Impact! - Spring 2025 Call for Proposals

Impact! projects bring together learners from multiple levels and academic backgrounds to form interdisciplinary teams that work to address an identified challenge in a 9-12 month timeframe through new publications, curated exhibits, strategic solutions for community needs, and more. In addition to addressing the challenge identified in each proposal, these projects are meant to provide students with hands-on experience in linking academic expertise with a broader context by working collaboratively as a team to produce meaningful deliverables.

Examples of previously-funded Impact! projects can be found in our recent news article.

This RFP invites faculty and staff to propose team projects. Once approved, faculty and staff leaders will be able to recruit undergraduate and graduate students to participate. Project leaders will select team members. We anticipate funding 1-2 proposals with this Spring 2025 call for proposals.

Each project should include up to 6 members, typically two undergraduates, two graduate students, and two faculty or staff members. Please indicate the home school for each student team member (GSAS, Professional School, Yale College). Team leaders may indicate if their project would benefit from differently structured student engagement.
Students are expected to devote five to seven hours per week to project work, and to work across one to two terms.
Students will be provided with a $2,000 stipend per term of participation. Summer work is eligible for additional pro-rated stipend. Additionally, one student on each team can be selected to coordinate the effort and receive a $2,500 stipend instead with an expected contribution of up to eight hours per week.
Projects are eligible for up to $10, 000 in funding for non-stipend research or project expenses (details below in Project Funding section).

We look forward to supporting interdisciplinary teams from across the university. Questions about eligibility should be addressed to planetarysolutions@yale.edu.

Project Funding
Teams can seek up to $10,000 in support for non-stipend needs. Requests may cover a range of activities including, but not limited to: data collection and analysis; supplies; software; dissemination of findings (e.g., symposia, publication fees, policy briefs, curricular materials). General office supplies, attendance at external conferences, and indirect costs will not be supported. Other costs will be considered based on project scope and need.

Proposal Elements

Please include the following sections in a single pdf file of less than 5 total pages:

Title: Provide a descriptive project title.
Team Members: List all faculty and staff team members, and include their titles and affiliations. Teams must be composed of two or more Yale faculty or staff who have the freedom to pursue independent research or scholarship. Interdisciplinary teams will be prioritized. If team members are from the same unit, they should represent different disciplines with a clearly articulated justification for how the team is establishing new connections at Yale.
Objective: Define the planetary challenge being addressed, describe how the proposed team project will impact the challenge.
YPS Connection: Describe how the proposal relates to the work of YPS. Please reference the YPS website if needed.
Results and Positive Impact: Identify the expected outputs/outcomes and positive impacts of the project and provide a description of the strategy for measuring or assessing outcomes.
Budget and Budget Justification: Include a brief synopsis of how the funds will be spent and why they are needed.

Submission
All submissions must be sent as a single pdf document, addressing all required sections, and consisting of no more than 5 pages in length. Submissions should be sent to planetarysolutions@yale.edu by Monday, May 12 at 5:00PM. Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of faculty and staff from a wide range of disciplines supporting YPS. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions before the end of May.

Requirements for Selected Projects
Teams must submit a very brief update on project progress by the end of December 2025. This report will be used for news items and social media posts. A two-page final report describing the project outcomes will be due by June 30, 2026.