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Call for Strategic Investment Proposals for Institutional Priorities


The Montana State University Budget Council is pleased to announce the second annual call for strategic investment proposals.  This year, a Web-based process is being implemented as a replacement to last year's spreadsheets and manual paper flow.  The overall timeline for the process is also being shortened.   

Description

This call for strategic investment proposals will allow the university community an opportunity to submit investment ideas that will help MSU achieve its strategic priorities.  The collaborative process will identify and prioritize proposals so that, when funds are available, timely action can be taken by MSU President Waded Cruzado. Up to $1 million in base (recurring) funding and $1 million in one-time only (OTO) funding may be available this year, dependent upon other university priorities being considered by Budget Council.

The call for strategic investment proposals is an annual process, with Budget Council making recommendations to the President each spring.  A proposal not funded in a prior year must be resubmitted if the requestor would like it to be re-considered in the current year. Proposals should support MSU's Strategic Plan (Mountains & Minds: Learners and Leaders).   

Participants

All members of the university community are encouraged to submit proposals.  Proposals must be submitted through department heads, deans/directors, and/or executives/VPs for review and prioritization.  All proposals, regardless of pre-Budget Council prioritization, will be considered by Budget Council.   Proposals will be reviewed in the Web-based system by one of the following members of the President's Executive Council (PEC) or MSU campus CEO's prior to Budget Council consideration:

  • Kiah Abbey, President, ASMSU
  • Thomas Calcagni, Executive Director, University Communications
  • Chris Fastnow, Director, Planning & Analysis (Interim)
  • Peter Fields, Director, Athletics
  • Jeffrey Jacobsen, Director, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station
  • Dewitt Latimer, Chief Information Officer
  • Terry Leist, Vice President, Administration & Finance
  • Jill Martz, Director, Extension Services (Interim)
  • Thomas McCoy, Vice President, Research, Creativity, and Tech Transfer
  • Martha Potvin, Provost/Vice President, Academic Affairs
  • Jim Rimpau, Vice President, Student Success
  • Campus CEO's from MSU Billings, MSU Northern, and Great Falls College MSU (Chancellor Rolf Groseth, Chancellor Jim Limbaugh, and Dean Susan Wolff, respectively)

Budget Council will review all proposals and make recommendations to the President.  Budget Council will request presentations to be made by some proposal requestors in an open meeting to be held early in the spring semester.  As stated above, this process will provide a list of strategic investment opportunities readily available to the President so that, if funds are available, action can be taken quickly on investment ideas that have already been vetted openly on campus.

Exclusions

Not to be included in this process are requests for tenure-track faculty lines, requests for space, and requests for student waivers.  Tenure-track faculty lines are an academic decision and are approved and managed through the Provost's office.  MSU's Space Management Committee is charged with making recommendations to the President regarding space needs, and MSU's Tuition Waiver Committee has management oversight over tuition waivers campus-wide.

Minimum Threshold

Due to the strategic nature of these proposals, Budget Council has determined a minimum threshold of $25,000 for each proposal. 

FY13 Timeline 

  • October 15:  Campus-wide call for proposals
  • October 25:  Training/Q&A session to be held in Animal Bioscience 134 from 3-4:30 p.m.
  • November 30: All proposals must be entered and submitted via the Web-based application
  • December 21 or prior: Proposal review and prioritization to be completed by Department Heads, Deans/Directors, Execs/VPs
  • January: Proposals will be reviewed by Budget Council and meetings will be scheduled for public presentations by proposal authors with Q&A sessions and public comment.  Specific dates to be provided later this semester.
  • February 15 or prior: Budget Council will finalize and submit recommendations to the President

Proposal Form and Instructions

The proposal submittal process will be completed electronically via a Web-based system.  Please find the web link and instructions on the MSU Budget Office website (http://www.montana.edu/wwwbdgt).

***Deadline for submittal is November 30***

If there are any questions about this process, please contact Kathy Attebury, Budget Director, at 994-4391 or attebury@montana.edu.