With this philosophy in mind, projects must meet specific criteria.  No project shall be undertaken to:

• temporarily increase staff or revenue
• fund jobs otherwise lost due to the normal flow of district revenue
• acquire funds purely for positive public relations
• engage in any non-strategic partnership designed to advance the district's cause without a clear connection to advancing the individual potential of our students.

Proposed projects will be evaluated according to rigorous entrepreneurial standards, i.e. the projects innovation index, before the partner is engaged. 

These measures include:

• The projects uniqueness in the marketplace of education
• The relative strength of its potential to advance educational outcomes
• Its viability for continuation as a stand-alone educational service beyond the project period
• Its scalability beyond the site or sites for which it is conceived 
• The leadership and managerial capacity of the designated staff to achieve the proposed outcomes
• The capacity of the district to incorporate the project in a manner that is strategic, financially viable, and managerially sound.

 Our Commitment to Our Outside Partners

1.  The district's overall strategic framework for the advancement of education shall be made clear prior to the engaging of any partnership or project.  The proposed project will, in turn, clearly state how it advances the strategic framework toward an achievable end.  

2.  Projects may be evaluated by an independent consultant for efficacy, timeliness, and financial management.  This evaluation process shall be designed, and the evaluator made known, prior to the funding of any proposal. 

3.  Final contracts for all projects will be negotiated in good faith, with a realistic assessment of costs, staffing, and timing.

4.  All partners funds shall be managed appropriately in all situations through rigorous financial controls, timely reporting, and responsiveness to the questions of funders will occur in all situations.

5.  All services provided under the project contract shall be performed to the satisfaction of the funder.  If the funder is not satisfied, they may cancel the contract prior to the termination date of the proposed project. 

6.  All projects shall be integrated upon their completion into the strategic education whole of the district.  The process for continuing district initiatives will be conceived prior to the funding of any initiative. 

7.  Communication shall be made by grant leaders in a regular, timely and efficient manner with all key staff involved from the funders organization.  All reports will be completed in a timely, efficient manner as prescribed by the contract. 

8. The district shall strictly adhere to all branding guidelines including the use of partner logos, etc.  As it is the intention of the district to co-brand all programs with external partners, co-branding guidelines shall be determined prior to the launch of the project, and will be enforced throughout the life of the project and in any dissemination of information after the project is completed. 

Our Outside Partner's Commitment To Us

1.  Our partners agree that the interests of the Saint Paul School District and its students are to be protected in all situations.  The funder understands that coordination of services will happen within the district to ensure the safety, security and confidentiality of our students.

2.  The district will serve as a committed partner to the funder in all situations (not ghost partners that are written into a grant to meet a requirement, whose interests and involvement are not really wanted or requested).  The district will have active leadership and connection in all proposals.

3.  No research, study, or proposal will be allowed that does not take the students best interest to heart.  Our students are not test subjects to meet the needs of a researcher.   

4.  In the event that this contract is canceled prior to the termination date by the funder, the district shall be entitled to payment, determined on a pro-rated basis, for work or services satisfactorily performed.

5.  The funder expressly waives to district any claim to copyright pertaining to all new materials, publications, and documents, produced as a result of this contract and agrees that the district shall have exclusive responsibility for their distribution, publication, copyrighting (when applicable), and all other matters relating to dissemination of the materials. 

6.  Our partners agree to co-brand all materials developed in conjunction with the district, and to adhere to all co-branding guidelines developed jointly.  This includes during the project itself and after the project is completed in all printed, digital video, and other media applications of co-branded material.

Our Commitment to Our Entrepreneur Partners

1. We define an educational entrepreneur as any individual, internal or external to the district, with a compelling vision that spawns a unique, workable and marketable idea that advances education in our schools.  This entrepreneur is driven to get this idea done, and bring it to the wider education marketplace. 

2. We will support our entrepreneurs in any way feasible given our department staffing, availability, and time commitments.  We will allocate our time according to the innovation manifest in the grant, its strategic importance to the district, and the demonstrated intention of the entrepreneur to take the wider concerns of the district and its students in mind when preparing their project. 

3.  Every entrepreneur has the right to have their idea assessed in one of two manners: via an online assessment system, or directly by an Office of Innovation and Development staff person.

4.  Entrepreneurs have the right to receive training from Office of Innovation and Development staff regarding the crafting of grant proposals.  Although the OID does not actually write the grants for the entrepreneur, they will make every attempt to connect the entrepreneur with a grant writer if needed.

5.  Entrepreneurs have a right to develop, implement and report on their ideas, secure in the knowledge that their efforts will not be duplicated or replicated, nor will others take credit for their ideas or fail to make attribution for the idea.  All knowledge, once it has been properly credited, becomes the intellectual property of the St. Paul Public Schools.

6.  Entrepreneurs have a right to accurate and fair assessment of outcomes of their grant by an outside evaluator when appropriate.  They have the right to receive appropriate communications regarding this assessment.

7.  As we value the connection process, entrepreneurs have the right to connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs who share their passion for improving the education process in Saint Paul. The Office of Innovation and Development will provide appropriate avenues for this connection to occur.