Announcement of Capacity Building Grants for University-Prison partnerships and programs outside of the United States
The Bard Prison Initiative and Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison announce technical assistance and capacity building grants to support college-in-prison internationally.
Programs in any part of the world and in every stage of development — from the earliest planning phase to longstanding institutions — are encouraged to apply here.
Applications are due 5pm EST, March 11 and will be awarded early spring.
This is now closed
In this work, BPI is partnered with the Open Society University Network and Incarceration Nations Network.
We welcome both start-up proposals and proposals for support of existing programs. Capacity building grants are intended to be one-time infusions of funding that will be used to sustain and advance projects at any stage of development. Program budgets should not anticipate annual renewal of these grants.
For those with existing programs: This application will ask you to share more about the vision of the program, how it operates, the ethos on which it is built, who is involved, and who the institutional partners are. You will share your vision to promote, sustain, grow, or expand your program including contingency plans given the pandemic and other setbacks or delays. You will be asked to explain your need for funding support and provide a budget and narrative.
For those interested in exploring the launch of a university program in prison: You will be asked to reflect on the following questions. What is your vision? What will you need to carry it out? Who are your institutional partners and stakeholders, both aspirational and in fact? Have you made any inroads or built relationships with your department of correction? You will be asked to provide a detailed budget and timeline for a proposed program launch, being sure to consider challenges/obstacles you are anticipating.
Capacity building could include:
- Start-up costs
- Support for faculty to engage with corrections and ministries
- Course buy-outs/leave time and faculty/adjunct stipends
- Other staff costs
- Research assistants
- Event budget
- Transportation costs
- Publicity / PR campaign to gain a program public and institutional support
- Bursary funds
- Reintegration support for students returning to the community from prison
- Campus outreach
This list is not exhaustive, but intended to illustrate possible uses of grant funds.
Grantees will be encouraged to attend the BPI Summer Residency July 18th–29th 2022 on Bard’s campus in the Hudson Valley region of New York unless moved virtual. Attendance will be fully funded by BPI. Grantees will join BPI’s community of practice and become members of the OSUN network, where possible.
These grants figure in the expansion of the Consortium to foster the growth of higher education in prison globally. Recently, the Consortium also established a 12 month Global Research Fellowship for the study of education in prison outside of the United States. Interested applicants can learn more and apply here. Application deadline extended to March 4th.