Submit an idea to RSDP

Ideas for projects are brought forward by communities, as well as University of Minnesota faculty and departments. 

These projects foster innovation, deepen understanding and build relationships that empower Greater Minnesota communities to advance their sustainability. 

Project ideas are submitted to one or more of RSDP’s regional boards based on the location of the project, then reviewed based on the following shared criteria. Individual regions might include additional criteria reflecting regional priorities. 

• Project goals address a community-identified need or opportunity related to one or more of RSDP’s focus areas:
  • Sustainable agriculture and food systems
  • Clean energy
  • Natural resources
  •  Resilient communities.
• The project supports environmental, social and economic sustainability for public purpose or benefit.
• The project involves meaningful leadership roles for both community members and University of Minnesota faculty, staff and/or students.
• The project expands community collaborations. 
• Projects from, led by or that include meaningful participation of historically underrepresented communities, are welcomed and encouraged to apply. This includes but is not limited to:
  • Native communities
  • People of color,
  • Immigrants
  • People with low incomes
  • LGBTQ+
  • People with disabilities
  • Women 
  •  Geographically isolated communities
• Project proposals that include funds or contributions from other sources are encouraged.

Ideas can be submitted at any time.

We welcome submissions year-round; however, our formal review process begins early each year, and funding awards are typically finalized by May.

There are two ways to submit your idea:

1. Reach out to the Executive Director in your region
2. Submit an Idea Brief

After submitting your idea, the regional Executive Director will follow up with you. 

We are here to help you with the process and want to make it easy for you to share your ideas. If you have difficulty with the form, or need a paper copy, please let us help you.

• How to share your project ideas with RSDP (2:08)
• Example idea brief

Community projects are reviewed and approved by our five regional boards.

Please note that this is a competitive process. RSDP regional boards make decisions based on available regional project dollars and are not able to support all project ideas submitted. Even in cases where a project is not supported by the RSDP regional board, we hope your idea will benefit from our early conversations and this application process.

Request for full proposal 

As part of the board review, you may be asked to fill out a full proposal form. This will be provided to you, and we are available to help you with that process.

We connect approved projects to University of Minnesota resources. 

In many cases, we connect projects to students and faculty who can work with partners to shape and carry out their project vision.  We work in partnership with communities, bringing together diverse teams who collaborate through the life of a project.

We bring a meaningful University of Minnesota contribution to all of our projects. What that support looks like, and how it fits with other project resources, can vary. In some cases, we may be able to offer partial funding for a project. There may also be cases where we request additional information, such as letters of support from other organizations, to help us make a decision.

• RSDP collaborates with the Institute on the Environment to connect community projects to University research on ten interconnected domains. You are invited to indicate whether your project idea addresses any of these impact goals when you submit an RSDP Idea Brief. RSDP regional directors can help connect interested applicants with applied research opportunities in these areas.
• RSDP partners with the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) to administer the Community Assistantship Program (CAP) by hiring students to support community-based projects during the fall, spring or summer terms. Community partners can apply for students to work on projects through the RSDP Idea Brief process.

The Empowering Small Minnesota Communities (ESMC) program is a new community-centered collaboration with the University of Minnesota to support small communities in becoming well-positioned to benefit from federal, state and local investments.

How? By working together to creatively leverage community assets and ideas and strengthening projects and plans for resilient physical, social, and economic infrastructure.

The goal? Lay the groundwork for competitive proposals that could be eligible for a wide range of funding opportunities.

Go to the ESMC project site for more information, timelines and application details.