Conference Support Program
Recurring RFP intended for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 Academic Years
The Conference Support Program provides UA researchers the opportunity to organize a distinctive conference on UA’s campus that explores and promotes innovative ideas and initiatives. ORED prioritizes new conferences that 1) strategically engage and involve both graduate and postdoctoral researchers; 2) are transformative and cross-disciplinary; and 3) seek to develop mutually beneficial research, scholarship, and creative activity partnerships with other research universities, both domestic and international.
The conferences should deliberately aim for significant professionalization and networking opportunities for students and faculty, and they should incorporate innovative themes that are not procedural or recurring on campus. As such, regular meetings of UA campus organizations are not eligible for the Conference Support Program.
With strong justification, the Conference Support Program may provide funding for the hosting of established external academic societies or associations, if the conference otherwise meets the above objectives.
Individual UA researchers, or a cross-disciplinary collaborative team of UA researchers, may apply for Conference Support Program funds, which could potentially cover up to 50% of the anticipated conference expenses; however, ORED support will not exceed $10,000. ORED expects applicants to secure at least 50% of the anticipated conference expenses from other sources prior to application.
How to Apply
To apply, please email the following to the Research Assist Office at assist@ua.edu:
- A letter of intent, not to exceed one page, detailing:
- Title and purpose of the conference
- Conference organizers and potential participants
- Recognition, importance and potential impact of the conference
- How the conference engages and involves graduate and postdoctoral researchers
- Amount of Conference Support Program funds being requested
- Preliminary conference schedule, including proposed dates
- Preliminary budget, which includes documentation of previously secured funds – include any planned conference registration fees in the budget, and factor this anticipated revenue (based on the number of projected attendees) into the total budget and request
- A email from the Dean(s) or Associate Dean(s) for Research stating their support for the proposal.
If awarded, ORED requests acknowledgment of the Conference Support Program in the conference informational materials. Awards from ORED are contingent upon successfully securing other funding totaling at least 50% of the total conference expenses.
Within three months of completion of the conference, the applicant researcher, or team, should submit a one-page summary report to the Research ASSIST Office, which includes a copy of the final program and a brief assessment of outcomes.
Request for Proposals – updated December 2, 2024