Thank you for your interest in nominating a member of SIGCHI for their excellent service to theSIGCHI community. This program is aimed at honoring voluntary contributions made to the SIGCHI community at the (1) conference level, (2) chapter level, and/or (3) SIG level. Examples of such service could include, but are not restricted to the following:

• Conference leadership that involved giving significant time and energy to a conference, going above and beyond what might normally be expected of such a service role
• Chapter leadership that involved contributed to significantly strengthening HCI activity in a particular region
• Volunteering on a SIGCHI committee to implement a new, impactful initiative, such as launching and operationalizing the SIGCHI YouTube channel

Please also note: 

• The service being recognized should have taken place not more than three years prior to the time of nomination.  
• If someone has done significant amounts of service over a greater number of years, they may be eligible for a SIGCHI Award instead (or in addition). 
• Members of the SIGCHI Executive Committee may not be nominated while they are still serving on it.  
• There is no deadline. The nominations will be reviewed by a small team of EC members, as they are received. Results will be announced via SIGCHI communications channels.

To nominate, the form will ask you to provide the following:

• name and contact information of the nominator and nominee;
• whether this nomination is for service at the conference, chapter, or SIG level (or a combination);
• a brief summary (500 words max.) of why the nominee deserves to be recognized;
• a short description (200 words max.) of the capacity in which the nominator knows the nominee

Thank you for your time and generosity!

The SIGCHI Executive Committee

The SIGCHI Development Fund (SDF) provides resources for the SIGCHI community to spur communication, innovation, and expansion of HCI at the global and local levels. As we have in the past, we continue to invite projects aiming to experiment with new opportunities, reach out to new groups, promote sustainability, inclusivity, and accessibility, and support mentoring opportunities. This year we are introducing additional funds to support small sustainability initiatives. All SIGCHI members are eligible to apply.

If you have any further questions, please look at the FAQ on the SIGCHI website or direct them to sigchi-dev-fund@acm.org.

What kinds of initiatives does the SDF support?

We are currently prioritizing hybrid in-person/virtual initiatives, where the funding is mainly used to promote a better hybrid experience and interaction between remote and in-person attendees at events.

For sustainability activities, we are entirely open to a range of interpretations and ways to promote socio-ecological sustainability, whether they focus on raising awareness or on hands-on activities about resourcing, recycling, or reusing.

Overall, we strongly encourage proposals that align with SIGCHI's commitment to addressing racial and other systemic injustices.

Examples of initiatives we are looking to fund include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• Events for connecting different communities, which could be in the sense of geography, discipline, or academics/industry, etc.
• Tutoring or paper-writing workshops for new authors to submit to SIGCHI conferences.
• Summer schools or mentoring activities.
• Initiatives organized by SIGCHI chapters.
• Events to promote/support diversity and inclusion at a SIGCHI conference.
• Mechanisms to support underrepresented groups (disciplinarily or demographically) to present at a SIGCHI conference or one of its workshops.

Our blog on the SIGCHI Medium includes other examples of recently funded initiatives, which can be used for inspiration.

How much funding can a proposal request?

Sustainability activities can receive up to USD 5,000 for funding local and global collaborations.

Other events/initiatives are capped to:

• USD 5,000 for virtual initiatives, either stand-alone or part of hybrid initiatives
• USD 10,000 for in-person events, either stand-alone or part of hybrid initiatives

How is a proposal reviewed?

A proposal should address the following items and provide any other information about the event/initiative that seems relevant:

• Organizing Committee: We will look for relevant experience to signal success and organizing teams with complementary skills. We aim to prioritize proposals coming from members of the SIGCHI community.
• Primary Sponsor: The proposal must include the conference name if the initiative is happening at a SIGCHI conference. Otherwise, the proposal must indicate the organization sponsoring the event, such as a university, a company, a non-profit, etc. This organization will need to send an invoice to us with the total granted amount and fill out a tax form before the funding can be disbursed directly. Please note that, in this case, the initiative will be supported by SIGCHI, and SIGCHI won’t be financially or legally liable for the event. The FAQ page provides further information about this process.
• Explanation of Need: The proposal must elucidate how the project would provide value to SIGCHI members, i.e., to experiment with new opportunities, reach out to new groups, promote inclusivity and accessibility, or support mentoring opportunities.
• Feasibility of Plan: The proposal must convey a well-defined agenda with clear outcomes. The funding will be for a single activity, although the activity might take place over an extended period. There must also be a plan for sharing takeaways and lessons learned with the SIGCHI community.
• Suitability of Format: Since events that offer multiple formats for participation can be more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable, we will prioritize hybrid initiatives that ask for funding towards this goal.
• Soundness of Budget: The proposal must include a clear and suitable budget with justifications according to a given template.

