As a granting arm of the university, the Obermann Center co-sponsors many campus initiatives each year; however, it can be difficult to determine which of the many initiatives in need of funding and/or publicity to support with our limited financial and staff resources. In 2020, we created the following worksheet (nicknamed "The Sieve") to gauge how closely a proposed co-sponsored activity aligned with our mission. For many years, we used this tool to ensure that we allocated our co-sponsorship resources wisely. We provide it here, in case other campus units find it useful for their own needs. 

1. Category of proposed event/activity:
  • Fellowship
  • External grant-funded program
  • Convening to explore interest in an idea
  • Skill-building activity
  • Presentation
  • Collaborative events with other units
  • Interdisciplinary collaboration
  • Symposium
  • Short course
  • Workshop
  • Visiting speaker(s)
  • Community-campus exchange of expertise
2. Description of the proposed event/activity:
3. Relationship to our mission — Does the proposed event/activity do one or more of the following?
  • Support research
  • Serve our convening/facilitation role (exploring a new idea, gathering a team)
  • Encourage collaboration in the service of discovery or advancing art/research
  • Share discoveries with various audiences, including public audiences
  • Other/explain further
4. In what stage is this event/activity? Is there room for us to help shape it?
5. Who is the project lead? Who will be accountable for moving the work forward?
6. Who is the audience?
7. Does this build on other programming, begin a new direction, introduce or reinforce a topic or method, or respond to an occasional or one-time opportunity?
8. Effectiveness of past collaboration:
9. Most effective format for this event/activity (online, in person, hybrid):
10. What additional expertise would we need?
11. If relevant: Are others on campus doing something similar or likely to be a partner?
12. Costs (dollars, staff time, other):
13. Desired outcomes:
14. Documentation of the event/activity:
15. Measures of success:
16. Follow up after the event/activity — What did we learn? What do we want to remember? What would we do the same and different next time?