2022 PIT-UN Network Challenge Submission Window Is Open

The Network Challenge is a grant program designed to seed and support initiatives that promote public interest in technology at the university level. The PIT University Network Challenge seeks to encourage new ideas, foster collaborations, and incentivize resource and information sharing among Network members. PIT-UN launched the Network Challenge in 2019. In 2021, our third year, 37 proposals from 28 institutions were awarded a total of $4,161,270 in grant funds.

Learn more

New America & PIT-UN Are Excited to Announce Requests for Proposals for PIT-UN Network Members

Limited Submissions

“Limited submissions” are funding opportunities that restrict the number of applications from one institution. These funding opportunities must undergo an internal selection process (also known as an internal competition), which is coordinated by the institution. Please consult your institution before you develop any applications.

In this fourth year of the challenge, PIT-UN will accept the following types of proposals in response to its request for proposals (RFP):

New projects that have not received prior funding from the PIT-UN Network Challenge (“new projects”).
Projects that have received funding from the PIT-UN Network Challenge in 2019,* 2020, or 2021 and are applying for additional funding to continue or scale their work (“previously funded projects”).

There is a limit to the number of proposals an institution can submit:

New 2022 PIT-UN Network members can submit a total of three proposals for new projects. Only one proposal can fall within Tranche 2: up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.
Current PIT-UN Network members can submit three proposals for new projects.
Current PIT-UN Network members can also submit any number of proposals for additional funding to continue and/or scale a previously funded project that meets the eligibility requirements noted below.* Any number of these projects can fall within Tranche 2: up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.

*Note: Proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Network Challenge in 2019 and have received additional funding in both 2020 and 2021 are not eligible to apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale the project. Proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Challenge in 2019 but only received one year of additional funding in either 2020 or 2021 may apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale their project.

Key Dates & Contact Information

Proposal Deadline: June 24, 2022

Grant Period: Jan. 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024

Days

Hours

April 4, 2022 @ 12 p.m. noon EDT

2022 New PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Grant Orientation Session.

This was a closed session for new PIT-UN Members to orient them to the RFP and limited submission process. Calendar invites were sent out to New Member Designees and their Challenge Grant Representatives

April 4, 2022 @ 12 p.m. noon EDT

April 25, 2022 @ 2:30 p.m. EDT

Webinar: Creating a Strong PIT Project: What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Looks Like in PIT.

Public interest technology refers to the study and application of technology expertise to advance the public interest/generate public benefits/promote the public good. All successful PIT projects also have a strong diversity, equity, and inclusion lens applied to the work. This hour-long session will explore how to design a PIT project that addresses DEI in a meaningful way; the session will provide attendees with examples of PIT projects that center communities, and describe specific activities and actions that strong PIT projects incorporate to bring a strong DEI lens to the work.

Event Recording

April 25, 2022 @ 2:30 p.m. EDT

April 28, 2022 @ 2:30 p.m. EDT

Webinar: Building a Better PIT-UN Application

In this hour-long session, we will review the objectives of the PIT-UN Challenge as well of the components of the RFP. Attendees will be provided with detailed explanations of elements of the application, as well as context for what is required to score well in the PIT-UN Challenge evaluation process. Attendees will receive a detailed explanation of the scoring rubric. Registration link coming soon

Meeting Recording

April 28, 2022 @ 2:30 p.m. EDT

May 2, 2022 @ 12p.m. EDT

2022 New PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Grant Application Q&A; Session.

This is a closed session for new PIT-UN members to discuss their applications and answer any questions they might have about their application. Calendar invites have been sent out to new member designees and their Challenge Grant representatives.

Meeting Recording

May 2, 2022 @ 12p.m. EDT

Thursday's @ 12 p.m. EDT

Weeky Starting on May 5, 2022 PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Open Office Hours

These are informal sessions to answer any questions that members might have in developing or submitting their limited submission applications. Each session opens at the top of the hour of 12 pm EDT and ends at 12:30 pm. Questions regarding the 2022 Network Challenge grant can also be submitted to pitunchallenge (@) newventurefund.org NOTE: there will not be an open session on Thurday, May 26th.

Join the Conversation Starting May 5

Thursday's @ 12 p.m. EDT

Do You Have Questions?

