Proposal Guidelines

All students (Ph.D. or Masters), regardless of the stage in their degree program, are eligible to submit proposals to the Chevron Student Initiative Fund. Collaborations are also encouraged.

The goals of the CSIF are to foster new student-designed initiatives that cannot be easily financed through existing funding support. The fund can be used towards scientific applications as well as towards applications that benefit the student/young scientist and the community at large.

Examples of potential uses include:

• student-led field trip for sample or data collection purposes;
• hosting a student-organized conference, workshop, or seminar series;
• novel or unique sample measurement that can not be funded otherwise;
   

The Chevron SIF cannot be used to support:

• student salary (including summer stipend);
• projects that comprise the bulk of a student's Ph.D. work (these should be funded through the student's advisor or the department);
• unexpected or additional field or laboratory expenses for a project with existing funding.
• travel to present research at a scientific conference

Instructions

A complete proposal consists of a proposal cover page, a proposal document including bibliography and budget justification, and a statement of supervisor support.

There is no fixed format for your submission, but you are encouraged to provide the following information in your proposal document:

1. Project Description
   • Brief Introduction and Background
   • Objectives and significance of those objectives (alternatively, Statements of Merit and Broader Impacts)
   • Detailed explanation of the proposed activity, including a timeline for any field or lab work as well as any time constraints on the proposed work. For example, if the work must be completed in a certain season of the year, make sure that it is apparent to the reviewers. If a group activity is planned, please describe the group you anticipate will be involved.
   • Expected outcome and gains from the proposed work, including an explanation of how science and/or society stands to benefit from the proposed activity, what the outcome of the activity will imply for the stakeholders, and how the activity will directly benefit your professional career development. No more than four (4) typed pages, including text, tables and figures.
2. Bibliography - no page limit.
3. Budget and Budget Justification - The budget should be itemized and every expense should be explained. The budget justification is used to demonstrate that the planned activity is viable and well organized in advance. The budget and budget justification should be no longer than two (2) typed pages and should be assessed by the student’s Departmental Advisor and/or Division Administrator (DA) prior to submission. All submissions must include a 3% overhead fee to Columbia University in their budgets. Note that the budget will be taken into account during review, and in general, the committee will not “edit” the budget in order to award a greater number of proposals. Each term, approximately 2-4 proposals are funded (average request ~$1500), although a student may request up to the maximum amount of $5000.

All documents should be written in 12-point font. Proposals should be submitted electronically in PDF format to the GSC chairs, gsc@ldeo.columbia.edu. Please ensure that your name does not appear on any proposal documents.

Review Criteria

The successful proposal(s) will be chosen based on the following criteria, which has been modeled after NSF’s review criteria, but altered as appropriate for this fund:

1. Intellectual Merit: How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? To what extent does the proposed activity explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Does the proposal represent a significant intellectual opportunity or service that is not otherwise available? (10 points)
2. Broader Impacts: How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and/or learning? What may be the proposed benefits to society? Does the proposed activity complement the trajectory of the student? (5 points)
3. Efficient Use of Funds: Is the budget reasonable to achieve the goals presented? Does the proposal and budget demonstrate the greatest impact will be wrung from each dollar? (5 points)

Past awards do not disqualify a student from eligibility, though they may be considered during evaluation. If a student is resubmitting an application, he/she must address the reviewer comments and criticism from the earlier application.

All funds must be used by August 31, 2015. Students receiving awards are required to submit a one (1) page document, 12-point font, providing a statement of results and budget reconciliation by August 31, 2015. Reports should be submitted to Sally Odland (odland@ldeo.columbia.edu).

This fund is made possible by a generous donation from Chevron. Any presentations or publications resulting from funded projects must acknowledge the Chevron Student Initiative Fund.