Interdisciplinary Funding
The next deadline is Feb. 5th, 2010, so start planning now! Events should take place at least two weeks after Feb. 10, but contact sasgov-finance@sas.upenn.edu for more details.
What is interdisciplinary event funding?
With the aim of encouraging interaction between graduate students from different departments, SASgov has dedicated funding for interdisciplinary events. Interdisciplinary event funding is awarded on a competitive basis for academic or social events organized by and designed for graduate students from more than one department within SAS (School of Arts and Sciences) and/or LPS (College of Liberal and Professional Studies).
What can we use it for?
Interdisciplinary event funding can be used for expenses related to an academic or social event organized co-operatively by grad students from at least two different departments within SAS and/or LPS.
Who can apply for interdisciplinary event funding?
Any inter-departmental team of two or more grad students is eligible to apply for interdisciplinary event funding.
How do I apply, and what happens next?
Instructions for submitting an application can be found below. If you are applying for over $500, you will be asked to present your application in person between 5:30 and 6:30pm on the Tuesday following the application deadline. Decisions will be announced on the Wednesday following the application deadline.
If you are awarded funding, there are three options for putting your budget into action, and the SASgov Vice President of Finance will contact you to determine which of these options is most suitable in your particular case. The preferred option is for SAS Finance to make your purchases directly: you tell the SASgov VP Finance what to order (food, beer, a tab at one of Penn’s approved-vendor restaurants, for example), and the payments are taken care of for you. The other option, often appropriate if you have multiple funding sources for your event, is to have the money transferred to a centralized account; you then work with the account administrator to spend the money as planned in your application.
For more information on the processes for spending SASgov money, visit http://www.sasgov.org/funding/spending-your-sasgov-money/
Application Instructions
| Eligibility | The event must be co-organized by grad students from at least two different departments within SAS and/or LPS. |
| Size of Award | Applicants may request $300-$1000 per event. Applicants requesting over $500 will be asked to present their application in person on the Tuesday evening following the application deadline. |
| Evaluation Criteria | When evaluating applications and awarding funds, SASgov will consider the reasonableness and thoughtfulness of the budget, the degree to which the event is designed specifically for graduate students from the participating departments, and the degree to which the event will facilitate interaction between graduate students from the participating departments. Preference will be given to applications from departments with active SASgov representatives. |
| Conditions | -SASgov requires the use of Penn approved vendors whenever possible. So, for example, if you propose to buy pizza from the Best House, we’ll suggest you use Powelton Pizza or Dominos. See www.purchasing.upenn.edu/buyinfo/suppliers for lists of approved vendors, or email sasgov-finance@sas.upenn.edu with inquiries. -Please save all receipts and deliver them to the finance committee at the SASgov meeting following your event. Failure to deliver receipts will jeopardize your departments’ future eligibility for SASgov funding. -Alcohol may not be purchased out of state and transported to Pennsylvania. |
| Application Process | Submit application, including a budget, description of the event (including motivation for the event, plans for the event, and justification for the budget), and contact info of organizers from participating departments, by the deadline below. We ask each organizer to send an email to sasgov-finance@sas.upenn.edu in lieu of signatures. |
| Application Form | Application form may be submitted online. |
| Approval | Once your request is approved, SAS finance will coordinate with you regarding purchases. Do not spend your own money with the expectation of being reimbursed. (You won’t be.) |
| Deadline | The third application deadline for 2009-2010 is Feb 5th at noon. The fourth (and final) will be at the end of March 2010. |
IMPORTANT! Please include at least two departments / organizers in the form. Please be specific about dates (as much as possible).
