Call for Proposals
ACM SIG Project Fund

The SIG Project Fund (SPF) was created by the SIGs and is administered by the SIG Governing Board Executive Committee in order to further the work of the SIGs by pooling SIG funds to support projects that will benefit multiple SIGs. It will be managed by the SIG Governing Board with decisions about the SPF being made by those SIGs that contribute to the fund according to a formula agreed to by the SGB.

Proposals must meet the following guidelines:

• The project proposal should outline: its goals, its operation plan and timelines, its participants and their qualifications, its funding needs and sources, its plan to evaluate its outcomes, and its reporting plans including a required final report that must be submitted within 90 days of the end of the project's operation.
• The outcomes supporting the goals of the project should be concrete and measurable.
• The project must describe specifically how it will support the efforts of more than one SIG and must be sponsored by one or more SIGs through a transmission letter from the sponsoring SIG Chairs. The sponsoring SIGs must all be contributors to the SPF by meeting their SPF assessment.
• For each project, a sponsoring SIG is responsible for submitting the required reports. A SIG that has not met its project reporting requirements may not sponsor a new project. Thus any required interim reports must have been submitted for ongoing projects; the final report must have been submitted for a completed project.

The number of awards is based on the amount available in the SPF (currently $95,000) and the amounts requested by the selected proposals. The fund cannot support indirect costs or profit for agencies submitting proposals. Proposals can be submitted. Decisions on proposals are made at the SGB meeting held twice each year. The deadline dates for proposals are January 1st and July 1st.

To Submit a Proposal:

1. Prepare no more than a five page description of the project which includes the following information:
   • a. Project
   • b. ACM sponsor (if any)
   • c. Project purpose and outcome
   • d. Project description and technical relevance
   • e. Project schedule
   • f. Individuals involved and brief qualifications
   • g. Methods for results dissemination
   • h. Project budget and total funds requested
   
   
2. Submit your proposal no later than one of the deadline dates. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Submit proposals to the Director of SIG Services by cappo@acm.org. Submitters who do not have access to e-mail may mail their proposals to: ACM SIG Services, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701, New York, NY 10121 USA. All submissions will be acknowledged upon receipt.

How the Evaluation Process Works:

The SGB EC will appoint a small SPF committee to review proposals as they are received to ensure that they comply with the fund guidelines. Proposals that fit the guidelines will be sent to the Chairs of all participating SIGs at least one month before each SGB meeting along with a report on the available SPF fund balance. The SIG Chairs based on the value of the proposed project to the overall SIG community, the quality of the project plan, and the likelihood of successful project completion will evaluate proposals. SIG Chairs are encouraged to discuss the proposals within their SIG, as they see appropriate, and to determine for each proposal whether they will support it, not support it, or have questions about it.

At the SGB meeting, the set of proposals will be presented for discussion and vote. For each proposal, the SIGs that sponsored a proposal will be prepared to respond to questions in a short discussion period on the evening before the actual meeting. The actual time for discussing the proposals in the meeting should be limited so that the process can fit within the SGB meeting time. A project will be approved if it receives 60% of the votes of all participating SIGs. All proposers are notified of the final results shortly thereafter.