Citizen Planner will award up to $1,000 for up to 10 proposals for projects designed to enhance citizen planning in communities. 

Proposals should address land use educational areas that are not being met by current projects or focus on planning stages of larger initiatives.  Projects that involve Master Citizen Planners or Citizen Planner graduates and focus on multi-jurisdictional issues will receive priority funding.  Proposals should address one or more of the following objectives:

• Improve land use decision making
• Increase awareness of existing land use tools
• Provide locally focused, current, and on-going land use education
• Nurture Citizen Planner alumni to promote “good practices” in land use
• Increase satisfaction and length of time served on local boards and commissions
• Improve continuity/institutional memory at the local level regarding land use decisions
• Enhance the understanding and responsibility of local officials in relation to ethics and conflict of interest issues
• Improve working relationships and citizen involvement within and among communities
• Reduce local litigation and liability through improved risk management practices
• Enable decision makers to improve and enhance the quality of life in their communities

Proposal Requirements

Proposals can be submitted from any MSUE county office (multiple county offices can apply under one application).  If the lead person is not a County Extension Director, the CED must send an e-mail indicating approval of the proposal to beyea@msu.edu.  Grant proposals are limited to three pages (including budget), and must include:

• Name of project;
• Name of applicant, including address, phone number, fax number and  email address of office;
• Location of project (township, county, city, village, etc.);
• Other organizations/departments to be involved with project (contact with project affiliates should be made prior to submitting proposal);
• Description of the problem/issue the grant will address
• Method for addressing it, including how it will enhance citizen planning in the community;
• How the grant ties into long term planning initiatives and how it will leverage additional resources;
• Timeframe expected for project (completion by June 30, 2008);
• Project budget( amount, categories, justification and narrative) ; and

Deadline

Proposals are due to Citizen Planner via email by June 30, 2007 .  Please submit in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF file format.  Send proposals to cplanner@msu.edu with Citizen Planning Initiative in the subject line. 

Review Process

A panel of land use scholars and professional practitioners will review the proposals and make recommendations on funding to Citizen Planner.  Recipients will be notified in July, 2007 with funds distributed in August.

Budget Worksheet