DE&I Incentive Fund created by Ambassadors' Network | Service Portal

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The UT Incentive Fund is brought to you by the Ambassadors’ Network and financed by the OPUT and UT’s DE&I Team

Its aim is to fund initiatives that encourage innovative, bottom-up initiatives valuing and respecting diversity, allowing for equitable solutions and promoting inclusion at UT.

Do you have an innovative idea for how to strengthen and secure diversity, equity and inclusion amongst the employees or students in our organisation? Then the UT Incentive fund is now open for your proposal. Please share your proposal by 17 June 2022 and have a chance to win a grant from this fund to realise your proposal.

Who can apply?

The UT Incentive Fund is open to all employees and students who strive for a diversity-valuing and inclusive university for each and every one of us. Working together to create a stronger community and more equitable and inclusive UT. Proposals can be submitted as a group or as an individual and should showcase how we as employees or students can actively work towards our inclusion goals. If you are the main submitter of your proposal and have a temporary contract at UT, you should have a guarantee for at least one more year (twelve months) of employment at UT. If you are a group of students, you either need to be a recognised as an association by the Student Union or the main submitter needs to be available for the duration of the project.

What can be covered and what not?

The UT Incentive Fund can support any initiative that could help strengthen UT as a diverse and inclusive community for students and staff. The available budget is € 55.000,- and the maximum for an individual application is € 10.000,- per employee application and € 5.000,- per student application. Your proposal will be assessed by the Ambassadors' Network and money will be granted to proposals that can best translate ideas into activities, studies or projects that could produce a sustainable impact and help UT be a more inclusive organisation. Your application can possibly be awarded partially.

Please note that the Incentive Fund does not provide grants for pure scientific research, however doing a study to fill a knowledge gap in diversity and inclusion could be a possibility. Requests for equipment or data collection will not be considered.

What components are required?

Proposals should contain two parts.

Motivation and plan (max. two pages)
A description of your motivation and ambition to value diversity and improve equity and inclusion. It has to be clear what the identified opportunity or problem consists of and how it will be addressed. Explain why you are the appropriate person / group to execute this proposal. You need to add a description of the proposed activities, along with convincing argumentation for how those activities will impact the UT community and contribute to valuing diversity and increasing inclusion.
A clear timetable must be part of proposal, in which two reporting moments are added – one halfway through the project and the other at the end.
Activity overview and budget (max. one page)
A detailed overview of activities and necessary budget.
Planned activities
Costs applied for
Costs borne by others^**
Expected results

Total budget:
** Indicate here how other costs are being financed and whether this finance is guaranteed (please refer to the financial department of your faculty or service department in case of substantive questions related to your budget overview).

Points of attention

Your application will be assessed by the members of the UT Ambassadors’ Network. From your plan they should be able to understand in particular how the proposed activities will champion diversity, equity and inclusion at UT.
The maximum amount that can be awarded is € 10.000,- per employee application and € 5.000,- per student application.

Criteria for assesment

The expected impact on the UT community.
The direct link to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The clarity of the planned actions and budget overview.
Proposed activity can be completed within twelve months.

Consider diversity within the team applying for the grant as well. That is an extra plus.

Application procedure

Closing date for proposals: 17 June 2022.
Decisions on the application will be taken at the Ambassadors’ Network meeting of mid June 2022 and will be communicated back to the applicants by the end of July 2022.
Your application should be submitted to the DE&I Team diversity-ga@utwente.nl
The outcomes of funded projects must be reported back to the Ambassadors’ Network within three months of the project ending and can be used for communication purposes.

Any questions about this call?

Please contact Michael Neys (DE&I HR Policy Advisor and secretary Ambassadors' Network) or Sterre Mkatini (DE&I Officer) if more information is needed.

This is UT's Ambassadors' Network

The Ambassadors' Network advises the Executive Board on diversity policies. This includes gender policy, but also diversity in other aspects. The name dates back to more than ten years ago, when various national Ambassadors' Networks were created. In recent years, the focus has broadened and has shifted towards equal opportunities for all to grow and flourish. The network consists of employees who critically assess and monitor the implementation of DE&I-related (policy) measures within faculties and services.

The Ambassadors' Network actively contributes to discussions about how to support diversity in hiring and career development. In particular, the Network discusses diversity targets for the different faculties and departments of the university, and the members advise on how to create awareness of implicit biases that influence hiring and career decisions. The Network also advises on how to create an inclusive working environment, where all members of the UT community feel appreciated and comfortable.