Call for Proposals

The Open Press is excited to invite proposals for open access publications including open education resources, open pedagogy projects, open scholarship, and innovative knowledge mobilization strategies. All projects must be licensed openly, ideally using CC-BY-NC, unless an alternative license is required for specific reasons (e.g., protection of cultural knowledge). The TRU Open Press is committed to fostering initiatives that align with our values of inclusive excellence, innovation, and community engagement. All submitted proposals should reflect how projects align with TRU Open Press Priorities (below).

Projects can be proposed by faculty, staff, students, and community members outside of TRU, as long as the project has a demonstrated proposed benefit for TRU learners.

Budget maximum is $7500 / project.

The TRU Open Press is committed to fostering initiatives that align with our values of inclusive excellence, innovation, and community engagement.

TRU Open Press Priorities

Priority 1: Student Benefit

Proposals should demonstrate a clear understanding of how students will benefit from the project. Considerations include the number of students impacted, cost-effectiveness compared to existing materials, impacts on classroom teaching, and opportunities for student involvement (including employment) in the project. Special consideration will be paid to under-served student populations, even where numbers impacted are small.

Priority 2: Significance and Contribution

Projects should outline their contribution to the discipline, pedagogy, open education, and TRU. Highlight how the project will disseminate knowledge, align with institutional goals, or advance scholarship or pedagogical practices.

Priority 3: Equity, Access, Indigenization, and Localization

We strongly encourage proposals that prioritize inclusivity and diversity. Consider how the project benefits equity-seeking groups, incorporates diverse voices, ensures accessibility, demonstrates a commitment to Indigenization, and can be localized for TRU students or local community interests.

Priority 4: Innovation

Proposals should outline how the project fosters innovation within the discipline, in open education, or furthers the capacities of the Press itself. Consider technological needs, the scope of practice, and opportunities for students to develop new skills.

Practicalities and Capacities

Ensure that proposals address the practicalities of execution and demonstrate an understanding of the Press’s capacity to successfully implement the project. A scoping conversation with the TRU Open Press in advance of submitting a proposal is strongly recommended.

Interested parties are invited to submit proposals addressing the priorities outlined above. Submissions should include a project overview, objectives, anticipated outcomes, and a detailed plan for student involvement. The proposals will be evaluated based on the provided criteria.

Submission Guidelines

Proposal Submission Deadline: May 1, 2024
Decisions Released: September 1, 2024
Submit proposals to: openpress@tru.ca

For inquiries or clarifications regarding the Call for Proposals, please contact Dani Collins, TRU Open Press Publishing Manager (dcollins@tru.ca).

We look forward to receiving innovative and student-centric project proposals that align with our commitment to inclusive excellence, equity, and advancement in scholarly endeavors.

The following Proposal Evaluation Matrix may be helpful as you work on your proposal:

PDFs

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Proposal-Evaluation-Matrix Download

Project Proposal Template Download

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Project Proposal Template Download

Want to fill out the proposal form online?

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Project Proposal Form

Projects can be proposed by faculty, staff, students, and community members outside of TRU, as long as the project has a demonstrated proposed benefit for TRU learners.

Step 1 of 5

PROJECT TITLE(Required)

Today's Date

Please select the group to which you belong(Required)

TRU staff

TRU faculty

Student

Name(Required)

First name Last name

Email(Required)

Amount not to exceed

Additional Funding

Have you received any additional funding or support for this project already?

Please indicate the source of any additional funding below (if applicable)

Term of work assignment

The term of this work assignment will be from and including a “Start Date”, to and including an “End Date”

Start Date(Required)

End Date(Required)

The parties agree that subject to the terms and conditions of this Work Assignment payment for services will be made through the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) payroll department, with statutory deductions being applied.

SCHEDULE B

Expectations

OPEN PRESS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORK: DELIVERABLES AND DUE DATES

Deliverable #1

Attend planning sessions as needed to collaborate with development team as per Schedule A.

These sessions include initial planning and planning for editing, production, and promotional stages of the project.

