You’ve heard of speed dating, right?
Where you meet with a bunch of potential romantic interests in efficient, 10-minute increments?
Based on my own comic experience at Roanoke’s now-defunct Saltori’s in the early 2000s, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this method for actual dating.
But I think the concept might help some of us out with grant ideas.
Hear me out.
Six of your colleagues attended the Innovation Grant Workshops last week (THANK YOU!), and one of them made a comment that sparked this idea.
The gentleman said it seemed the Educational Foundation was looking for broad ideas that impacted more of the college than just one class or department (correct), and he wondered how more folks across campus could share their ideas. He suspected that some of us are probably mulling similar ideas and just needed to be connected.
*Light bulb*
So this is a huge experiment, because I don’t know how many of you are willing to try “speed brainstorming.”
But I’m going to just try.
Anyone intrigued by sharing their innovative ideas (or kernels of an idea) should email me and let me know you’re game.
I will then take those names and check all of our Outlook calendars for a one-hour gap where most of us are available in the next two weeks.
We’ll meet in the grants office during that hour … and we’ll pair up for increments of 10 minutes or so, where you give the elevator pitch to your colleague. This is an excellent opportunity to talk through your ideas … ask some questions, give some feedback, etc.
And then, after those 10 minutes are up, we switch and repeat.
Who knows … maybe you’ll find someone with similar ideas, and you can collaborate for an even stronger proposal.
No matter the outcome, I’m betting this will be fun.
Also, we have candy.
And I’m hoping someone can come up with a better name than “speed brainstorming.”
If you want to give it a try, email sseagle@virginiawestern.edu by Friday, Feb. 16.
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.