Talk:FOSS4G 2016 Travel Grants

--Christoph Baudson (talk) 05:25, 9 February 2016 (PST)

just to keep track of the progress.

Sponsors
The travel grant programme is currently sponsored exclusively by OSGeo and private donors. As the demand for travel grant funds is always higher than the supply, we need your help to get as many applicants to Bonn as possible.

We aim to fund at least one applicant by private donations. In order to reach this goal we need at least 1000 Euro.

Please consider donating 25 EUR (or more) to this cause. We count on you!

    

Every FOSS4G 2016 attendee who donates 25€ or more will take part in a raffle - you can win a little exquisite surprise at the conference!

Tax returns for donations
The money is going to FOSSGIS e.V. (the german chapter of OSGeo). As FOSSGIS e.V. is a charitable organization, donors who give 100€ or more will receive a written confirmation of their donation in order to claim a tax return (in this case, please contact the conference office [mailto:info@foss4g2016.org]).

Applicants
Please understand that this programme is for community members who are unable to fund their visit to FOSS4G only. Even if you match the below criteria, do not apply if you can afford to pay for your expenses!

Coverage
Travel grants only cover the cost of a conference pass and accommodation in Bonn during the conference.

Please understand that travel cost like airfare is not covered by the travel grant programme! Applicants are solely responsible to make travel and visa arrangements. For Visa we can assist or write an appropriate letter if needed.

For students who need help with covering their travel cost, we offer the studentship programme, where students volunteer to help out during the conference. Applicants whose travel grant application has been accepted can earn about 500 Euros in order to cover for their travel cost. This compensation for honorary work will be paid in cash after the conference. If interested, please also register for the [studentship programme](http://2016.foss4g.org/attending.html=studentship) and mention it in your application.

Acceptance criteria
In order to guarantee a transparent and fair allocation of funds, the travel grant programme uses a points system for ranking applications. Points are awarded if applicants match specific criteria, see below.

After the application phase is over, all applicants are ranked by points, and the applicants with the most points will receive funding. The point system allows a maximum of 9 points.

Please note that the purpose of the travel grant programme is to enhance diversity at the conference - we might reserve a few programme spots for people with unique and outstanding applications. However, the majority of programme spots will solely be determined by the point ranking.

Applicants receive points for the following criteria

Origin or residence
The allocation of points is based on the [world bank country rating by income](http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups).

Applicants from Low-income economies receive 3 points. Applicants from Lower-middle-income economies receive 2 points. Applicants from Upper-middle-income economies receive 1 point.

Please note: Only applicants who are born or currently live in countries in these three groups are eligible for the travel grant programme!

Gender
In order to create a more diverse community, women applicants receive 1 point.

Students
Students in general receive 1 point.

If a student also participates in the [studentship programme](http://2016.foss4g.org/attending.html=studentship), 1 point is awarded additionally.

Submitted and accepted talks
The Local Organizing Committee values applicants who are willing to contribute to the success of the FOSS4G. Therefore we award points for people who are willing to present at the conference.

A talk submission that is accepted earns 3 points. A talk submission that is denied still earns 1 point.

Apply
Please send an email to mailto:info@foss4g2016.org with a single page application letter in the english language. Keep it simple, but not too brief - we want to get to know you!

Here are some ideas - you might want to tell us about

- yourself and your connection to the geospatial realm - your motivation to visit FOSS4G, how you can contribute, what you do hope to learn - the unique perspective you bring to the conference

In order to calculate the points and rank your application, please add

- your place of birth and current country of residence - your gender - what talks you have submitted - whether you have also registered for the studentship programme - a confirmation from your university if you are a student

Please note that applications of poor quality will not be ranked - the timeline doesn't allow us to come back to you and ask for missing pieces of information. So please take it seriously and check your application is complete before submitting it.

Timeline
Applications can be handed in from May 1st until May 31st.

After ranking the applications, we will let you know within two weeks whether or not your application has succeeded.

Interesting links

 * Linux Australia
 * Linux Foundation
 * Python Software Foundation
 * WISE
 * IEEE Travel Grants

Google/english
Hello Google,

OSGeo, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation, is hosting its annual FOSS4G conference in Bonn, Germany, in August 2016. It is the main meeting place and educational outreach opportunity for OSGeo members, supporters and newcomers - to share and learn from one another in presentations, hands-on workshops and a conference exhibition. We are expecting around 900 participants from all over the world.

We are trying to encourage women who work or study in the geospatial domain to join the conference. We have come across your grants programme, and wanted to ask if it was possible to get funding from Google.

https://www.google.com/edu/scholarships/google-travel-and-conference-grants/

Please let us know if Google can help us.

Thank you for your consideration :)

german
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

im Namen der OSGeo (Open Source Geospatial Foundation), eine Non-Profit Organisation die sich für die Förderung von Freier und Open Source Software in der räumlichen Datenverarbeitung einsetzt, möchte ich die Humboldt-Stiftung um Unterstützung bitten.

Unsere Organisation veranstaltet seit 2006 die jährlich stattfindende FOSS4G Konferenz, die 2016 zum ersten Mal in Deutschland (in Bonn) stattfindet (https://foss4g2016.org/home.html). Diese Konferenz hat die Schwerpunkte Freie Geodaten, Fernerkundung, Katastrophenmanagement und Landinformation, und ist mit etwa 900 Teilnehmern aus der ganzen Welt ein einzigartiger Treffpunkt für Produzenten und Nutzer freier Software für geographische Informationssysteme aus Wirtschaft, öffentlicher Verwaltung und Forschung.

