The purpose of this fund is to offer financial resources for supporting innovative ideas and projects that will benefit SMC community in general and members of the communities which are interested in SMC area research topics and attract new members.
Examples of projects that the SMC Outreach Fund can support include:
- Outreach activities for promoting SMC agenda in new geographical areas
- Development of promotional materials for SMC Society or the fields of Systems, Cybernetics, and Human-Machine Systems
- Sponsorship of workshops on innovative SMC related topics that expand the outreach of the Society
- Technical Committees activities
- Funding SMC membership drives
- Organizing summer schools for young researchers and professionals
Usage Rules
The Outreach Fund can be used:
- to support students,
- to support administrative or supporting staff, and for material expenditures (including subcontracts) and
- travel.
The Fund cannot be used for:
- to cover salaries of working professionals in the field, including faculty and researchers in industry
- to support scientific research and
- to support any for-profit activity.
Duration
Funding for the Outreach Fund Initiative will be allocated on a year-to-year basis and the Outreach fund budget for each year will depend on the Society’s finances and member interest in this program.
Application Process
SMC members who are interested in proposing projects are required to submit the following components to the Outreach Fund Committee chair:
- Proposed Activity which addresses how the activity will benefit SMCS members, attracts new members, and members of the communities which are interested in SMC area research topics. In addition, the duration and anticipated benefits should be clearly stated in the proposal.
- Timeline of the proposed activity should be clearly presented in a table with clear tasks and their corresponding timelines. The proposed activity must be completed by December 31st 2018.
- Budget of the proposed activity should be itemized in a table with clear budget lines and the total requested support.
The Outreach Fund proposals should not exceed two pages including all three components listed above. The interested SMCS members are asked to contact the chair of the Outreach Fund directly for further guidance.
Review Process
The Outreach Fund will be managed by a committee, headed by the VP Finance and including the VPs for technical activities – S. Kwong, R. Roberts, and A. Nurenberger.
Timeline for 2018
First Round:
- Proposal Submission: March 1st 2018
- Funding Decisions: April 1st 2018
*There will be a second round later in the year if the budget allows.
*All approved projects must be completed by December 31st 2018
Proposal Submission Contact
Outreach Fund Committee Chair
Ferat Sahin, VP Finance
[email protected]
