IAMG GUIDELINES FOR MEETING GRANTS
Approved by Council June 29, 1999
A. SUPPORT OF NON-IAMG SPONSORED MEETINGS
The IAMG regularly receives requests for monetary support in the form of grants from organizers of meetings or conferences not sponsored by the IAMG. The following guidelines apply to such requests from outside organizations.
1. According to IAMG Statute 21, Council may “accept invitations to organize conferences on mathematical geology jointly with other professional organizations.” The Council should interpret this to include granting of financial support to other organizations that are sponsoring meetings of interest to the IAMG.
2. The primary goal of funding outside meetings should be support of IAMG’s fundamental mission: ” to promote international cooperation in the application and use of mathematics in geological research and technology.” (Statute 2). The Council should broadly interpret which subjects are included in mathematical geology.
3. An important secondary goal of funding outside meetings is that a benefit to IAMG shall result. For example, participation might have potential to promote the existence of the IAMG and to attract new members.
4. The Council should define “conference” or “meeting” broadly to include typical technical meetings, workshops, symposia, short courses, etc., as well as sessions within larger meetings.
5. The Council should consider such criteria as, for example, the quality of the proposed program, composition of the scientific committee, number of persons in the organizing committee, provisional budget, ability of the organization to make a successful meeting, expected number of attendees, and venue.
6. A grant may be provided to the organizers of a meeting who are not IAMG members. However, the Council should consider the request stringently in view of a possible lack of alignment with the IAMG. Higher priority should be given to meetings organized by IAMG members.
7. The IAMG should give priority to requests from new requestors in order to broaden the IAMG’s presence.
8. In exchange for the grant, the organizers of the meeting should (a) recognize the IAMG’s support in printed and digital materials regarding the meeting (e.g., advertising, program), and (b) promote the IAMG. Depending on facilities at the meeting, such promotion may include distributing brochures, hanging posters, providing a booth for IAMG membership solicitation, and linking the IAMG to a specific item (e.g., printing the program).
9. If appropriate, the IAMG should suggest to the conference organizers that they communicate with the editors of the IAMG journals and Monograph Series about submitting a volume of selected papers. Agreement to publish such a volume would not be a requirement for the grant.
10. The Council should not make grants for meetings that are incompatible or in conflict with current IAMG activities or goals.
11. The Council shall not make grants to commercial organizations (e.g., consultants, publishers) that have the goal of making a profit from the meeting unless the Council identifies unusual considerations that are important to the IAMG.
12. The Council should not designate specific purposes for which the grant shall be made. In general that should be left to the organizers of the meeting, who have better knowledge of needs.
13. The President, Treasurer, and Council should allocate a maximum yearly amount for meeting grants when the IAMG budget is created. The Council need not spend the entire budgeted amount.
14. Even if budgeting projections indicate an excess of expenses over revenues for the year, the IAMG should still make meeting-grant funds available. Amounts to allocate would be reduced from normal levels.
15. The budgeted amount may be distributed to organizations or individuals as the Council sees fit. The total amount for a given year may be distributed between several meetings, or granted to a single meeting. The amount granted to any meeting should not exceed the start-up grants made to organizers of the IAMG Annual Meeting, currently a maximum of $5000 (Conference Guidelines, Article 5.iii).
16. The Council should set the amount to be granted, even if the organization requests a specific amount.
17. As an aid to the Council, the requestor should provide (a) a provisional budget that lists estimated expenses and income, including funding from other sponsors, (b) prior funding from IAMG, and (c) a ranking of all possible sponsors (including universities, governments, etc.) according to relevance to the event.
18. The recipient of a grant should submit a follow-up report to the IAMG that specifies how the funds were spent and prepare a contribution for the IAMG Newsletter summarizing the highlights of the event.
19. These guidelines can be amended only by the Council. Amendments shall require simple majority of votes.
B. SUPPORT OF PARTICIPANTS IN IAMG PROGRAMS
AT NON-IAMG MEETINGS the IAMG occasionally is invited to present special programs at non- IAMG meetings. The following guidelines are written for the specific case of individuals officially appointed by Council to participate in such activities. They are not meant for general funding of people to attend a meeting.
1. The IAMG should solicit opportunities to present sessions within meetings of related organizations. Examples include meetings of the American Statistical Association and the International Statistical Institute. Advantages to the IAMG of such participation include (a) prestige, (b) possibility of interdisciplinary research opportunities (for example, via contacts with statisticians), (c) visibility of the IAMG, and (d) increased recruitment opportunities.
2. The IAMG coordinator of the session may recommend to the Council that IAMG support travel expenses of some or all participants (speakers, discussants, etc.) in the IAMG-sponsored sessions. The ultimate decision remains with the Council.
3. Under normal circumstances, the IAMG shall pay no more than 50% of the round-trip cost to participants. However, the Council may recommend greater amounts if a substantial benefit would result from a specific individual’s participation.
4. Younger participants, those without available funding, or those especially distant from the meeting site should be given priority.
5. The Council may request information regarding demonstration of need or justification of grants from the session coordinator or proposed participants.
6. Such travel funding shall be restricted to persons who have been IAMG members for at least one year.
7. Opportunities to develop sessions in outside meetings are not recurring events, so funding need not be budgeted each year. However, the decision to sponsor a session is normally made in the year previous to the meeting, so the President, Treasurer, and Council should be able to allocate money in the appropriate year’s budget.
8. These guidelines do not apply to the IAMG Annual Meetings (e.g., IAMG2001) or the International Geological Congress.
9. These guidelines do not preclude the Council from sending IAMG members (e.g., the Newsletter Editor) to meetings for special purposes.
10. The recipient(s) of a grant should submit a follow-up report to the IAMG that specifies how the funds were spent and prepare a contribution for the IAMG Newsletter summarizing the highlights of the event.
11. A simple majority at the Council shall be necessary to amend these guidelines.