Request for Proposal

The 2022 PIT-UN Network Challenge is open to members of PIT-UN.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your institution determines the final applications that are submitted in the 2022 PIT-UN Network Challenge. Make sure you understand your institution’s internal selection process before you download any application materials.

Only full PIT-UN members can apply. View the list of eligible members who can apply here.

The PIT-UN 2022 Network Challenge has two funding tranches. Budgets should be inclusive of an indirect rate, set at 20% of total direct costs.

Tranche 1: Up to $90,000 for direct and indirect costs
Tranche 2: $90,001-$180,000 ]for direct and indirect costs

Limits on proposals

There is a limit to the number of proposals a university can submit:

Network members can submit a total of three proposals for new projects.
- Only one proposal can fall within Tranche 2: Up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.
Network members can also submit any number of proposals for additional funding to continue and/or scale a previously funded project.*
- Any number of these can fall within Tranche 2: Up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.

Proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Challenge in 2019 and have received additional funding in both 2020 and 2021 are not eligible to apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale the project. Proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Challenge in 2019 but only received one year of additional funding in either 2020 or 2021 may apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale their project. All proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Challenge in either 2020 or 2021 may apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale their project.”

TYPES OF PROPOSALS

The “Challenge” awards small grants to member colleges and universities that submit proposals related to the following priorities:

Educational offerings
Career pipeline and placement
Faculty and institution-building
Strengthening PITUN

Visit our 2021 Grantee page to see their projects here.

Notes on project Principal Investigators for projects

A person may be listed as the Principal Investigator (PI) for only one Challenge application, but individuals may be listed as collaborators on multiple applications.

Projects that are a collaboration between two or more universities should submit one single application. Projects should explain the nature of the collaboration in the proposal.

2022 PIT-UN Network Challenge RFP

NVF Child Safeguard Facts and Resources

NVF Child Safeguard Form (if applicable)

Budget Workbook

PIT-UN Theory of Change Template for Expansion & Scale

Additional documents you will need to complete your submission

Partnership letters of commitment (if applicable)
Relevant work documentation (if applicable)
Due diligence documents
- Proof of legal status/IRS Letter of Determination
- Institution’s most recent audited financial documents from 2020 or 2021
- Institutional IRS form 990
- List of the Directors or Board of Trustees
- List of main staff for this project

Sample of the 2022 Network Challenge New Project Application online form

Sample of the 2022 Network Challenge Expansion/Scaling Application online form

Projects may include such ideas as:

Experiential learning opportunities, such as clinics, fellowships, apprenticeships, or internships that give students real-world exposure to the practice of Public Interest Technology.
New models of career training, placement, and/or financial support for individuals who seek to pursue careers in the nascent field of Public Interest Technology.
Partnerships with nonprofit, private sector, or affinity group partners that demonstrate the real-world application of Public Interest Technology to center community voice in pursuit of solutions for pressing problems, particularly challenges experienced by marginalized communities least well served by existing systems and policies.
New models to aid pre- and post-tenured faculty participation in (and recognition for) the research, curriculum development, teaching, and service work that builds Public Interest Technology as an arena of inquiry and training.
Platforms or practices to connect educators focused on Public Interest Technology so they may share curricula and strategies for improving Public Interest Technology programs.
Projects that aim to identify and pursue the central issues and questions that animate Public Interest Technology as a field of study.

Documents you will need to complete your application

Answers from RFP
NVF Child SafeGuard Form (if applicable)
Budget Workbook
Partnership letters of commitment (if applicable) Examples include:
- Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), including for internships and practica
- Collaboration on a previous funding opportunity
- Documentation of community listening session(s), focus groups, or training session(s)
Relevant work documentation (if applicable)
Due diligence Documents
- List of the Directors or Board of Trustees
- List of main staff for this project

Sample of a New Project Online Form

Sample of an Expansion/Scaling Project Online Form

Before you begin

Identify your institution’s internal grant application vetting process. Please note that it is the institution’s responsibility to determine the slate of project proposal applications that are entered into the PIT-UN Network Challenge
If you have an outstanding extension on a previously funded grant, that project cannot be submitted for a new round of funding.
If you have a grant that has been completed but the final report has not been submitted, you will be asked to upload the final report if you are requesting expansion funding.

