Request for Proposals

People need money, time, and focused effort to run great events. Despite the importance of fostering dialogue within and across scientific networks, the time and organizational labor required to catalyze and sustain communities of practice is often undervalued and under-resourced. The Event Fund, established in 2020, fills this gap in the current data science landscape. We offer grant funding (up to 20K USD), a cohort-based networking experience, and training opportunities for event organizers to support the building of new relations.

We invite applications to our third round of grant-making. Applications should demonstrate the educational and scientific purposes of the proposed event (or series of events) and specifically how it advances Code for Science & Society’s goal to create inclusive knowledge-sharing spaces and support the development of diverse leaders. Proposals should also demonstrate how their proposed format (virtual, in-person, hybrid) aligns with their proposed event goals. We aim to invest in emerging or established events that demonstrate a commitment to making science inclusive and accessible.

Applications from all parts of the globe are encouraged, as well as proposals for events held in non-English languages. Applicants are encouraged to make use of resources that provide information on and support for best practices in conference planning, guiding questions towards a strong application prepared by the Selection Committee, and to review frequently asked questions about the application process.

“Ask Me Anything” Information Sessions

There will be two informal “ask me anything” information sessions held during the open RFP period in case any questions arise about grant eligibility, scope of activities, or the application questions. There will be no preferential treatment towards an application based on attendance (or non-attendance) of these sessions.

• Tuesday, December 7 at 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM Pacific (timezone conversions here) - REGISTER
• Wednesday January 5 at 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM Pacific (timezone conversions here) - REGISTER

Dates and Deadlines

• Application opens November 29, 2021
• Optional Q&A information session #1 - December 7, 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM Pacific (timezone conversions here) - REGISTER
• Optional Q&A information session #2 - January 5, 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM Pacific (timezone conversions here) - REGISTER
• Submissions due here by January 18, 2022 by 11:59PM Pacific time zone (see here for time zone converter)
• Grant notification will be made by March 30, 2022 and funds will be disbursed once we receive all required paperwork from the event sponsor

Application Instructions

All applications must be submitted here by January 18 (11:59PM Pacific Time). Application questions can also be found here for those who wish to prepare separately in advance of submission. All submissions must be in English (although proposed events can be in non-English languages). Please note that no responsibility is assumed by CS&S for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, incorrect, inaccurate or misdirected applications, or for any error, human, technical or otherwise, that may occur in the processing of applications.

Grant Amounts

We can provide full or partial support for events up to $20,000 USD. Applicants will be asked to provide a full budget and budget narrative (US$). Please note that it is up to the discretion of the review committee to determine the final amount funded. If the funded event cannot be held, the applicant can request to host a similar event or for a no-cost extension to host the intended event. If neither of these options are possible, then funds will need to be returned.

Budgets may include: equipment and supplies (e.g. professional audio-visual support), conference services (e.g., audio-visual, webcast, and technology necessary for recording and broadcasting), accessibility services (e.g., translators, closed-captioning, transcribing), publication costs, salaries of conference and community organizers, technical support staff, and/or administrative assistants, relative to the amount of time that would be spent on the event, fees and honoraria for consultants and/or speakers, participant support (e.g., registration waivers and microgrants for purchasing audio visual equipment, data, or childcare). Indirect costs are capped at 15% of direct costs, and the total request must be at or below 20,000 US$.

Review and Selection

Applications will be evaluated using a rubric by a selection committee composed of active members of the data science community:

• Dr. Laura Ación, MetaDocencia
• Serah Rono, Spotify
• Dr. Malvika Sharan, Open Life Science
• Dr. Lilly Winfree, Open Knowledge Foundation
• Dr. Hao Ye, University of Florida

Selection committee members will be asked to recuse themselves from evaluating proposals with which they may have conflicts of interest. Proposals will be evaluated using a single-blind system in which applicants’ identities are known to reviewers, but reviewers are anonymized. Only projects that meet the aforementioned criteria will be granted full evaluation. Final recommendations for funding will be approved by the fund’s advisory committee and are subject to review by the CS&S legal team.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Events must align with the values of CS&S and the event fund.
• Events must have well-defined goals related to research-driven data science tools, practices, and communities.
• Event organizers need to demonstrate a commitment to and understanding of best practices in research-driven open data science and that they have the ability and support necessary to organize and implement the proposed event.
• Events need to show potential to broaden diverse participation in research-driven open data science; note that we consider broad participation and diversity along multiple axes, including career stage, domain/field of study, sector, demographics, level of experience with research-driven open data science, and geography.
• Event organizers should commit to making materials open access.
• Event organizers should have documented community participation guidelines or provide concrete plans for creating them.

Contact

Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Organizational Overview

Code for Science & Society (CS&S) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides fiscal sponsorship and management support to research-driven open data science projects. Part of the organization’s mission is to maximize the impact of inclusive, sustainable knowledge sharing communities and support the development of diverse leaders. More information about the organization’s mission and programs can be found here.

About the Fund

This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF8449 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF8449); the Wellcome Trust (https://wellcome.org/who-we-are/strategy), and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (https://chanzuckerberg.com/science/). The program is run by CS&S’s conference fund manager, and overseen by an advisory committee. More details on the governance of the fund can be found here.

Definitions

Virtual event: a time-bounded online gathering with an outcome of advancing knowledge, skills, and/or community

Hybrid event: a time-bounded gathering that includes some aspects of both online and in-person participation with an outcome of advancing knowledge, skills, and/or community

In-Person event: a time-bounded in-person gathering with an outcome of advancing knowledge, skills, and/or community

Established conference/event: one that has been held regularly or repeatedly (e.g. yearly, twice a year, or every other year) in the past

Emerging event: held inconsistently in the past or will be held for the first time as a standalone meeting or the first of a planned series

Open data science: practices that promote reproducibility, transparency, and accessibility in collaboration, software/tools, resources, and infrastructure

Inclusive/accessible meetings: all participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and abilities are welcomed, respected, and can fully participate

Diversity: individual differences (e.g. personality, language, learning preferences, and life experiences) and group-social differences (e.g. race, ethnicity, class, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual identity, country of origin, ability status, as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations)

Reporting Requirements

All grantees are required to:

• Attend scheduled check-ins with the conference fund manager;
• Provide training to support staff or volunteers in enforcement of the guidelines for community participation and reporting requirements;
• Complete project and financial reports using provided templates;
• Survey participants about the event impact;
• Work with the conference fund manager to write a post for CS&S’s blog about the event;
• Agree to make their conference and event materials available via open access publishing (e.g. CC BY license);
• Comply with CS&S’s requirements for tracking impact;
• Acknowledge CS&S and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as sponsors on materials associated with the conference or event, including but not limited to website, slide deck templates, and social media. This includes a citation of our DOI (https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF8449).