Meetings
Guidelines on how to apply for Project Funding
ISOC Chapter E-Meetings
Date: 17 April 2008
Times: 1030 UTC & 2000 UTC
Chair: Connie Kendig, Sponsored Programs & Grants Manager
Draft Agenda
| Introductions | 02:00 |
| New to Project Funding? (an Overview) | 05:00 |
| Basic Criteria and Rules & Requirements | 10:00 |
| How to Apply: Application | 05:00 |
| How to Apply: Project Description Template & Evaluation Criteria | 20:00 |
| How to Apply: Budget Template | 08:00 |
| Evaluation & Selection Timeline | 03:00 |
| Reporting Requirements | 10:00 |
| Questions & Answers | 25:00 |
Attending
Connie Kendig (Chair), ISOC
Hans Peter Dittler, ISOC Germany
Hassene Sidatt, ISOC Mauritania
Cristos Velasco, ISOC Mexico
Anne Lord, ISOC
Sabrina Wilmot, ISOC
Dawit Bekele, ISOC
Gerard Ross, ISOC
ISOC Project Funding: www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects
The following provides key points discussed during the meeting; all questions and additional comments have been included within the corresponding section.
Introductions
Brief introductions from each attendee
Purpose of the e-meeting is to discuss the general information of Project Funding and to answer questions about general principles of the program. ISOC aims to provide this information in order to have quality submissions; due to the number of applications received, it is not possible to seek out additional information from applicants once the submission is received.
ISOC is unable to answer inquiries about specific projects or ideas.
New to Project Funding? (an Overview)
None of the attending Chapter delegates have had experience with Project Funding in the past so an effort was made to discuss the history & goals of the program.
[Program Home page text was provided on the Marratech white board for the participants; text found at www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects/ ]
The program is entering the 7th round; the 1st round was in May 2005 and two rounds have been held each calendar year. To learn more about the past awards.
The upcoming round begins on 1 May 2008 and closes 2 June. The application form will go public on 1 May.
Please note at the bottom of the home page regarding IPR: “IPR - Note Well
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), if any, arising from the Project funded under this Initiative or otherwise by ISOC will reside in a 'commons' area for the unrestricted use, benefit and welfare of Internet users worldwide. If such an arrangement is not feasible then ISOC (including all its past and present members, chapters, officers, trustees, volunteers and employees) will not have less than a free, perpetual and irrevocable license to use, develop, distribute and exploit all such IPR as and how it/they so desire.”
General Criteria and Rules & Requirements
[Rules & Requirements page text was provided on the Marratech white board for the participants; text found at www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects/rules.php ]
All applications must be submitted through the ISOC website.
There was a clarification on Sources of Funding: though other sources of funding may be provided by a for-profit entity, the Project may not be a commercial endeavor subject to taxation.
[General Criteria page text was provided on the Marratech white board for the participants; text found at www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects/criteria.php within the top portion of the page]
In December 2007, the ISOC Board of Trustees approved a small set of longer term, more strategic activities, referred to as the "initiatives". The three initiatives include Enabling Access, InterNetWorks, and Trust & Identity. In addition to demonstrating consistency with ISOC Mission and goals, preference will be given to projects that fall within the three Major Strategic Initiatives and the corresponding program areas within each.
The Criteria page above provides links to these areas for more information.
How to Apply
The application form and related documents are similar to previous years’ but include a few cosmetic changes with the goal of eliciting more quality information from the applicants.
Application
Though the application form does not go public until 1 May, all relevant information included in the submission is outlined in the Project Evaluation Criteria.
[Project Evaluation Criteria page text was provided on the Marratech white board for the participants; text found at /www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects/criteria.php within the bottom portion of the page]
The application form requires basic information about the Primary Contact (e.g. the Project Leader) and has two compulsory templates required for submission (see Project Description Template and Budget Template below).
Please pay attention to all items that are compulsory, signified with an asterisk (*).
New questions include a distinction between the Project Leader’s Community/Country and that of the Community/Country benefiting from the Project, an Anticipated Start Date, and Project Duration (ex. 12, 16, or 24 months).
Project Description Template & Evaluation Criteria
The Project Description Template, beyond the 300-word abstract, is required to inform the Project Funding Committee in detail as to the information outlined in the Project Evaluation Criteria (see link above).
The template has been slightly reformatted to provide sufficient space for responses.
Clarification was provided on the length of application content: Experience has shown that some applications provide too little information in the Project Description, many times for a viable project idea; other times, too much extra information is provided and burdens the evaluation process. Please try to provide project information in as clear and concise (yet informative) a manner as possible for the Project Funding Committee.
Preference will be given to projects and research over events, UNLESS the proposed event leads to a higher-level goal/outcome or clearly contributes to a Major Strategic Initiative (see above). Committee members clarified this distinction with examples: An example of an outcome-focused event would be a meeting of technologists within a specific community with the goal of reaching a consensus for regional technology standards, including a plan for dissemination. An example of a less-qualified event is one in which a speaker presents to a group and no plans for dissemination or follow up are included (e.g. a meeting for meeting’s sake).
The committee clarified that though not required, bulleted points are a helpful way to organize specific information, such as objectives, methodology, outputs, and impact statements.
Budget Template
To assist in completing the budget template, ISOC has included descriptions and explanations of funding categories.
Funding categories include: capital equipment, professional services, research expenses, support services, international travel, labour costs, in-kind donations & support, and ‘other.’
The template must include information on funds requested from ISOC (maximum of $10,000 USD) AND other sources of funding support.
Other sources of support must cover AT LEAST 50% of the total project budget. You will be asked to provide contact information for the other sources.
In response to a question, the Committee clarified that the 50% funding from other sources must already be secured at time of application.
In response to another direct question, other sources of funding support are not limited to non-profits. It may include support from foundations, governments, individuals, corporations, and in-kind sources.
In-kind is defined as support made in the form of goods and services, rather than cash. Examples may include access to technology equipment or other infrastructure that you do not have or access to a place to conduct meetings and trainings.
Evaluation & Selection Timeline
The application round closes on 2 June 2008, at which time the evaluation and selection period begins. The Project Funding Committee aims to make award announcements the first week in July.
It was answered that applicants are not able to share preliminary ideas with the Committee prior to submitting an ‘official’ application. Due to the number of applications received, ISOC is not able to provide feedback on draft submissions.
Reporting Requirements
[Reporting Requirements page text was provided on the Marratech white board for the participants; text found at www.isoc.org/isoc/chapters/projects/reporting.php]
Though the reporting requirements for written and financial information is only applicable to awarded projects, the information may inform the application process as it shows the type of knowledge the Committee feels is important to share with the Internet Community.
This is the first year that Reporting information has been provided to our applicants and grantees in an effort to receive more robust, uniform information about our Project Funding successes.
Questions & Answers
Questions during this portion, and the corresponding responses, have been incorporated in the above information within the appropriate topic area.
Any additional questions please email: projects@isoc.org