FAQs for Network Challenge Point of Contacts

Role and Responsibility of the Network Challenge Institutional Point of Contact

In the application platform, Submittable, only the designated institutional point of contact (the Submittable application “owner”) is responsible for uploading ALL institutional vetted applications into the platform.

Material Needed to Complete an Application

Documents and information that will help make uploading the content of the application process easier.

The Submittable platform automatically saves your work several times a minute. You may start, stop and revise an application multiple times. However, only after you push the SUBMIT button at the end of the application will the application be queued for consideration. You will need the following documents and information to help make uploading the content of the application process easier:

Completed answers from the RFP
NOTE: We ask that you please add the Principal Investigator to the application as a Collaborator so we can maintain contact with them through the Submittable platform during the grant period.
NVF Child Safeguard Form (if applicable for the specific project see the 2022 Minor Safeguarding FAQs)
Completed Budget Workbook
Partnership letters of commitment (if applicable)
Relevant work documentation (if applicable)

Additional Due Diligence Documents

Proof of legal status/IRS Letter of Determination
Institution’s most recent audited financial documents from 2020 or 2021
Institutional IRS Form 990
List of the Directors or Board of Trustees
List of main staff for this project

Sample of a New Project Online Form

Sample of an Expansion/Scaling Project Online Form

Before you begin

Identify your institution’s internal grant application vetting process. Please note that it is the institution’s responsibility to determine the slate of project proposal applications that are entered into the Network Challenge
If you have an outstanding extension on a previously funded grant, that project cannot be submitted for a new round of funding.
If your institution has a previously funded grant project that is now complete but the Principal Investigator has not yet submitted the final report, you will be asked to upload the final report if you are requesting expansion funding for that project.

Access to the SUBMITTABLE online grant application platform

As you begin inputting the application into Submittable, please use a laptop or desktop computer, as file uploads may not work on some mobile devices. If you continue to be unable to upload the files, please try a different supported browser, and ensure that the files are valid file types. You can find the acceptable file types under the “Choose File” button on the application.

The application platform works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
- - The grant application platform, Submittable, does not support the Explorer browser or older versions of Edge.
  - You can download Firefox by following the instructions linked here.
  - You can download Chrome by following the instructions linked here.
Working within the application platform
- - You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit institutional applications.
  - You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
  - If you need to make changes to an application, please withdraw your submission and resubmit.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission
We will follow up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and regularly check the email account you used to sign up for your Submittable account.
Check out the Submitter Resource Center for help videos and articles or to reach out to Submittable’s Customer Support team with any technical questions.

IMPORTANT REQUEST

Adding Principal Investigators as Collaborators to the Application

It is vital to add the PI listed on the application to the active application. We will be contacting the Principal Investigator with questions on the application as well as requesting grant reporting items from the PI throughout the grant period.

Here are instructions to add Collaborators to an Application in Submittable.

Other ways a collaborator can assist in uploading application content to the active application:

Submission owners and collaborators can start entering data or revising data in each field. Each person who is an authorized collaborator on the form will see the data appear immediately.
If collaborators are working in the same field, the inputs made by the person who last enters any data will be saved.
- The exception to this is File Uploads. The person who first uploads a file determines which file gets uploaded to a submission. For another collaborator to replace that file, they must first delete what was uploaded, then upload a new file.
At any point in the collaboration process, the Submission owner can click on either the Save Draft or Submit button at the bottom of the page. As with any submission, all required fields need to be properly completed before the application can be successfully submitted.

A saved collaborative draft that is not yet submitted can be accessed by collaborators at any time by signing into their Submittable account and clicking on the Collaborations tab on the right-hand side of the tabs in the Submission List view.

Network Challenge FAQs

Public interest technology (PIT) refers to the study and application of technology expertise to advance the public interest in a way that promotes the public good, particularly for members of society who are the least well-served historically and today because of existing systems and policies. Importantly, PIT includes individuals who approach these questions from a technological background, those with lived experience and expertise, and those coming from other disciplines (including, but not limited to, law and social science and movement building) who seek to understand, use, and respond to the changes brought by new technologies. PIT should also include people who may not identify as technologists but are at the forefront of equalizing access to technology and promoting inclusive tech policy, such as those working in the ecosystems of access, open-source and creative commons, digital literacy, inclusive design, movement and activist tech, community tech, and digital privacy and security.

