Submit a Proposal

Proposal sponsor

Proposals for expenditures from the Sustainability Fund may be submitted only by Missouri State University students of the Springfield campus. The Missouri State University student(s) submitting each project shall be defined as the sponsor(s) of that project. If there are multiple sponsors, one student shall be designated as the project manager (detailed in Section IX, Subsection D), who will be responsible for overseeing project implementation if the proposal is approved by the Sustainability Commission. This must be a student who would still be present to oversee project implementation and completion, or at least one year of implementation if the project is one that involves on-going recurrence.

Proposal guidelines

1. Preliminary research

Students interested in submitting project proposals are encouraged to work with the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Management, Environmental Management, or any other university department they deem relevant to determine the feasibility of their ideas, the compliance of those ideas with the university's master plan, and to help formulate preliminary cost estimates. 

2. Research responsibility 

Project sponsors are responsible for the preparation of their proposals including the compilation of research information. The project sponsor(s) may use any resources to them to aid their efforts. The source of all research information and the amount of information obtained from that source must be documented by the project sponsor(s) in the proposal. Since the Sustainability Fund provides an educational opportunity to students for drafting proposals, the Sustainability Commission may reject a proposal if it is able to establish that the project sponsor(s) were not primarily responsible for the preparation of the proposal and its research (i.e. Faculty and Staff may not submit proposals for their own departments and simply put a willing student’s name in as a sponsor).

3. Proposal requirements

Project Proposals must be written according to the following outline:

1. Identification of Project Sponsors
   1. Name(s) of project sponsor(s)
   2. Campus and permanent addresses and telephone numbers of project sponsor(s)
   3. Faculty/Staff advisor(s)
   4. Project manager
2. Description of Proposed Project
   1. General description, purpose, and goal(s) of proposal, including its relevance to one of the following areas:
      1. Energy and Utilities (electric, gas, water, etc.), i.e. funding to  increase energy efficiency and reduced energy and resource consumption.
      2. Local Generation of Renewable Energy, i.e. funding to increase use of clean energy technologies on campus including but not limited to solar, wind, hydrogen, geothermal, etc
      3. Alternative Fuel, i.e. funding for Hybrid, electric, or solar powered vehicles biodiesel projects, etc.
      4. Environmental, i.e. funding for projects that help establish a sustainable campus environment by financing initiatives including, but not limited to, green building, engagement of the university community, recycling, soil and water conservation, waste reduction, environmentally responsible purchasing.
   2. Proposed location for the object of the proposal as stated in Section VII, Subsection B, Paragraph 7. May include appropriate diagrams, maps, images, etc.
   3. Alternative and/or additional uses.
   4. Drawbacks and/or additional problems that may arise prior to project implementation, during implementation period, or after project completion; including any issues that could diminish the justification of the project.
   5. Necessary modifications to existing infrastructure (if applicable).
   6. Appropriate methods of publicity (pending approval by the Sustainability Commission).
3. Estimated Cost of the Project
   1. Provision of alternatives in order of preference (a)Inclusion of possible companies and bids available (b)Inclusion of contact information for each of the aforementioned companies
   2. Provision of complete breakdown of costs
      1. Indication of costs for each alternative
      2. Indication of minimum and maximum costs
   3. It is suggested that the project sponsors incorporate a ten percent cost overrun cushion into the initial cost estimates of their proposal to account for changes that may occur in the time between submission and implementation, if the proposal is approved.
4. Estimated Completion Time of Project
   1. Estimated Timeline of Project will be used as a measure of accountability for the project.
5. Estimated Life of the Project
6. Justification of Project—explanation of how the proposed project will benefit the students of Missouri State University and/or the university community and demonstration of its positive environmental impact
7. University Support—Signed letter(s) of support from appropriate members of the university, as necessary. The letter(s) should detail any ongoing commitments, maintenance, support, or costs associated with the proposal that will be assumed by the university.

Any additional information or documentation necessary to the proposal must be included as is appropriate.

See Approved Proposals for examples and use the Proposal Template when submitting.

For more information, read the Sustainability Guidelines.