Green Fund 2013
In spring 2010, The New School Green Fund was launched as part of an annual initiative to increase community involvement in the sustainability efforts of the university and promote research around environmental issues. Every year, as much as $50,000 is available for student, faculty, and staff-led projects and research.
The 2013 submission period is now closed. For questions about The New School's Green Fund, contact greenfund@newschool.edu.
There are two types of funding:
Projects
- Maximum of $10,000 per project.
Capital and execution costs are available for projects that can demonstrate reductions in the university's greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, waste generation or can improve indoor air quality, eco-literacy and community engagement around sustainability issues. Funding shall be used for materials and/or consultant fees.
Research Seed Grants
- Maximum of $5,000 per seed grant.
Faculty members are eligible for funding to finance student research. These grants are meant to finance research that has significant benefit to the university's sustainability efforts, increase the university's sustainability profile, provide students with strong learning opportunities and demonstrate a potential for further research and grant opportunities.
The Green Fund is not to be used for conference fees, travel, paying yourself, personal electronics, and items that would not be permanently stationed on campus.
Judging Criteria
In an effort to improve the Green Fund and the impact of the projects it funds, the committee has refined the criteria for projects and research seed-grants.
Projects and research that address the following areas of interest will be given preference:
- Expanding campus sustainability in The New School curriculum
- Research that informs further research at The New School and/or creates a tool or body of information to be used by students and other faculty
- The New School's energy consumption and measurement (as related to climate change, carbon emissions, greenhouse gas inventorying, etc.)
- The New School's waste management (as related to recycling, composting, improving diversion rates, etc.)
- The New School's water consumption and storm water management (as related to conservation, gray and black water reuse systems, etc.)
- Behavior change required to mitigate the above mentioned impacts
Projects and research that meet the following criteria will be given preference:
- Measurable
- Scalable – a project that could be expanded on campus
- Departmental support
All students submitting Expressions of Interest must have a faculty sponsor.
Selection Process
The Green Fund Committee is composed of faculty, staff, and students who review all proposals. The Office for Sustainability and Energy Management, Facilities Management, oversees the committee. Final funding decisions are based on majority, though consensus is encouraged. Members of the committee may not submit proposals for funding.
Timeline
The 2013 funding schedule is as follows:
- Expressions of Interest due: March 30, 2012
- The Green Fund Committee will request formal proposals: April 16, 2012
- Proposals due: April 30, 2012
- Awards announced: May 14, 2012
- Funds available: July 1, 2012
- All awards must be spent by: May 1, 2013
All recipients will be required to submit a midterm and final report and are expected to present their project outcomes or research findings to The New School community in a public forum as well as archive the content on our website.
Past Examples
The second round of funding in December 2010 supported four research seed grants and eight projects including:
- A material reuse program pilot (now the Green Supply Center) at Sheila C. Johnson Design Center to collect scrap material for reuse in other projects
- A student-run garden at the 20th Street Residence
- Researching low- and non-toxic printmaking options at Parsons
- Building Information Modeling for The New School's Solar Decathlon 2011 Team
See our online Library Archives for more examples.