Questions about Application Requirements

“Demonstrated buy-in” can be any contribution or signal of support from the university that will help the project sustain its impact. This includes, but is not limited to, contributed university funds, support from university leadership, and collaboration between departments, faculty, or other groups. Applicants may demonstrate university buy-in via letters of support, written evidence of collaboration between university entities (an informal MOU), or evidence of cash or in-kind contributions from the university.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion criteria state that “the project team’s program has an existing record of serving ethnically, racially, socioeconomically diverse and underrepresented populations or an actionable plan to use this funding to engage and serve those populations that is informed by best practices.” Should the project team plan to serve, rather than engage and serve, a particular population, consider indicating in the application how you might work toward deeper engagement during or after the grant period.

There are no criteria-level requirements for the content of partnership letters; however, we recommend including the following:

Name of partner institution
Name of point of contact at the partner institution
Phone number and/or email address for the point of contact
Brief description of the partner institution’s mission and work
Description of the role the partner will play on the project and how the partnership would enhance or expand the impact of the project
A list of deliverables that the partner institution will be responsible for (if applicable)
The amount of monetary support the partner will provide (if applicable)
The type and value of any in-kind support the partner institution will provide (staff time, facility space, supplies, equipment)

There is a 10-page limit for uploads. The following documents are required as part of the application and do not count toward the 10-page limit:

Proof of Legal Status/IRS Letter of Determination
Project Budget
Most Recent Audited Financials
Institution’s IRS Form 990 (if co-submitting a proposal, each institution must submit its own Form 990)
List of Board of Directors or Board of Trustees
List of Main Staff Members for the Project

Note that these are subject to file size limitations as determined by the Submittable application platform and are listed below each “Upload a file” button in the relevant section of the platform.

The following documents are required for all formal partnerships and do count toward the 10-page limit.

Letters of commitment

For applications that checked the box “My proposed project involves the collection/ interpretation of data” or “My proposed project has a significant research component” only: the following document is optional and does count toward the 10-page limit:

As an alternative to responding to the individual questions in this section, you may create a PDF document of up to three pages that responds to these questions and that includes any relevant visuals, diagrams, figures, graphics, and the like. You will upload this document in section D, “Uploads.”

Any additional documents that support the content of your application are optional and do count toward the 10-page limit. Any documents in this section should be referred to somewhere in the answers to your application questions.

NVF Child Safeguarding Policy Information Sheet

As stated in the Year 4 Challenge RFP, budgets should be inclusive of an indirect rate, set at 20% of total direct costs.

Within these parameters, we offer the following additional guidance:

Applicants are not required to claim the 20% indirect costs.
If applicants do choose to claim indirect costs, these must be capped at 20% of the requested grant amount from NVF/PIT-UN (not of the entire project, should applicants be seeking funding for the same project elsewhere).
The Challenge acknowledges that most institutions of higher education have federally negotiated rates that are significantly higher than 20%. You may apply the unclaimed indirect costs (the difference between your university’s rate and 20%) as matching funds.
Keep in mind that the Network relies on substantial institutional support for Challenge projects as a means to grow public interest technology as a field. We appreciate that covering the real costs required to run institutions does represent one form of institutional support. However, proposal evaluators will primarily be looking for evidence of institutional support via leveraged resources that the institution will bring to bear directly on the project’s success. Please see the “Institutional Support” criterion for more detail.

The NVF budget template should include cost-sharing. Please be sure to distinguish which/how much of a project’s planned expenses will be covered by the PIT-UN funding in relation to the total project budget. If any of the funding from the PIT-UN award will be regranted from the primary institution, this should be reflected on the Subtotal Subgrants section of the budget template.

Tranche 1 proposals (up to $90,000) must have ”demonstrated buy-in from the applicant’s university.” This can be any contribution or signal of support from the university that will help the project sustain its impact, including contributed university funds, support from university leadership, and collaboration between departments, faculty, or other groups. Applicants may demonstrate university buy-in via letters of support, written evidence of collaboration between university entities (an informal memorandum of understanding), or evidence of cash or in-kind contributions from the university. You may submit additional support letters from organizations you work with if you wish, but it will not result in additional consideration.

As stated in the PIT-UN Year 4 Challenge RFP, “projects that center the needs of communities who have historically been denied access to new technologies, been systematically left out of conversations at the intersection of technology and policy, and who have been denied opportunities to join the technology workforce, in efforts to further the positive social impact of technology for all communities will be prioritized.”

