FOSS4G Travel Grant Programme 2017

Status

• Draft edited by Steven on 2017-06-21
• Final version, last edited by Till on 2017-06-22
• Crowdfunding section added by Eli on 2017-07-20

About

The FOSS4G Travel Grant Program for 2017 is administered by the Conference Committee.

This page sets out the process for applying for an OSGeo Travel Grant to attend FOSS4G 2017 and the process and criteria by which applicants will be selected.

• The OSGeo foundation has made an amount of US $10,000 available to fund a travel grant program

Details of the Travel Grant

• The TG covers a Full Conference Pass and an allowance for accommodation and meals/expenses
• It is anticipated that a TG will not normally exceed $1,000 (the Conference Committee can vary this guideline at their discretion in exceptional circumstances)
• Workshop attendance is not included in the Conference Pass, reduced rate fees for attendance at workshops will be available to grantees
• Applicants must be able to fund the direct costs of travel to FOSS4G and any booking deposits for accommodation
• Applicants must be in possession of a valid entry visa (if required).
• Successful applicants will receive a conference pass and become eligible for reimbursement of expenses up to the limit of the Travel Grant when they check-in at the conference registration desk. The reimbursement will arrive via mail weeks or months later after coordination with the OSGeo Treasurer.

Application & Deadline

Applications should be submitted on the [TGP Application Form] by 2017-07-07 CET

Crowdfunding

There have been many great applications and we have limited funds. With a little more funds we are able to stretch our funds to include more recipients. We are looking to raise $1,500. Please donate to the Travel Grant Programme so that FOSS4G will have more great attendees.

• Donate to the OSGeo Travel Grant Programme.

Selection Criteria

We expect, that the money for the TGP will be less than the number of people wanting to get sponsorship for FOSS4G attendance

• The Selection process is partly based on World Bank's Country Ranking that group countries into these groups:
  • LOW-INCOME ECONOMIES ($1,025 OR LESS)
  • LOWER-MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES ($1,026 TO $4,035)
  • UPPER-MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES ($4,036 TO $12,475)
  • HIGH-INCOME ECONOMIES ($12,476 OR MORE)
• Priority is given to applicants from the first three groups above

• Additional selection criteria may include
  • Gender
  • Minority status
  • Student
  • Accepted talk

• Every applicant will be 'blind evaluated' in a secret table, after a calculation between money/costs per applicant travel grants are assigned to the top ranked applicants
• Applicants will be notified of the result of their application by 2017-07-14 at the latest
• The decision of the Conference Committee selection group is final and not subject to any appeal

Procedure 2017

• The TGP received:
  • 10k US$ from OSGeo
  • A donation of $1k from an anonymous donor known to the BLOC
  • Over $1.5k in smallish donations from individuals via a crowdfunding exercise
• Attendees could apply for TGP using the Google Form above and claimed for their needed sum
• 5 people (Till, Steven, Eli from CC & David and Christopher from BLOC) discussed and agreed the whole procedure
• The TGP received over 80 applications and in the end awarded 10 grants
• TGP paid for conference pass, overnight & local costs, not for travel, BLOC offered reduced fees for workshop participation

The selection process

• Applications were collected on a google form
• Each of the TGP group read and ranked the submissions using their own personal marking criteria
• Each of the markers top 15 ranked candidates received marks from 15 down to 1
• The rankings were summed to create an ordered list
• Awards were made to the highest collectively ranked individuals until the cumulative total of grants offered reached the sum available
• The next 2 candidates were put on standby (as it happened both of the standby's were subsequently given grants because 2 other candidates dropped out)