INNOVATIONMAKER Investment 3 – Solicitation of Interest

On behalf of Van Ton-Quinlivan, Vice Chancellor of the Workforce and Economic Development Division for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, provided below are the web-links for the INNOVATIONMAKER Investment 3:Connecting Community Colleges to the Maker Movement to Build In-Demand STEM/STEAM Skills.

o    Solicitation of Interest for the INNOVATIONMAKER Investment 3

o    Letter of Interest

Synopsis: The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy(DWM) framework recognizes the importance of STEM/STEAM to the creative economies of the state.  In partnership of the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST), the CCCCO Workforce & Economic Development Division commissioned a white paper to inform how community colleges can better connect into the Maker movement to complement the student learning environment in ways that foster the 4Cs – critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communications – in demand by California’s regions. Community colleges can use the establishment of a Makerspace as a means to position themselves as a key stakeholder in their region’s innovation economy.

This solicitation of interest seeks to identify and network together 10+ colleges, including one lead for the community-of-practice, committed to exploring, setting up, and/or building out their connections to the Maker movement.  All Letters of Interests received will be made public in order to facilitate the formation of a community-of-practice.  Applicants will be provided with the CCST white paper.  In addition to investment in a Makerspace, funding will ask grantees to plan for the creation of paid work-based learning (WBL)/internship opportunities tied to student participation in the Maker environment through developing outside business/industry partners.

Up to $10M in funding for this program will come from the SB1070 CTE Pathways Program Grant. The program span is 3-years and will require: 1) $1 match for every $3 provided; and 2) campus championship by a team consisting minimally of STEM/STEAM faculty paired with CTE faculty in order to benefit from inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Action Requested: Please complete the Letter of Interest and submit it to the Chancellor’s Office no later than 5:00 p.m. onFriday, March 18, 2016.  Responses may be sent to innovationmaker@cccco.edu.  This Statement of Interest is the first phasein the RFA process for this grant.  Only community college districts are eligible. All letters received will be posted on the web page associated with this Solicitation.  Colleges may still participate in the RFA without submitting a Letter of Interest, although submission of a Letter of Interest in highly encouraged.


Workforce and Economic Development Division California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office 1102 Q Street  |  6th Floor Sacramento, CA  95811

phone: 916.445.8752  | WEDDMemo@CCCCO.edu