Projects that can demonstrate a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in both project design and reach will be prioritized by receiving a higher number of points out of the 20 total possible points under that evaluation criterion. In addition, when determining the final portfolio of awarded applications, evaluators may choose to include an application that has a strong equity, diversity, and inclusion component.

Questions on Eligibility and Submissions

As part of its Network Challenge, PIT-UN will accept applications from Network members. Other colleges and universities will be eligible to join PIT-UN and apply for future funding opportunities during an open enrollment period from September through November 2022.

Projects that received funding from the PIT-UN Network Challenge in 2019 and have received additional funding in both 2020 and 2021 are not eligible to apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale the project. Proposals that received funding from the PIT-UN Network Challenge in 2019 but received only one year of additional funding in 2020 or 2021 may apply for additional funding this year to continue and/or scale the project.

The grant application has been distributed to the individual designees and the offices responsible for submitting grant applications at each of the PIT-UN member colleges and universities. Note that each individual college or university decides who is the designee and which office will be responsible for grant applications. Interested applicants may obtain the grant application from their university designee or the relevant office.

Yes, if your institution is not the submitting institution for that proposal, you are still welcome to submit up to three proposals for new projects. Please note that Network members that received a grant in 2019, 2020, or 2021 can submit any number of proposals to expand and/or scale previously awarded projects, beyond the three outlined above. Proposals that are a collaboration between two or more universities should submit one single application, explaining the nature of the collaboration in their application.

Network members may submit one application in funding Tranche 2 ($90,001–$180,000) for a new project. Network members that received a grant in past years may also submit any number of proposals to expand or scale a current project (these proposals may request any funding amount). All proposals for Tranche 2 funding ($90,001-$180,000) must meet the institutional support requirements for that level as described in the request for proposals (RFP) and FAQs (see “Questions about the Review Process”).

The intent of the cost-share requirement for proposals requesting Tranche 2 funding ($90,001–$180,000) is to ensure that the Challenge is funding projects that have the explicit support and buy-in from their colleges and universities. While a one-to-one cost share is not necessary, Challenge reviewers will prioritize applications with a higher cost share and with various types of contributions from their institutions.

Applicants who were awarded a Challenge grant in past years and are submitting a proposal to continue/expand their 2019, 2020, or 2021 project will be asked to answer additional questions throughout the application. For more detail on those specific questions, please reference the RFP or the application in Submittable. In every section, these additional questions will follow the phrase “Previously funded projects only.”

Partnerships with international organizations are welcome. Applicants that are considering regranting a portion of their awarded funds to an international organization should know that it is the Network member’s responsibility to ensure that it has performed sufficient legal and financial due diligence on the international organization. Regranted funds should also be used in accordance with the terms of the grant agreement (i.e., funds are used charitably, funds are not used for lobbying/political activity, and all parties must follow anti-terrorist financing and asset control laws).

This year, the PIT-UN Network Challenge is accepting proposals through a new platform Submittable. You will need to create a new account to submit this year’s applications. Instructions and login credentials will be shared via email to the university designee or relevant office at each Network member school.

For questions related to navigating the Submittable platform, please see here.

Previous Network Challenge Grantees

Educational
Offerings

See 2021 Grantees

Career Pipeline & Placement

See 2021 Grantees

Faculty & Institution Building

See 2021 Grantees

Strengthening the PIT University Network

See 2021 Grantees

2022 PIT-UN Network Challenge Submission Window Is Open

New America & PIT-UN Are Excited to Announce Requests for Proposals for PIT-UN Network Members

Limited Submissions

Key Dates & Contact Information

Proposal Deadline: June 24, 2022

2022 New PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Grant Orientation Session.

Webinar: Creating a Strong PIT Project: What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Looks Like in PIT.

Webinar: Building a Better PIT-UN Application

2022 New PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Grant Application Q&A; Session.

Weeky Starting on May 5, 2022 PIT-UN Members Network Challenge Open Office Hours

Do You Have Questions?

Request for Proposal

Network Challenge FAQs

Questions about Application Requirements

Questions on Eligibility and Submissions

Previous Network Challenge Grantees

Educational Offerings

Career Pipeline & Placement

Faculty & Institution Building

Strengthening the PIT University Network

Educational
Offerings