Customize for your Context
As with other aspects of establishing centers, contextualizing all these funding approaches to life cycle of the center, the center type, and institutional type are key.
Attend to where the center is in its life cycle.
Building Partnerships »Centers appear to start with one or the other of internal funding or external funding. Each of these has benefits and liabilities, but individual funding sources can provide less stability in the long term.
External funding sources are often associated with a grass roots (bottom-up) approach in the creation and maintenance of a center. For example, many centers begin with individuals securing extramural funding to achieve a particular vision or goal. Such centers ought to, from the start, attend to institutional priorities and attempt to broaden the portfolio of funding well before the initial funding runs out.
STEM Center Profile Collection » Meanwhile, internal funding as a seed for centers appears to come in at least two flavors. One, top-down, approach is that lead administration identifies an interest and/or need for creating a center. In such cases, center leadership should ensure that the internal funding is sufficient in scale and duration to match mission & programming. A second approach to internal funding is the repurposing of an existing entity that was established for historic purposes. As such, identifying the history and purpose (and politics) of the repurposing will be essential. Being careful to avoid unfunded mission priorities, especially from legacy programs, is critical in such instances. However, again, building time from the outset to cultivate external funding sources (grants, development office etc.) as well as to engage in external networks (join NSEC, APLU, etc..) will help.
Aim for Stable, Secure Funding »After the startup of a center, attending to where a center is in its life cycle (growing, stable, declining, other) will help with identifying appropriate budget and resources. Centers should think about how program workload varies with time – when to have excess capacity (preparation for growth) and when to overwork existing resources (high productivity but not sustainable). A robust strategic plan and a 1, 3 and 5 year vision for the center can help identify when and where funding is needed.
Align Funding with Institutional Type, Resources, and Student Community
Centers widely vary in their scope goals and approach. Similarly, the institutions in which centers are housed vary. Centers should identify institutional priorities and needs, and align funding plans for the center with the stated institutional mission. A strong practice for centers is the creation of center evaluation along the lines of institutional priorities. Evaluation and Assessment »
Beyond stated values, centers ought identify enacted values (what is it that counts) at local institution. For example at a research university, extramural grants, publications, reputation (e.g national committees, and NSEC membership) count. Whereas at institutions that focus on access or historically under-served populations, graduation rates, outcomes for students, and the diversity of the campus community are metrics of value.