Is there a specific timeline for the grant?

The SDF has an ongoing open call! You can expect notifications around one month after the submission. After the completion of the event, we will ask for a brief report in the form of a Medium blog post.

The SIGCHI Executive Committee (EC) welcomes volunteers who are interested in working with us to improve and strengthen SIGCHI and support its processes. Through this open call, we plan to create a live record of volunteers whom we can match with openings across committee roles on the EC. 

You are welcome to nominate yourself or someone else. Please indicate your/your nominees' background(s) of relevance, commitments for volunteering, and availability as completely as possible. This is standard across our open calls. On average, these roles may take up 2-3 hours on a weekly basis, and 8-12 hours per month. Please reach out to sigchi-4all@acm.org if you have any questions.

Please note: 

• Before SIGCHI appoints any volunteers, we must check their status on the ACM Sanctions Database. Once you agree to be considered for a role on a committee, you are confirming that you are okay with this look-up. If the database does produce a positive result, we will inform you so that you are able to withdraw your consideration, should you choose to do so.
• The data collected by the SIGCHI Executive Committee in this and other surveys are used to inform future decisions that impact our community. 
• You can withdraw your form anytime you believe you are no longer interested in volunteering. You can also withdraw your nomination as per your preference.

The Gary Marsden Travel Awards support undergraduate and graduate students, early-career researchers (such as those who are ≤ 5 years post-graduation), and those experiencing financial hardship or lacking institutional support, in attending ACM SIGCHI conferences. See below for more details.

For transparency, recipients are announced periodically on the SIGCHI website.

Who is eligible to apply?

• You must be a SIGCHI member at the time of application to be eligible. Read about membership and how to sign up on the SIGCHI website. Please note, ACM membership and SIGCHI membership are not the same. You can check which one you have via MyACM. 
• We will award funds to no more than one presenter per submission. Also, we will award funds to no more than one student per advisor, per submission cycle.
• If we have a large number of applicants, we will prioritize first-time attendees and presenters. Acceptances can include papers, posters/extended abstracts, works in progress, demos, case studies, etc., though we may consider type of submission if we have many applicants. If you do not have a submission or it has not been accepted yet, however, you can still apply.
• Overall, we will accept applications that demonstrate financial need and clear benefit to the applicant in attending the conference. 

When should I apply?

• There are seven deadlines per year: the 9th of January, February, March, May, July, September, and November at 11:59 PM AoE.
• You must apply to a deadline that occurs more than one month prior to the start of the conference that you plan to attend. If you have a conference acceptance, we recommend applying as soon as possible after receiving it. If you will need to apply for a visa, please note that you may apply for the travel award before your submission has been accepted.
• Normal turnaround times for decisions will be one month from the deadline (e.g., if you apply to the January 9 deadline, you will receive a notification around February 9). We will try to offer faster turnaround times (two weeks) for applicants who need to apply for visas. Note that ACM policy allows for visa letters to be generated during conference registration.

What can the award cover?

• The awards cover both physical and virtual attendance at SIGCHI conferences. There are no limits on how many times you can receive GMTA support for virtual attendance. For physical travel, you can only receive support once every three years. 
• The maximum amount awarded will depend on funds available and applications received in a given cycle. 
• Registration: Through complimentary codes, we can cover any combination of conference registration and up to two workshops/courses. You must list the items you would like covered in your budget.
• Travel: Through reimbursement, we can cover flights, local transportation, lodging, meals, visa fees, childcare, one travel companion ticket, and mobility aids (e.g., scooters, walkers). Other expenses are not currently covered.
• Carbon offsets should be estimated and included in the cost of registration if you are taking a flight. You can use websites such as Cool Effect to calculate costs.
• Childcare funds can be reimbursed for virtual or physical travel, provided a receipt. For physical travel, funds can be used to cover childcare at the conference location or at home.
• One travel companion ticket can be requested for physical travel, provided a justification for why it is needed (e.g., a care provider for an infant, sighted guide, personal care assistant).
• After submission, any changes to the budget need to be re-approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see the FAQ on the SIGCHI website for questions about the application process, reimbursements, etc. For other questions or fixes/feedback on the application form, email sigchi-4all@acm.org.