Submit Your Proposal to the David Simpson Fund for Innovation by September 1
The David Simpson Fund for Innovation was established in 2014 to provide the IRIS Consortium with a source of unrestricted funds that the IRIS Board of Directors can designate to support new initiatives or activities, increase community outreach, or leverage development of new resources for Consortium programs.
The Board is soliciting proposals for the use of Simpson Innovation Funds for one or more of the four potential areas:
- Supporting activities for student and early career scientists in seismology
- Expanding international engagement and capacity building
- Increasing visibility of seismology to the public
- Developing interactions with industry
A formal proposal should be no longer than 2 pages in length. It should include a description of the project and its potential impact, the relevance of the proposed work to the goals of IRIS and the Innovation Fund, a statement of work including deliverables and timeline, and a budget.
Proposals may be submitted by individual Consortium members or groups of members. These are not grants – the funds will remain with IRIS to support the proposed activity. The goal of this solicitation is to develop new initiatives or activities, not to offset shortfalls in funding for on-going programs. We anticipate funding proposals generally in the $20-30K range, although proposals up to $50K will be considered. Budgets may include materials, travel, IRIS staff time, and other necessary costs. Salary for participants not employed by IRIS or an IRIS subawardee/subcontractor will not be supported.
Proposals should be submitted by September 1, 2017 to the Chair of the relevant IRIS Standing Committee (Instrumentation Services, Data Services, Education and Public Outreach, International Development Seismology). The Standing Committees will review these proposals at their Fall meetings and may recommend up to 3 proposals to the Board of Directors for funding. Final funding decisions will be made at the November Board meeting.
Visit the David Simpson Fund for Innovation web page for more information.
For information on potential programmatic budgets and costs, contact on the appropriate IRIS Director/Project Associate (Bob Woodward, Instrumentation Services; Tim Ahern, Data Services; John Taber, Education and Public Outreach; Andy Frassetto, International Development Seismology).
