Call for Proposals (CFP)

It is helpful to consider the Call for Proposals (CFP) as an umbrella for both marketing your program and soliciting applications. Not only is it the first opportunity to communicate your publishing program to campus, but it should also clearly detail the program's expectations for participating authors. To help candidates envision the amount of labor and time their project will ultimately require, you will want to be clear about the author's roles and responsibilities in your application.

Proposal Development

Understanding the scope, complexity and viability of a proposed project will help avoid surprises and frustration later, determine how much assistance grantees will actually require, and if your program's staff and institution will be able to provide the necessary support. (You may want to use the Open Education Network Capacity Scan Links to an external site.to begin your reflections.)

What are other opportunities and resources that can help pave the way for successful project completion? Take time to think about campus resources, such as your Information Technologies and Instructional Design departments—what support can they provide? To what capacity? And how much will your grantees require?

You may also want to consider: 

CFP Not Required

For the purposes of managing expectations, preparing grantees, and ensuring necessary resources are available, most programs begin with a CFP. However, some programs, typically those in the early stages, may skip the CFP and instead select projects based on known needs and relationships. For example, a faculty member may show up at your door, asking for support in developing an open textbook. This can be a great opportunity to figure things out together, especially in emerging programs. Other publishing programs may choose to target high-enrollment courses or subject gaps. Regardless, using an Author Consultation Form Links to an external site.(Montana State University Library Publishing Program) or other intake tool will be useful.

Example Proposals

Ready to develop a call for proposals? Here are a few institutional examples:

Outreach & Engagement

Sharing the good news of your CFP shouldn't be left to just one department. OER advocacy and programming depend on community to thrive, so be sure to invite your community to spread the news and generate interest. Partner with potential stakeholders such as the Office of Faculty Development, the Provost's Office, First-Year programs and Student Government Associations. Who else in your campus community could be an OER ally? 

Once you have a published call for proposals, here are some places where you can promote it:

  • Directly email deans and department chairs
  • Center for Teaching and Learning newsletter
  • Library website and public spaces
  • Subject librarians
  • Campus-wide announcements

Of course, social media is an essential campus marketing tool and should not be overlooked. Consider partnerships with high-profile campus communities that enjoy a popular social media presence. 

For a deeper dive on strategies, see the Library Publishing Curriculum Impact Module: Outreach, Engagement, and Collaboration (Unit 5), Instructor's Guide Links to an external site..

Proposal Selection Guidelines

How you select which proposals to support will largely depend on how you set up your call for proposals. For example, if you are targeting high-enrollment courses or a subject gap, preference should be given to proposals that best meet those defined needs. 

Proposal selection is best carried out by a team of institutional stakeholders. Consider how the selection committee will be structured. How many will participate? Perhaps an odd number to simplify a voting process? How often will members rotate and how will new members be selected? This may be an especially integral question for consortial grant programs whose members wish to ensure fair representation. 

We suggest creating a rubric based on your application criteria, to help your team evaluate proposals.

Rubrics