President’s Administrative Innovation Fund Case Study

Snapshot

The Harvard President’s Administrative Innovation Fund (PAIF) website provides a platform for fostering innovation and advancing projects within the Harvard community through a comprehensive funding framework. This framework encompasses three tiers of funding: Seed funding for new projects, Sustaining funding for ongoing operations, and Scaling funding for expanding successful initiatives. Grants are available to support a variety of endeavors, including idea exploration, prototyping, concept refinement, expert engagement, hackathons, and other creative initiatives.

• Org: CADM
• Division: EVP
• Highlighted features: Complex layouts for home and landing pages using design system components (e.g., hero, various types of cards, tabs, accordions), taxonomy organizing past projects, and integrated/embedded Mailchimp newsletter mailing list.

The problem/goal

• To publicize the funding application during the PAIF application cycle. 
• Post previous year’s funded projects for potential applicants to browse.
• To address website issues stemming from custom design and branding, which hinders seamless platform updates.

The solution

• A modern look and feel is baked in functionality native to the platform, meaning easier to update the content without breaking the look and feel of the site.
• The platform seamlessly integrates a modern design with user-centric functionality, ensuring that updating content is effortless and maintains the site's modern appearance.

Conclusion

The migration of the Harvard President’s Administrative Innovation Fund (PAIF) website to a new web publishing platform has successfully addressed key challenges while enhancing user experience and functionality. The website now serves as a robust platform for facilitating innovation within the Harvard community through its comprehensive funding framework. With streamlined processes for publicizing funding applications, showcasing past projects, and addressing website issues related to custom design and branding, the new platform ensures seamless updates and a modern, user-friendly interface. Through these improvements, the PAIF website continues to play a vital role in supporting innovative projects and fostering collaboration across the Harvard ecosystem.