Maine Space Grant Consortium

How does the competition work?

• All applications must be submitted to mestemchallenge@gmail.com on or before the 5 p.m., Monday, October 15, 2018 due date.
• The Selection Committee will review all applications, and, based on the selection criteria submissions and possible fact checking or other follow-up, will invite six finalists to participate.
• To prepare the finalists for their “Fast Pitch” presentations, members of the Maine STEM Collaborative will be available between November 5 and November 13 to provide one-on-one coaching to prepare them for their five-minute elevator pitches and one-page executive summaries.  Coaching could be face-to-face, by phone, online resources, and/or by video calls (Skype, Facetime, etc.).  The mode of coaching and schedule will be mutually determined by the individual finalist and coach. Finalists will complete their pitches live with the use of slides and/or other props (recorded videos are not appropriate). Although projects are encouraged to be student-focused, the pitch is done by the individual teacher finalist.
• Finalists must attend the 2018 Maine STEM Summit on November 16, 2018 at Central Maine Community College.

How do I apply?

Application materials can be downloaded from the competition’s website at https://www.msgc.org/educators/k12/stem-education-innovation-challenge-grant-competition/

The application process follows these steps:

1. Read the application thoroughly and familiarize yourself with the review criteria and questions and the other information requested.
2. Submit the signed cover page, project description, and budget to mestemchallenge@gmail.com on or before the October 15, 2018 due date. Completed applications must be submitted before midnight on the due date. You are allowed and encouraged to submit your application early.
3. We will notifyyou by email as soon as we have received your application, and we will let you know whether or not you’ve been selected into the competition around the first week of October.
4. If you are accepted, you will be required to attend at least one, one-on-one coaching session, and the 2018 Maine STEM Summit.

What kind of training do the finalists receive?

There are three aspects to the training program:

• Presentation Workshop (possibility): Finalists will participate in a workshop to learn about the key elements of an effective presentation.
• Coaching Sessions: Finalists practice their pitch in front of a group of volunteer coaches who will provide immediate feedback on their presentation.
• Mentoring & Presentation Development: Finalists will also be assigned to work with two volunteer coaches who will assist them in distilling the feedback and refining their pitch into a crisp eight-minute presentation.

In order to benefit from the competition, finalists should plan to spend a minimum of 2 hours a week working on their pitch outside the group sessions.

ABOUT THE BUDGET

Do I need to match the amount of the award?

No. Matching funds are not required.  But remember what we said earlier about collaborators.  You need them and if they are truly collaborators they should pony up resources such as materials and supplies to help you out.  The amounts we are providing through both award levels are intend to contribute to your total budget need.  Your project’s budget should not reflect the award amounts but should reflect what you really need to implement your innovative idea.  What you really need is defined as the total project cost.  The award amount and whatever your school, collaborators and partners contribute allow you to cover the total project cost.  So, although matching funds are not required, the Selection Committee will look at your total project cost and your outcomes and objectives in order to determine if the project can be accomplished. Both need to tell the same story. Now, you can certainly propose a budget based only on a $2,000 or a $5,000 award with no contributions from other sources. This is ok as long as the budget and the narrative tell the same story.  Points will not be deducted as long as the Selection Committee is convinced that your collaborators/partners are really helping you out in the absence of providing additional cash and/or in-kind resources.

Why am I asked to provide budgets for $2,000 award and $5,000 award levels?

Only one of the six finalists will receive the $5,000 award, the other finalists will receive $2,000 awards.  If you receive the $2,000 award and your proposal’s outcomes and objectives are based on the $5,000 award level, we will have to ask you to re-scope your proposal for the lower award level since a budget must match a project’s outcomes and objectives.  To avoid any delay in getting you started we thought it would be best to ask you upfront and have you think about this now as opposed to later.