How to propose a funded — or free — AMICAL event

Here’s one of the things I like most of all to see AMICAL supporting: professional development events that are created on members’ own initiative and for the benefit of the entire consortium.

The AMICAL Conference is largely built out of member contributions as well, but it’s gratifying in a different way to see a specific issue, timely and relevant to member institutions, developed with focus and intensity by member-organizers for a targeted group of member-participants.

AMICAL has a grant-funded program specifically to support this: our Consortial Training & Workshop Grants program (“Workshop Grants” for short). With the help of our Coordinating Committee, we just finalized the guidelines for Workshop Grants aimed at those interested in proposing a funded event. The guidelines are pretty detailed, so below is an abbreviated version — plus an alternative suggestion!

Workshop Grants vs. Small Grants

What’s the difference? Workshop Grants provide financial support for the organization and delivery of thematic professional development events targeting participation by multiple member institutions.

Looking to fund a professional development event for folks at a single member institution? Wrong program — see the Small Grant Program instead.

Participants & topics

The primary target audience for Workshop Grants must be from AMICAL member institutions, and events should be open to any interested member. Participants should include some mix of AMICAL’s usual suspects: librarians, faculty, faculty developers, instructional designers, instructional technologists, IT directors and other relevant technology staff.

Topics for funded events should help AMICAL members advance in some way the strategic priority areas targeted by our current Mellon grant:

• Leadership of library and information services
• Information literacy
• Curriculum-integrated digital initiatives (digital scholarship, digital pedagogy, digital collections)
• AMICAL’s collaboration network

Face-to-face or online events…and their budgets

Proposals can be for face-to-face or online events, with the following budget limits.

Normal budget limits:

• Face-to-face events: €13,000
• Online events: €1,000

In exceptional cases, budgets of up to the following limits may be accepted:

• Face-to-face events: €26,000
• Online events: €2,000

If you want to go over the normal limit, get your arguments ready. We’ll want good ones!

Timing & deadlines

Don’t plan your event in July or August.

Don’t plan your event in the middle of a major religious observance.

Don’t even dare schedule your event near the AMICAL Conference. (Come ON, people! We want you all with us at the Conference!)

Basically: check with us before you start committing to dates.

Do get in touch with us as early as possible for feedback on developing your proposal.

And do respect these deadlines:

• Online events: same deadlines as for Small Grants (next deadline: 6 November)
• Face-to-face events between now and July 2017:
  • Submit statement of intent by 9 October 2016
  • Submit proposal by 16 October 2016
• Face-to-face events between August 2017 and July 2018:
  • Submit proposal by 30 June 2017

How to propose a Workshop Grant

Read carefully the full guidelines for Workshop Grants.

Get in touch with us, and with any relevant committee chair, as early as possible as you develop your idea. We’ll help make sure your plans fit with the scope of the program and are coordinated with related initiatives that may be in the works.

And use AMICAL Connect as a tool, to see what issues members are already discussing, and to bounce your own ideas off other AMICAL colleagues.

Previously funded workshops

To give you an idea of the type of workshops we’re aiming for, here are examples of AMICAL-funded workshops that align with the scope of the current grant program:

• Digital Pedagogy Lab Cairo (American University in Cairo - March 2016)
• Evidence-based planning & decision-making in academic libraries (John Cabot University - January 2016)
• Engage students in creative multimedia content production (American University in Kosovo - 2014)
• Collaborative Learning Technologies (American University in Cairo - 2012)

These are only examples and do not represent the full range of topics that can be funded.

Alternative: organize a free online event

Who needs a grant! Member-organized webinars, virtual round table discussions, and other online events may not have any direct costs. Online events enable wide participation across the consortium and are strongly encouraged as a choice for organizing AMICAL events.

The Professional Development Committee helps integrate such events into AMICAL’s year-level event planning, and AMICAL Administration can assist with the marketing, communications, and web meeting technology.

To propose a no-cost online event, ask the AMICAL committee most relevant to your topic for feedback on your idea, then share that with the Professional Development Committee and AMICAL Administration.

Members: whatever event you might be imagining — in person or online — that relates to AMICAL’s mission, your ideas help us see further and keep us grounded at the same time. I look forward to your proposals!