Submit a Proposal

Once you have an idea, contact the Chief Sustainability Commissioner! They can help you better understand the proposal process, provide research resources, and connect you to relevant staff or faculty. The Chief Sustainability Commissioner will be your main point of contact throughout the proposal process.

Once the idea is determined and you've discussed it with the Chief Sustainability Commissioner, the next step is to determine project sponsors.

All proposals must have:

• At least one project sponsor who is a current student at Missouri State University
  • Responsibility: Research, write, and submit the proposal.
• At least one designated project manager that will be a current student at the time of implementation
  • Responsibility: Lead implementation of the project once approved 
• At least one faculty/staff sponsor. 
  • Responsibility: Provide resources to students if needed and serve as a contact for project implementation.

Note that faculty/staff sponsors may not research, draft, or submit a sustainability proposal. Student sponsors must complete the proposal from start to finish without undue influence from MSU faculty or staff members. 

Research is one of the most vital steps for writing a proposal. The scope of research required will depend on the proposal topic, but the Sustainability Proposal Template & Sustainability Guidelines will guide research efforts. It may be helpful to download the proposal template and draft corresponding sections as you research them, but be prepared to edit your work as you discover more information.

If you are ever stuck on research or have questions, the Sustainability Commission and relevant staff/faculty are always happy to assist and/or direct you to the right resources. Research is often the most intensive part of writing a proposal, and we want to see you succeed! 

Some specific topics to research are:

• General Descriptions
  • What is your project? Include as many details as possible to help readers understand how the project will function and its effects.
  • Where will the project be located?
  • Will it require modifications to existing structures? If the proposal requires construction on campus or modification to existing structures, you will need to receive quotes from MSU Staff. Contact the Chief Sustainability Commissioner for assistance in this process.
  • What alternative uses are there?
  • What drawbacks or obstacles may arise? How can they be addressed?
  • When will the project be completed?
  • What is the lifespan of the project once completed? How will it be maintained and by who is responsible?
  • Will it require maintenance, costs, or other responsibilities outside of the Sustainability Fund? If so, make sure to receive a written letter of support from the responsible parties.
• Costs
  • What will your project cost? Include individual aspects of the proposal and total amount.
  • Will it have ongoing costs, one-time costs, or both?
  • What alternatives exist in case of insufficient funding
  • If there are ongoing funding needs, will there be carryover?
• Justification
  • How does this proposal benefit the student body?
  • How does this proposal support environmental, social, and/or economic sustainability at MSU?
  • What UN Sustainable Development Goals align with this proposal?
  • What problem(s) does this project address?  How will this project address the problem? Why is it important to address?
  • Have similar projects been implemented elsewhere? What were their results?
  • Why is this project more beneficial than alternatives?

Once research is completed, the information must be inserted into a proposal. If you haven't already, Download the Proposal Template. Go through each section, inserting information sourced from your research. You may also include charts, maps, and other images in the proposal when helpful. Once the draft is written, review the document to ensure that all of the necessary information is present and accurate.

Before submitting, be sure to create a title for the proposal, insert information of all project sponsors, project managers, and faculty sponsors, include any letters of support received, and cite sources at the end of the document. Once all of this is complete, you officially have a preliminary proposal!

1. Sustainability Commission

   1. Contact the Chief Sustainability Commissioner with your name and a copy of the proposal attached as a PDF or Word Document, with all project sponsors and faculty/staff sponsors CC'd in the email.

   2. The Sustainability Commission will review the proposal and follow up with comments and questions.

   3. If any revisions are requested, make the revisions and send an updated proposal to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner.

2. Administration & Finance

   1. In most cases, the Sustainability Commission will forward the proposal on your behalf, but in some cases a project sponsor will be required to attend a meeting for approval.

   2. If any revisions are requested, make the revisions and send an updated proposal to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner.

3. Student Affairs

   1. The Chief Sustainability Commissioner will work with you to set up a meeting with the Vice President for Student Affairs.

   2. Prepare to discuss your proposal and address questions and potential concerns.

   3. If any revisions are requested, make the revisions and send the updated proposal to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner.

Once all three layers of preliminary approval are met and all revisions are made, you may submit the final proposal to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner for voting!

Note that per the Sustainability Guidelines, the deadline for submitting a final proposal is the third Friday of November and third Friday of April, for the fall and spring semesters respectively. Similarly to preliminary proposals, some exceptions may be made if you meet with the Chief Sustainability Commissioner, but it is less likely due to time constraints.

Your proposal will be voted on by up to seven student commissioners and four non-student commissioners. At least three student commissioners and two non-student commissioners must be present for voting to occur. If any sitting members of the Sustainability Commission served as a project sponsor for the proposal, they will be ineligible for voting on the proposal.

Voting will likely occur during the next full Commission meeting, occuring once per semester near the end of the semester.  If you'd like, you may contact the Chief Sustainability Commissioner for details and attend this meeting. However, if the date of submission is too late, the Commission may conduct online voting.

Regardless of the voting method, you will be contacted with results as soon as they are tallied. If approved, all project sponsors and faculty/staff sponsors will be notified, and the project manager(s) will be contacted when the implementation process begins. If it is rejected, the above parties will receive a formal rejection letter from the Commission.

Congratulations! Your proposal has been approved, and it is time to begin making a real difference on the MSU campus by implementing your project! The implementation process can vary based on the needs of the project, but the Chief Sustainability Commissioner will serve as the main point of contact throughout implementation and will reach out to the project manager(s) as soon as possible to begin the process.

Your primary responsibility during implementation is communication and reporting. Funding will not be distributed unless requested, and preferred methods for distributing funding will need to be discussed. It is also required to regularly report progress to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner until the project is completed. When the project is completed, the Chief Sustainability Commissioner should be notified so that accounts can be closed. If any complications arise during implementation, they must be communicated to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner so that they can be resolved.

Lastly, it is important to communicate ahead of time to maintain continuity of the project and ensure its completion. On-going proposals will be automatically renewed unless a funding increase is needed, the nature of the project has changed, or the proposal states otherwise. If any changes need to be made to the project, the Chief Sustainability Commissioner must be notified. If project managers are graduating before completion of the project, a replacement project manager should be identified and introduced to the Chief Sustainability Commissioner to preserve communication and continuity.