SRS Conference Grant Funding

The Society for Renaissance Studies intends to make two grants of up to £1,500 each to support conferences or colloquia within the field of Renaissance Studies planned for calendar year 1 January 2011-31 December 2011 and held in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. These awards will not be made to individuals to attend conferences, but to the organizers of conferences to provide assistance with organizational support and/or the travel and subsistence costs of certain participants, including postgraduate students. The grants are deliberately intended to complement the MHRA Conference Grant Scheme, for the SRS field of interest and, while some guidelines for eligibility necessarily duplicate those of the MHRA, others differ in some respects.

The Closing Date for the receipt of applications and references for conferences to be held in 2011 is: 31 January 2010.

Purpose of grant

The main purpose of conferences or colloquia supported must be the dissemination of research, and the planning of a coherent refereed publication deriving from the meeting will normally be a prerequisite of a successful application. The overriding criterion for an award will be the perceived academic value of the meeting in competition with others. Grants will be awarded in respect of meetings held in the period 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011. Applicants will be expected to have planned their event in advance by the time of the closing date, and to have obtained primary funding from their institution (university, museum or gallery, or other). Applicants are required to disclose all other sources of funding, but funding from other sources will not in itself be seen as a weakness in an application. Both major international meetings and smaller-scale specialist colloquia, including one-day events, will be considered on their academic merits. Applications will not be considered for less than £500. The maximum award is £1,500.

Eligible subject areas

The Society for Renaissance Studies exists to provide a forum for those interested in any aspect of the study of the Renaissance and to encourage and promote advanced study and research in the field of Renaissance Studies. Eligible topics include the history, art, architecture, philosophy, science, technology, religion, music, the literatures and languages of Europe, and of the countries in contact with Europe, during the Renaissance.

Eligibility of applicants

Applications will be accepted from the conference organizer(s), who hold an academic position at a university or a museum or gallery in the British Isles, from postgraduate students registered for a higher degree (normally a doctorate) at a university in the British Isles, and from members of the Society for Renaissance Studies. All applicants should be members of SRS at the time of their application. Awards in the present competition will be made only in respect of meetings planned in advance for the period stated. Successful applicants will be notified in the spring of 2010.

Eligible costs

Grants may be used for administrative expenses where justified. They may be used as a contribution towards the travel, accommodation and maintenance expenses of bringing speakers from within the British Isles or from overseas to conferences held in the British Isles. Priority may be given to younger scholars, postgraduate students, retired scholars, and participants from countries with weak currencies. Honoraria or other fees or payments to speakers are not eligible for support. Grants are not available for lecture series, or seminar series, nor for events that form part of an institution’s teaching or training programme. Grants are regretfully not available to support events that are wholly or primarily intended to give postgraduate students an opportunity to present their research, either as an event convened for mutual support and interest, or in a training environment. The regular annual conferences of major subject associations or learned societies on a variety of topics will not normally be eligible for support. All applications must demonstrate a financial case for support. Grants are not available for meetings that are projected to make a profit. It will be expected that those in receipt of SRS Conference Grants will acknowledge the support of the Society on all conference publicity materials and at the event.

Application and assessment procedures

Click here to download the SRS Conference Grant Reference Form: Word/ PDF

It is envisaged that there will be one competition per year. Applicants are required to select one referee and ensure that the supporting statement from their referee reaches the Conference Officer of the SRS by the closing date. An application cannot be considered for an award unless the proposal and the reference have been received on or before the closing date for the competition. The Council of the SRS will establish a specialist sub-committee to assess applications, which will be treated in strict confidence pending the outcome of the competition.

Payment of grants

It is hoped that successful applicants will be advised by 15 April 2010. Payment of grants awarded will be made three months before the scheduled date of the conference or colloquium. Before payment, grantees will be required to sign a statement to confirm that there are no substantial changes to the original application, to indicate any additional sources of funding obtained and their purpose, and to undertake to supply full original receipts for disbursement of the grant immediately after the conclusion of the meeting.

NOTES FOR APPLICANTS

Completion of the application form

Click here to download the SRS Conference Grant Application Form: Word / PDF

Applications must be made on the form provided. You should answer every question in the space provided, although it is recognized that at this stage full details may not be available in every area of enquiry. Your completed form should aim to give the assessors as complete an overview as possible of the academic scope and intention of your planned meeting, bearing in mind that your application will be considered in competition with others from different fields within Renaissance Studies.

