of relationship; previous collaborative activities and their impact; potential benefits from developing the partnership further; and a description of the partnership roles, responsibilities and resources in support of the proposed community-engaged departmental activities.

Departmental gap analysis. Description of the department’s current engaged learning landscape, identifying where community engagement currently exists and where the proposed program fills a critical gap (maximum: 5,000 characters with spaces)

Program narrative. Description of the proposed signature program, including:

Specific aims of the grant and connection to the department’s strategic priorities

Need. Description of the real-world challenges the program addresses and the benefit to community partner(s)

Partner. Clearly identified community partner(s) and their role in program design and student learning

Connection. Description of key learning outcomes, their mapping to college/ABET outcomes, and assessment methods

Reflection. Description of how the program incorporates structured critical reflection on both technical and social dimensions

Scaling plan. How the program will grow from pilot to reaching a meaningful fraction of the department’s students

(maximum: 10,000 characters with spaces)

Assessment plan. Proposed methods for evaluating student learning, community impact, and program effectiveness (maximum: 2,500 characters with spaces)

Sustainability plan. How the program will be continued after grant funding ends, including identification of future funding sources, departmental resource commitments, and how the program will be embedded in departmental curriculum and culture

(maximum: 2,500 characters with spaces)

Timeline. Include a descriptive overview, with milestones, across the grant period

(maximum: 2,500 characters with spaces)

Budget and budget justification. Develop your budget and budget narrative that aligned with the allowable expense categories described the RFP. Projects are encouraged to include funding to support community partner participation.

Additional file uploads (as needed)

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