Planning for Sustainability 11:15a.m.-12:15 p.m. July 29, 2016 Convening at HI-TEC

Elaine Craft Director SC ATE Center of Excellence Jennifer Freeman Director

Outline Sustainability Defined Examples from NSF and TAACCCT Planning Exercise Group Discussion

Sustainability Makes Sense Grant Funding Regardless of Source Expected to jumpstart programs or provide specific support Never expected to provide operational support on an ongoing basis Therefore recipients are expected to figure out how to sustain at least a portion of the work How and what can be sustained varies

Why Focus on Sustainability? NSF Requires [NSF 14-577, June 2014] …expected to communicate a realistic vision for sustainability. …expected that at least some aspects of both centers and projects will be sustained or institutionalized past the period of award funding.

Why Focus on Sustainability? DOL Requires [SGA/DFA PY-13-10] In rating proposals, 2 points were assigned to the Sustainability Plan. …applicant will integrate …strategies and activities into their non-grant funded program(s) for continued success. Evaluation: What contributions did each of the partners and other key stakeholders make towards …commitment to program sustainability?

What is Sustainability? NSF: “Being sustainable means that a project or center has developed a product or service that the host institution, its partners, and its target audiences want continued.” DOL: Looks for evidence of a grantee’s planning to “integrate these strategies and activities into their non-grant funded program(s) for continued success.”  

General Sustainability Examples Improved teaching practices are permanently integrated New programs or courses continue to be offered Recruitment strategies continue to be implemented A host institution commits to maintaining some of the positions for those hired by a grant funded project. Project partners agree to supply external resources to fund project components after funding ends.

Examples NSF-ATE Industry-paid internships and ATE Industry Consortium continue (SC, TX, and others) New courses in emerging technologies approved, pilot-tested and added to college catalog (many ATE grantees) Problem-based learning teaching methodology continues (MA, NC, NV, VA, SC and others) TAACCCT WI, CO and LA created statewide, transparent credit-for-prior-learning processes to accelerate student success Colleges in Michigan are maintaining work-based leaning models and operating them as Registered Apprenticeship programs

Findings Institutionalize/embed Define audience/stakeholders Evaluate/understand your value proposition DATA, DATA, DATA! Think creatively/explore possibilities Early and often

Work to Institutionalize? How to Implement? Determine what is worth sustaining (data!) Seek Funding? Work to Institutionalize? Lessons Learned

Funding College External *Grants *Donations

Institutionalization Integration Adoption: equipment, curriculum, resources Behavior modification Partner relations

Sustainability Planning Innovations to Sustain instructional methods? employer partnerships? Career planning services? Priorities they Align With Collegewide goals? Regional economic development initiatives? statewide higher education policies? Data to Show Success Student retention and completion? Employer testimonials? Job placements? Mechanism to Sustain the Innovation MOU with partners? College or statewide policy? Professional development?

Group Work Individually: Group discussion of each person’s innovation: Choose an innovation you think you should sustain Think about the strategic priorities it is aligned with – goals of the college? Higher ed system goals? State economic development goals? Group discussion of each person’s innovation: what data could be used to support sustaining that innovation? The mechanisms that could be used to sustain it?

Want more sustainability resources? http://atecentral.net Search word: sustainability Use the new “TAACCCT Sustainability Toolkit”. Webinar August 4, 2:00 pm. Register at www.workforcegps.org/register

Q&A and Contacts Elaine Craft, Elaine.Craft@fdtc.edu Jennifer Freeman, jfreeman@jff.org

Brought To You By: The TAACCCT Learning Network With Additional Support by the ATE Collaborative Impact Project And The TAACCCT Learning Network A technical assistance effort led by Jobs for the Future and supported by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Disclaimer: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants # 1205077 and # 1261893 and the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Grant # DOL- ETA-14-C-0034.   Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Department of Labor.