Please type/word-process throughout. If it is wholly unavoidable that the application be handwritten in parts, please ensure that you use black ink, and write clearly (applications may be deemed ineligible if they are presented in an illegible manner, or are illegible when photocopied). Applicants may, if they wish, paste word-processed text on to the printed application form; or they may reproduce the entire form in a convenient word-processing package, provided that the layout and content of the printed version are followed exactly. Please use a minimum of 10 pt font size for your answers to the questions. Please note the length of this form is five sides of A4 (excluding references). Applicants are requested to respect the regulations regarding font size and length. Applications that fail to meet the regulations will be returned.

§1 Applications should have one lead applicant, who should generally be the principal conference organizer.

§2 All correspondence will be sent to the named individual at the address specified on the form.

§3 Please give the title, location, dates and (where applicable) organizing body of the conference or colloquium. Please indicate whether the meeting is one of a series, or a one-off event.

§4 Give the expected numbers and international scope of participants, and indicate whether the event is open to all or restricted to invited specialists.

§5 Please state the amount requested from the SRS, to the nearest full pound (maximum £1,500).

§6 Please list both the main speakers and any others for whom support is sought, and give the titles or broad subject-area of their papers. If any of the speakers will make a particular additional contribution to the conference other than delivering their paper, please indicate. Please asterisk or otherwise clearly identify the names of those for whom grant support is sought in this application.

§7 Applicants are asked to provide a summary of the aims and objectives of the conference, together with any further details that may be relevant, such as its history (if one of a series), particular timeliness or significance of the theme etc.

§8 Please provide a breakdown of the conference budget in pounds sterling. Sample budget heads are provided, but they may not all be applicable. Please complete as appropriate. Please provide details of all expenditure and income for the conference as far as possible.

§9 Please asterisk or otherwise clearly identify any item for which grant support is sought in this application, and explain and justify why SRS support is requested. Grants may be applied to cover the costs of travel, accommodation and maintenance of speakers. Please clearly itemize here the costs for which funding is sought, against each relevant named speaker. Priority may be given to younger scholars, postgraduate students, retired scholars, and participants from countries with weak currencies. Fees paid to speakers are not eligible for support. Grants may also be applied to assist with administrative expenses: full details must be given, as known at the time of the application.

§10 Please provide details of other support given or applied for in connection with the current proposal. The SRS has no objection to its grants being held in conjunction with awards from other bodies, provided that there is no duplication of expenditure. Successful applicants will be required to keep the SRS informed of the outcomes of any other applications.

§11 The SRS attaches importance to the dissemination of research. It is hoped that publication in some form will normally result from the meeting, although this fund is not intended to assist publication directly. Assessors may take into account how far the plans for publication or other dissemination have been developed.

§12 Your referee should be able to give an informed view of the conference or colloquium, and assess its likely impact on the subject area. Your referee should not be directly involved with any aspect of the conference, and should be drawn from outside your own employing institution. References from scholars based outside the British Isles are acceptable.

Assessment criteria: Assessors will evaluate the proposal on the basis of its academic merit, taking into account the scholarly importance of the proposed conference or colloquium, its likely impact upon the subject area, the focus of the programme and theme(s), the contribution to be made by the speakers, and intended outcomes. Assessors may also pay attention to issues such as the presentation of the application form and value for money. It should be understood that a competition between conferences planned for many different areas within the field of Renaissance Studies will necessarily result in disappointment for some excellent applications.

§13 Please sign and date your application form. In some cases, institutional authorization may be required to validate the application. Please check with your Research Office whether this is the case. Please note that signing the application form constitutes confirmation that the information provided is complete and accurate, and acceptance of all terms, conditions and notices contained in the Notes for Applicants. Subsequent discovery of any deliberate falsehood will automatically render the application null and void. If an award has been made, the SRS may require a full refund.

What to do next

Please complete sections 1 and 2 on the reference form and send it, together with a copy of your application, to your referee. The reference should be returned directly to the Conference Officer, SRS by the closing date. It is your responsibility to inform your referee of the closing date for the relevant competition, and to ensure that the reference is submitted by the due date. Applicants are advised that an application cannot be considered for an award unless the reference has been received by the closing date. Please allow your referee sufficient time to write his/her report. Faxed references are not accepted, as they cannot be photocopied satisfactorily. Any reference arriving by fax will be immediately disposed of.

