UPDATE: CLX 2019 RFP Deadline Extended to Monday, February 4

PLEASE NOTE: the deadline for the 2019 CLX RFP has been extended to Monday, February 4.

We are living through a time of profound change, in part, powered by the digital revolution. These changes have deep implications for current and future generations of learners, educators, parents, and society. Although we know that technology is not a magic wand, it can be used as a tool to transform learning to shift the relationship between educators and learners, provide opportunities for young people to pursue learning experiences that reflect their personal interests, and help us to reimagine where learning happens and how it’s recognized. For some, these changes are already a reality, but for underserved populations, it’s not the case. If not careful, these technology shifts can create greater divides.

This is a big task; no one organization alone can transform teaching and learning to better serve today’s young people. The Chicago Learning Exchange (CLX) works with a growing community of over 200 youth-serving organizations, cultural institutions, city agencies, corporations, foundations, technology companies, and universities who share a sense of urgency to remake learning in Chicago.

CLX is proud to serve as a hub for digital learning. We cultivate a community network for out-of-school time peer-to-peer professional learning, invest in innovations for youth development programs that utilize technology, champion hands-on learning through a new citywide festival entitled Remake Learning Days Chi, and equip educators and organizations with knowledge about alternative credentials like digital playlists and badges. CLX’s strength is derived from its community, and together we are working to close gaps in opportunity and engagement for Chicago’s most underserved youth, families, and the educators and organizations who serve them. Join our community: www.chicagolx.org/joinus.

Request for Proposals

The Chicago Learning Exchange (CLX) invites proposals from its organizational partners. Through this RFP, CLX seeks to close gaps in engagement by providing organizations incentives to create programs or spaces that connect to young people’s interests. We encourage projects to uplift and support the authentic voices, strengths, and cultural context of the audience they seek to serve. Projects should be designed for youth interests, build supportive relationships with educators/adults, or use technologies to promote production and self-expression instead of consumption. For more details on how to design for this approach to learning, see the Connected Learning report.

We are investing in this work by providing organizations with project-based support through Glimmer-level grants (up to $5,000) and Spark-level grants (up to $15,000). Glimmer-level grants support individual organizational experimentation, and Spark-level grants support further testing through piloting or prototyping solutions with partners. Existing programs are eligible if they clearly demonstrate an innovation to programs or spaces. We define innovation as adaptation of existing practices that are new to the innovator or entirely new approaches. CLX cares about all passions that young people might have; therefore, we will support a variety of topics including but not limited to STE(A)M, civics, fashion, etc.

For more information about the CLX Request for Proposals, please click here.