SIGCHI

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.