Faculty Conference Awards
Subject to the availability of funding, the Research & Innovation Office (RIO) awards a limited number of grants to support planning and hosting conferences at CU Boulder on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Such activities can occur virtually provided that an eligible CU Boulder employee is hosting the event.
Conference grants provide partial support for organizing conferences that promote and encourage the scholarship, research and creative work of the Boulder campus faculty. If the conference is going to be virtual in nature, we ask that you include the CU Boulder logo on all conference materials from this site. These awards are intended to support one-time or initial events, rather than established and/or annual events. Awards can be up to $3,000 from RIO.
Eligibility
All CU Boulder Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty, Senior Instructors, and Career Track Research Faculty (i.e., Research Professors Series, Senior Research Associates* (SRA), and Research Associates* (RA)) who hold an appointment of half-time or greater are eligible to apply. Other full-time staff routinely engaged as principal investigators on scholarly or scientific research, such as librarians or curators, who require financial assistance to organize a conference promoting research or creative work on the Boulder campus, are eligible to apply for a conference grant.
Application Submission Process
The Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation will consider conference applications on an ongoing basis and they must be submitted through this . They will need to include the following:
- The nature/purpose of the conference and the expected outcomes.
- The significance of the conference to the field and its benefits to CU Boulder research and/or creative work community.
- Including if it will be in-person or virtual.
- Please PDF document prior to upload.
- Biosketch of the conference lead (maximum 2 pages, can be longer if uploading a Biosketch used for a federal funder)
- Biosketches of other major conference participants (maximum 2 pages, can be longer if uploading a Biosketch used for a federal funder)
- Please combine all biosketches into one PDF prior to upload.
- Upload a document or spreadsheet reflecting your proposed project budget and match amounts from other units.
- The maximum award amount from RIO is $3,000.
- Major line items must be explained in detail for the following expense types:
- Honoraria and/or travel expenses for participants.
- Space and equipment rental.
- Publicity and/or reception expenses.
- Technical/special and student assistance (including webinar format assistance).
- Organizational expenses.
- Please note: Before submitting an application, applicants should secure other sources of funding from their campus unit (i.e., department, institute, college, center); this matching support should be included in the application budget.
- Please PDF document prior to upload.
Conference grant applicants must include plans to enhance diversity (1 page expected). This plan should show how you intend to enhance the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds during the selection of organizing committees, speakers, session chairs, panel discussants, other invited participants, and attendees, especially including those traditionally underrepresented in the field. A list of items to consider can be found below, please be sure to include those marked with an *.
- Define Diversity for your conference. *
- Identify ways to increase participation from underrepresented groups throughout the entirety of the conference.*
- organizing committees
- speakers
- session chairs
- panel discussants
- other invited participants
- attendees
- etc.
- Develop strategies (with appropriate data) to monitor effectiveness.*
- Consider the geographical area where participants will come from and expected size and composition of the conference.
- Highlight planning teams success at enhancing diversity at previous conferences they have planned and organized.
- Establish conference codes of conduct.
- Eliminate barriers to participation.
- Include harassment climate survey(s).
- Provide resources for individuals who report incidents of harassment, be it sexual or otherwise. *
- Please PDF document prior to upload. *
Basis of Awards
Conference grants are awarded on the basis of (1) the benefits of the conference to the Boulder Campus, faculty, and external research community, and (2) the research or creative record of the participants. Before submitting an application, applicants should secure other sources of funding from their campus unit (i.e., department, institute, college, center); this matching support should be included in the application budget. The Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation encourages proposals for conferences that are interdisciplinary or that promote new activities and new research connections between CU Boulder faculty and outside research and creative communities. Lower priority is given to yearly conferences held by scientific or scholarly organizations, with the exception of annual conferences that are major, international meetings that might occur on the Boulder campus infrequently, such as no more than once per decade.
Time Limit
Grants are awarded for a one-year period. Unspent balances revert to the Research & Innovation Office unless a written request for extension is submitted before the expiration of the grant. An overdraft in a conference amount is the responsibility of the grantee, not RIO.
Final Report
At the end of the grant period, faculty grant recipients are required to report the conference results to the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation. Grantees should complete within 60 days after the date of the conference.
For any questions, email rio@colorado.edu.