The Innovative Idea Awards Program was developed to encourage and reward all those great ideas floating around in the heads of the Administration and Finance Division’s staff members. We want to put your ideas for a better university into action!
The IIAP encourages A&F staff to submit suggestions that will result in either tangible or intangible benefits to the university by improving a situation, condition, method or procedure in the A&F Division. Suggestions outside of the A&F Division’s scope to implement are ineligible and will be forwarded as informational items to the more appropriate campus representative. All employees who correctly submit eligible ideas win a prize, up to $1000!
Don’t wait another minute! There’s no limit to the number of suggestions you can submit, so start getting your ideas on paper now!
- Eligibility and Submission Requirements
- Submission Form
- Submission Checklist
- Awards
- Evaluation Process
- Policy
- FAQs
- Contact Information
ELIGIBILITY AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The IIAP is a pilot for the A&F Division. As such, participation is limited to A&F staff members (increasing your chances to win!). If the pilot is successful, it may be expanded to include the entire university.
A suggestion is eligible for consideration if it:
- Is an original idea or invention
- Increases revenue or costs savings, improves services, enhances the image or provides other significant benefits for your department, other TU departments or the entire university
- Provides sufficient detail to identify specific improvements
- Describes a method to achieve the desired benefit
- Is within the authority of the A&F Division to implement – Suggestions outside of the A&F Division’s scope will be forwarded as informational items to the more appropriate campus representative and are not eligible for reward.
Suggestions that deal with issues which are also being pursued as personal grievance or that deal with the compensation and classification of positions do not qualify. Suggestions that are part of the employee’s responsibility to implement do not qualify.
Complete this checklist to ensure you have a good chance to be rewarded for your idea(s)!
- Did you complete the Submission Form in its entirety?
- Did you correctly identify yourself on the Submission Form? Anonymous submissions will be considered but cannot be rewarded.
- Is your suggestion an original idea or invention?
- Will your submission increase revenue or costs savings, improve services, enhance the image, or provide other significant benefits for your department, other TU departments or the entire university?
- Did you provide as much detail as possible to identify specific improvements?
- Did you describe a method to achieve your desired results?
- Is your idea within the authority of the A&F Division to implement?
Your participation equals at least a free lunch! Beyond that you could win up to $1000! The IIAP committee applauds all staff members that take the time and effort to thoughtfully submit an idea for the betterment of the university, so it has established four levels of reward depending on the idea and its impact.
Level 1 – Free Lunch!
If you correctly submit an eligible idea and identify yourself as an A&F employee, you will receive $8 on your OneCard to be used at any campus dining location. If you do not have a OneCard account, one will be created for this purpose. While anonymous submissions will be considered, identifying information must be included to be recognized or rewarded. There is no limit to the number of Level 1 awards.
Level 2 – $25!
If your suggestion is analyzed and determined reasonable for implementation, you will be rewarded with a one-time pay adjustment of $25 with the responsibility for any applicable taxes. You may also be publicly recognized. There is no limit to the number of Level 2 awards.
Level 3 – $250!
If your suggestion is advanced to level 3 due to its savings or revenue generation, improvement of services, enhancement of image, or other significant benefits, you will be rewarded with a one-time pay adjustment of $250 with the responsibility for any applicable taxes. You may also be publicly recognized. There is no limit to the number of Level 3 awards.
Level 4 – $1000!
Up to two $1000 grand prizes will be awarded annually. If your idea is judged to have the greatest effect and/or most positive impact on TU, you will be rewarded with a one-time pay adjustment of $1000 with the responsibility for any taxes. You will also be spotlighted at the annual Administration and Finance meeting.
- Members of the IIAP committee will collect submitted suggestions on a weekly basis.
- All submissions will be passed to a screening subcommittee, which will assign submissions a tracking number and enter them into the IIAP database. The screening subcommittee will verify that both the suggestion and the employee meet eligibility requirements.
- If the submission meets eligibility requirements, the idea author will receive $8 on his or her OneCard for a free lunch at any dining venue on campus. The screening subcommittee will review the suggestion with the manager/director with authority in the suggested area.
- If the screening subcommittee determines that the idea is reasonable, it will be passed to the implementation subcommittee. The idea author will be rewarded with a one-time pay adjustment of $25.
- The implementation subcommittee will assign each suggestion to an “idea advocate” within the committee. The idea advocate will be the IIAP committee’s contact person for the idea author, the individual departments and anyone else who needs information regarding specific suggestions.
- Based on a review by the implementation subcommittee, the director/manger most closely related to the area(s) that might be affected by the suggestion, known as the department liaison, will be asked to perform a formal analysis regarding the feasibility of implementing the suggestion. The idea advocate and the department liaison will establish a timeline for the analysis.