Um ein möglichst diverses und damit interessantes Teilnehmerfeld ermöglichen zu können, suchen wir Sponsoren die dazu beitragen auch benachteiligten Personen Zugang zur Konferenz verschaffen können. Wir würden insbesondere Studenten, Frauen und Menschen aus Schwellenländern den Zugang zur Konferenz erleichtern. Wir suchen Sponsoren, die zum Beispiel Flug-, Hotel- oder Konferenzkosten übernehmen können. Für eine einzelne Person würden im Durchschnitt etwa 1500€ an Kosten anfallen.

Die Humboldt-Stiftung ist uns als Förderer von internationalen wissenschaftlichen Veranstaltungen bekannt. Wir würden uns über ihr Engagement freuen.

Bei Rückfragen stehe ich jederzeit zur Verfügung.

Herzliche Grüße,

Christoph Baudson

Canonical
OSGeo, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation, is hosting its annual FOSS4G conference in Bonn, Germany, in August 2016. It is the main meeting place and educational outreach opportunity for OSGeo members, supporters and newcomers - to share and learn from one another about Open Source software in presentations, hands-on workshops and a conference exhibition. We are expecting around 900 participants from all over the world.

We are setting up a travel grants program in order to encourage people from third world countries and women who work or study in the geospatial domain to join the conference. We want to help participants with airfare, accomodation and conference passes. In past years demand for travel grants has always exceeded supply, so we are currently looking for sponsors who are active in Open Source to help us with the travel grants program. We would need around $1500 per participant.

We are already avid users and promoters of Ubuntu, for example for several years we are handing out OSGeo Live, containing the whole OSGeo software stack, running on an Ubuntu CD and VM!

Please let us know if Canonical can help us.

FOSS4G 2014
Thanks to Kristin Bott for helping out here

Some draft
Hi XXX,

Following up on a conversation you had with XXXX last week at XXXX re: the upcoming FOSS4G conference.

To give you a bit of background -- FOSS4G* is the largest global gathering focused on open source geospatial software; this September the 10th annual conference will be held in Portland with nearly 1,000 attendees hailing from 40 countries.

For you, I believe the key here lies in the tie between postgres and PostGIS.

The rapid expansion of PostGIS in the world of spatial databases is a huge driver in postgres growth. PostGIS is by far the most commonly-used open-source spatial database, meaning that FOSS4G is in many ways a postgres users conference. Given that XXXX just started hosting postgres, sponsoring FOSS4G would be a unique opportunity to connect with relevant users.

I am wondering if XXX would be interested in sponsoring FOSS4G as at least a "Silver" sponsor. Silver sponsorship which would net you a 10' x 20' exhibit space and a quarter-page space in the conference program. We have a number of sponsors  already on-board and are actively seeking additional opportunities. (And of course, if you'd like to go toe-to-toe with XXX, there's always tie Gold option...)

Here is a bit more detail on sponsorship levels and benefits  (note that we have flexibility and can tailor benefits packages), as well as a formal sponsor letter  from our Conference Chair, XXXX. (Alternate format: all of this can be found in our sponsorship brochure, attached.)

Our sponsorships are flexible to some degree; if you have other ideas about how to give XXXX a strong presence at the conference, we'd be happy to discuss. (For example, as a "Silver" sponsor the 'break sponsorship' is listed as an additional $3,000 of support; that number may be able to be shifted.)

Conference planning is sailing along - we have more than 45 workshops planned, and are finalizing our keynote speakers. We just passed the proposal deadline, and are looking forward to review the nearly 300 submissions. I expect our visibility to increase over the coming months -- very exciting stuff.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of this, and I hope all's well on your end.

Another draft
Hello XXX --

I’m writing to you on behalf of the 2014 FOSS4G* organizing committee.

As we build momentum for September, we are looking for more sponsors to join in supporting the conference. We are reaching out to you because we think that XXXX may be interested in joining us as a sponsor. Given that you are leading a workshop, you came to mind as a first point of contact; if you're not the right person to approach, perhaps you can connect me with the right person?

Our plans for FOSS4G are packed with exciting content and dynamic people. We have confirmed three engaging keynote speakers — Mike Bostock of d3.js fame, Sarah Novotny of Nginix, and Al Shaw of ProPublica. The conference also features more than 40 workshops , and three packed days of presentations , with presenters representing 20 different countries.

We’d love for you to be part of our conference and our community.

Why FOSS4G, and why 2014? - FOSS4G is the largest global gathering focused on open source geospatial software, with an expected audience of 850-1,000 attendees from more than 40 countries. - Our attendees include developers, users, decision-makers and observers from a broad spectrum of organizations and fields of operation. - If your goal is to connect with people in the geospatial realm, FOSS4G is a unique opportunity. With its attractive combination of culture and nature, Portland is an appealing conference venue which will attract a strong domestic and international audience. - By sponsoring this year, you will be in excellent company. (Current sponsors )

Sponsorship packages start at $1,500, with benefits increasing at each level. I'm wondering if XXXX might be interested to support us as a Bronze Sponsor ($3,500), which includes a conference pass, a 10'x10' exhibit space, and a quarter-page listing in our conference program. For full details, see our sponsorship page .

We have some flexibility within our sponsorship packages; if our standard options don’t work for you, please, contact us  to discuss alternatives.

'''If sponsorship does not feel like a fit, please consider donating to our travel grant program. This year we are trying something new: increasing access to the conference  by helping to cover registration and lodging costs for some deserving attendees. Applications are in, but the requests total more than ten times our current budget. Any donation made will help strengthen the conference by bringing community members with budget limitations. Let me know if you would like to discuss visibility for larger donations.'''

If you have any questions or thoughts on sponsorship or this year’s conference, please let me know. We look forward to great things in September, and hope you will be able to join us.

cheers -