Due date (Deliverable 1)

Ongoing

$ Amount (Deliverable 1)

Hours (Deliverable 1)

Deliverable #2

Develop a project framework, including:

Project name, goals and rationale
Project topics and resources
Map learning outcomes (if applicable)
Map learning activities (if applicable)
Media
Production plan

Due Date (Deliverable 2)

Click or tap to enter date signed

$ Amount (Deliverable 2)

Hours (Deliverable 2)

Deliverable #3

½ of original content created – ….

Due Date (Deliverable 3)

Click or tap to enter date signed

$ Amount (Deliverable 3)

Hours (Deliverable 3)

Deliverable 4

½ of original content created – ….

Due Date (Deliverable 4)

Click or tap to enter date signed

$ Amount (Deliverable 4)

Hours (Deliverable 4)

Deliverable #5

Review and completion. Work with the development team to finalize the project. This includes reviewing edited and published content, guided by the Open Press Publishing Manager.

Due Date (Deliverable 5)

Click or tap to enter date signed

$ Amount (Deliverable 5)

Hours (Deliverable 5)

Total

Please be advise that the “$ Total Amount” is automatically calculated by the addition of the “$ Amount” * “Hours” of each of the deliverables.

For example: “$ Amount (Deliverable 1)” * “Hours (Deliverable 1)”+ “$ Amount (Deliverable 2)” * “Hours (Deliverable 2)” + etc.

$ Total Amount(Required)

Total Hours(Required)

Assignment of Copyright and Waiver of Moral Rights

The copyright in the Material developed as part of this Work Assignment belongs exclusively to the Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Upon delivery of the Material, the Contractor must execute the Assignment of Copyright and Waiver of Moral Rights document. The Assignment of Copyright and Waiver of Moral Rights waives, in the TRU’s favour, any and all moral rights which the Contractor or their employees may have in the Material and confirms the vesting of copyright in the TRU.

TRU requires that all Materials, regardless of length, created by a third party (i.e., someone other than an employee of TRU) be cleared for usage according to the Copyright Act of Canada. Therefore, according to TRU policy and in order to facilitate TRU obtaining copyright permission, we require the Contractor to:

Identify each and every third-party item used in the Material created under this Contract.
Supply complete bibliographic information about each item on the Course/Copyright Clearance Form.
Identify the specific location within the course where the third-party item is used.
Supply a list of all third-party items.

TRU’s Open Press mandate is to create and publish Open Educational Resources. I hereby acknowledge that the content I create using Open Press funding will have an open license, unless cultural or privacy reasons prevent this type licensing. TRU Open Press works with Creative Commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses/

CC license that you’d like to be applied to your work:

(The default for OP is CC BY-NC-SA) which allows the end-user to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work in any medium or format as long as credit is given to you as the creator, the work is used only for noncommercial purposes, and all adaptations of your work are shared under the same [CC] terms.

Signature of Project Applicant(Required)

Date(Required)

Click or tap to enter date signed

Signature of Open Press

Date

Click or tap to enter date signed

Payment

In accordance with the Schedule of Deliverables, the Faculty Member will be paid through payroll if TRU approves of the services. If TRU does not approve of the Services, the Faculty Member shall remedy the problem at no additional cost to TRU before TRU shall be obliged to pay.

Call for Proposals

TRU Open Press Priorities

Priority 1: Student Benefit

Priority 2: Significance and Contribution

Priority 3: Equity, Access, Indigenization, and Localization

Priority 4: Innovation

Practicalities and Capacities

Submission Guidelines

PDFs

Word docs

Want to fill out the proposal form online?

Project Proposal Form

Additional Funding

Term of work assignment

SCHEDULE A

Content Development

Description of Project

Expectations

SCHEDULE B

Expectations

Deliverable #1

Deliverable #2

Deliverable #3

Deliverable 4

Deliverable #5

Total

Assignment of Copyright and Waiver of Moral Rights

Payment

Evaluation Matrix

Priority 1: Student Benefit

Priority 2: Significance and Contribution

Priority 3: Equity, Access, Indigenization, and Localization

Priority 4: Innovation

OP ONLY:

Priority 5: Practicalities and Capacities

ISP Initiatives

Information

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