- The implementation subcommittee will report the findings of the analysis at the IIAP committee meeting. If it is determined that the idea is feasible, the idea advocate will work with the department liaison to create a timeline and action plan for implementing the suggestion. The evaluation subcommittee and the group responsible for the implementation will determine defined goals to evaluate the accomplishments of the suggestion and its implementation. The idea author will be notified of the goals and the evaluation process.
- The formal evaluation process will occur approximately one year from the implementation of the suggestion. The evaluation will be used to determine the prizewinners of one-time $250 pay adjustments (no limit) and up to two grand prizewinners of one-time $1000 pay adjustments. The Level 3 and Level 4 winners will be recognized at the annual A&F meeting.
The IIAP is a pilot program, and the Administration and Finance Division of Towson University retains exclusive rights to modify, amend or terminate the program at any time without notice.
No amendment or termination shall adversely affect any eligible employee with the respect to the effective date of such amendment or termination.
All suggestions that receive awards become the exclusive property of Towson University. The idea author relinquishes any and all rights to the benefits realized, including savings or revenue generation, from the implementation of the suggestion.
- What is the Innovative Idea Awards Program?
- Which suggestions qualify?
- Which suggestions do not qualify?
- Who is eligible to participate?
- Are there rewards, and how are they awarded?
- How do I submit my idea?
- How will ideas be evaluated?
- How long will my suggestion be eligible to win?
- What if my idea is not selected for implementation?
- What if someone else submits the same idea as me?
- Who will evaluate ideas?
- If my idea saves the university money or generates revenue, will I be compensated?
The Innovative Idea Awards Program encourages and rewards Administration and Finance Division staff for suggestions that will result in either tangible or intangible benefits to the university by improving a situation, condition, method or procedure in the A&F Division. The IIAP is a pilot for the A&F Division and rewards eligible ideas based on the idea and its impact.
A suggestion is eligible for consideration if it:
- is an original idea or invention
- Increases revenue or costs savings, improves services, enhances the image, or provides other significant benefits for your department, other TU departments, or the entire university
- Provides sufficient detail to identify specific improvements
- Describes a method to achieve the desired benefit
- Is within the authority of the A&F Division to implement – Suggestions outside of the A&F Division’s scope will be forwarded as informational items to the more appropriate campus representative and are not eligible for reward.
- Which suggestions do not qualify?
- Suggestions that deal with issues which are also being pursued as personal grievance or that deal with the compensation and classification of positions
- Suggestions that are part of the employee’s responsibility to implement
- Who is eligible to participate?
The IIAP is a pilot for the A&F Division. As such, participation is limited to A&F staff members.
Employees on unpaid leave of absence, student employees, Contingent Level I employees, contractors, the senior vice president and chief fiscal officer, and associate and assistant vice presidents are ineligible.
If the pilot is successful, it may be expanded to include the entire university.
Please see the Awards section.
Click on the Submission Form link and either complete and submit the form online or print out and complete a paper copy and send it through campus mail to your respective vice president.
Forms should be completed in their entirety (contact information is optional but must be included to be eligible for prizes) and include as much detail as possible.
Please see the Evaluation Process section.
An idea author remains eligible for an award 12 months following the receipt of the suggestion by the IIAP committee.
Once a suggestion file has been closed after the 12-month eligibility period, it may be submitted as a new suggestion by you or any other A&F employee subject to all eligibility requirements and the evaluation process.
If your suggestion is not implemented and you wish to retain the rights to the idea after the initial 12-month eligibility period, you must resubmit the suggestion prior to any other employee submitting the idea. Or, the suggestion may be resubmitted before the initial 12-month eligibility period expires if a request is made in writing to the IIAP committee.
Similar suggestions submitted within the same suggestion collection period will be considered one submission by a group of individuals. The group of idea authors will share any future recognition and rewards. The same is true for suggestions formally submitted by a group of employees.
The IIAP Review Committee will evaluate submissions. The committee is composed of an associate or assistant vice president (or designee), who will serve as committee chairperson, and a representative from each AVP area within the A&F Division.
The committee will grant the Level 1 awards. The committee will make recommendations to the senior vice president and chief fiscal officer for the Level 2 through Level 4 awards. The senior vice president and chief fiscal officer shall make the final decision on those awards.
All suggestions that receive awards become the exclusive property of Towson University. The idea author relinquishes any and all rights to the benefits realized, including savings or revenue generation, from the implementation of the suggestion.
If you have questions about the IIAP, please contact Joe Oster, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services, at x4-2364 or joster@towson.edu.
