*please excuse cross-posting*
Friday, January 15, 2020
Spring 2021 VRA Foundation Professional Development Grant: Call for Applications
The
Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the
VRAF Professional Development Grant
program. This program offers two $1000 grants yearly. This grant can be
used to support conference participation, enroll in a workshop, for an
online education opportunity, or for research activities. For
consideration, please submit your application by
Friday, February 12, 2021, 11:59PM Pacific Time.
If you have any questions about the VRAF Professional Development Grant
or the application process, and to submit your application here:
https://forms.gle/tSQP6g5bMLHj7H2Q6 or please contact the VRAF Board of Directors at
[log in to unmask]. The recipient of the Spring 2021 VRAF Professional Development grant will be announced by
Friday, February 26, 2021, and must be used before
February 26, 2022.
Purpose:
The purpose of the VRAF Professional Development grant is to support
professional development in the field of visual resources and cultural
heritage information management. The grant can be used to participate in
a professional development opportunity of the grantee’s choosing (such
as a conference, symposium, workshop, online education), or to enroll in
relevant research activities (such as hands-on field work or a site
visit for scholarly purposes). Priority will be given to applications
that include participation at a conference (giving a paper, teaching a
workshop, chairing a committee, etc.); research that shows promise to
lead to publication or contributes to the visual resources and cultural
heritage information management community; to applications that can
demonstrate that receiving the opportunity will have a broader benefit
to an institution or region; and due to the
Coronavirus, we encourage applicants to submit proposals that can be
accomplished remotely. Applicants that have several professional
development opportunities must fill out separate applications per event.
Please note that recipients of the award are required to submit a
report outlining how the award contributed to his or her professional
development within 30 days following the event.
Eligibility:
- Applicants
should have a professional interest in visual resources and cultural
heritage information management, and may include retirees, the currently
unemployed, or students seeking educational and training opportunities
in support of broad access to cultural information.
- Membership in the Visual Resources Association is not required.
- Statements of financial need will be strongly considered.
Acceptable Uses of Award Money:
- Transportation costs to and from the event venue
- Registration fees or tuition
- Required course materials (e.g., workbooks, DVDs)
- Lodging
- Meals – including meals in transit to and from the educational event
- Research expenses
Grant
monies may not be used to cover indirect costs (For example, a
percentage of the grant money/funding taken by the grantee's institution
to cover perceived overhead.)
Application Criteria:
- A goals statement
outlining the opportunity, how it will benefit your work, and any
potential contributions this opportunity may allow you to make beyond
your own professional development.
- A comprehensive budget
and breakdown of your proposed travel, lodging, meal, and other
expenses. When costs are estimated, please explain (e.g., “roundtrip
airfare on United as determined via Expedia search”; my lodging costs
reflect an estimate for a shared room). If your institution requires you
to use a specific airline, or has set a corporate airfare rate, please
note this in the comments section. Be as clear and complete as possible
about other funding support you will receive or are applying for, such
as from your home institution, or other grants and awards.
- Your resume/curriculum vitae
Application:
Please submit an online application to be considered for a VRAF Professional Development Grant. *A Google account is required to fill out the application form.
Past
recipients include Anne Young, Manager of Rights and Reproductions at
the Indianapolis Museum of Art, to attend the 2013 American Law
Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) Legal Issues in Museum
Administration course. Her attendance was crucial in the production of
Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions,
an indispensable resource. About the grant, Anne wrote, “The Grant
funded a portion of my course tuition and associated travel costs to
attend the program. It is my belief that this Grant was also a
contributing factor to my receiving a partial-scholarship, half of the
course tuition, from ALI CLE that further supported my attendance…
Without my attendance at ALI CLE’s LIMA and the VRAF’s Grant support, I
would not have been able to make the vital connections to make the
Handbook contributors and legal review panelists as robust as they are today.” The
Handbook is now available and can be downloaded from the
American Alliance of Museums website.
The
VRAF Professional Development Grant Program
reflects the broad mission of the VRAF to support professional
development in the field of visual resources and cultural heritage
information management. The grant can be used to participate in a
professional development opportunity of the grantee’s choosing (such as a
conference, symposium, workshop, online education), or to enroll in
relevant research activities (such as hands-on field work or a site
visit for scholarly purposes). For more information about the VRAF, the
VRAF Professional Development Grant, and other VRAF programs, please
visit
vrafoundation.org.