Please send your application either by post or email to Conference Officer, SRS, at the address shown below. If posting your application it is strongly recommended that you attach a stamped and self-addressed postcard for acknowledgement of receipt of your application. Posted applications will not otherwise be acknowledged, and the SRS cannot accept responsibility for applications that go astray in the post. Emailed applications will be acknowledged via return email. Applicants are advised to retain a copy of their application for their own records and to ensure that the relevant officer in their employing institution has a copy (where applicable). If institutional authorization is required, the signature of the relevant officer at the institution should be included on the posted copy of the application.

Please note that faxed applications are not acceptable. Any documents arriving in this way will be disposed of immediately and will not constitute an application. The application form must reach the Conference Officer, SRS, at the address stated by 5 pm on the closing date in order for the proposal to be considered, and no exceptions will be made to this rule.

Outcome of application

Please note applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately two months after the closing date. Results are issued by letter or email, and cannot be given over the telephone.

Applicants in any doubt about their eligibility or any other aspect of their application are advised to contact the Conference Officer, SRS, who will be pleased to assist.

Professor Claire Jowitt
Conference Officer Society for Renaissance Studies
School of Arts and Humanities Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham NG11 8NS
Email: claire.jowitt@ntu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0115-848-3020

SRS Small Conference Grants

The Society for Renaissance Studies also welcomes applications of financial support for conferences, especially those which encourage the participation of undergraduate or postgraduate students.

In recent years the Society has made numerous contributions towards the cost of bursaries and travel expenses allowing many students to attend their first conference or to give their first paper.

Protocols for Conference Funding

1. Every applicant for financial support should be a member of the Society for Renaissance Studies. In cases where the applicant is not a member proposals for support should be accompanied by a completed membership form.
2. Applications for support should include the name and contact details of the conference organiser as well as a short (one paragraph) description of the conference. Applicants may also append a list of speakers.
3. Applications must specify other sources of funding which have been secured, have been approached, or are under consideration.
4. The Council will normally consider applications for sums of up to c. £1000, and will give priority to the support of postgraduate participation (as delegates, chairs, speakers, or in an ancillary capacity). Applicants should specify the sum requested and briefly outline how it will be used (spreadsheets or condensed provisional estimates of conference expenditure may be appended).
5. One copy of each application should be sent in electronic or hard-copy format to the Conference Co-ordinator no later than two weeks before one of the Council’s three regular meetings (usually the first or second Friday in October, January, and May), and at least three months before the date of the conference.
6. The officers of the Council shall discuss applications, make funding decisions, or request further information about applications.
7. The Conference Co-ordinator will inform the applicant of the Council’s decision as soon as possible after the Council meeting at which it was considered. In cases where clarification is sought the applicant should provide this no less than two weeks before the subsequent Council meeting. Unsuccessful applicants may submit an application, amended in response to the Council’s decision.
8. Successful applicants will be reimbursed by the Treasurer of the Society and should provide all necessary receipts.
9. Successful applicants are required to mention the support of the Society for Renaissance Studies in all conference literature, websites, mailings, or other media, and to circulate Membership Forms for the Society at the conference.
10. Successful applicants are required to offer conference registration to members of the Society for Renaissance Studies on a discounted basis.
11. Successful applicants are required to submit a report (c. 1000 words) to be published in the Bulletin of the Society for Renaissance Studies at the earliest opportunity and, ideally, within three months of the conference.
12. Successful applicants  are expected to abide by these protocols and failure to do so will result in funds being withheld.

Conference organisers are invited to submit a summary description of their conference, requested amount (anywhere between £50-£500, or more in some circumstances), and proposed use of grant to:

Professor Claire Jowitt
Conference Officer Society for Renaissance Studies
School of Arts and Humanities Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham NG11 8NS
Email: claire.jowitt@ntu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0115-848-3020

The Conference Co-ordinator can make decisions on applications for funds of less than £350 without recourse to Council; SRS Council meets to consider larger grants in October, January, and May. Successful grant recipients are requested to mention the Society in their publicity and include a small version of the Society's logo on their website with a link to the SRS site.