GSA’S GROUP PROJECT GRANT
TERMS OF REFERENCE
This Terms of Reference document is available electronically on the GSA webpage
www.gsa.ucalgary.ca
Questions should be directed to the GSA’s Awards Chair: grants.gsa@ucalgary.ca
Purpose
This fund makes grants available to graduate students who are actively involved in an
academic group project, not directly related to degree requirements, but which will be of value
to their future academic careers or will enhance the intellectual life of the graduate student
community at the University of Calgary. Recognized academic projects may include, BUT
ARE NOT LIMITED TO: organizing a conference or symposium, organizing a lecture
series, inviting a guest speaker, presenting an exhibition or performance.
Applications for grants are accepted twice per year, on November 6, 2015 and on March 4,
2016 and may be awarded for costs already incurred by the applicant.
Group applicants may apply for up to $1500.
Eligibility
1. Any group of full- and part-time students in the Faculties of Graduate Studies at the
University of Calgary are eligible to apply for the Group Project Grants.
2. Groups are eligible to receive only ONE Group Project Grant per academic year1.
3. Groups who have received a GPG within the last two years but failed to comply with the
relevant conditions of the award (see below) are NOT eligible.
4. Applications for funding thesis research or degree requirements will not be considered.
5. Funds will not be granted to pay honoraria or personal expenses.
6. Examples of expenses which may be covered by the fund are the following:


Registration, travel, accommodation, and food expenses incurred while attending
a conference;
Printing, type-setting, publication, and distribution costs for producing an
academic publication;
An “academic year” comprises the fall term and the following winter term.
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
Advertising, refreshment, and room-booking costs for a seminar, conference, or
lecture series;

Speaker Expenses (for the guest speaker's travel, accommodation, etc.).
Criteria
Eligible Group Project Grant applications will be assessed using the following criteria:
1.
The degree to which the project is demonstrated to benefit the group or graduate
student community at the University of Calgary.
2.
The supportiveness of the reference letter for the student(s) and the project.
3.
The clarity of the project benefit statement (including avoidance of excessive specialized
language and jargon).
4.
The cost effectiveness and degree of planning in the project budget.
5.
Overall presentation and organization of the application (including spelling and grammar).
6.
That the project does not reflect negatively on the GSA or the University of Calgary.
Application Procedures
Application forms are available from the GSA website.
Applicants must submit an electronic copy (PDF) to the GSA Awards chair
(grants.gsa@ucalgary.ca) by 4:00 pm on the deadline date. Applications must be
submitted from your University of Calgary e-mail address (applications from other e-mail
accounts will not be accepted).
Questions about the application process can be directed to the GSA Awards Committee
Chair at grants@ucalgary.ca.
Incomplete applications will NOT be considered
Submit the following requirements (in pdf format) to the GSA Awards Chair by the deadline:
1)
Application Form
a)
Applicant Information – basic applicant information
b)
Project Information – project type and basic details about the project (including
anticipated dates of start-up and completion)
c)
Budget – an explicit description of the funds needed for the project. It includes
documenting what funds are requested from the GSA, a disclosure of all other
potential or intended sources of funding, and specific indications of how the grant
monies will be used
d)
Project Benefit Statement – a one-page document describing: the objective of the
presentation to be given, how the project benefits the applicant and/or graduate
student population at the University of Calgary, why the project deserves funding,
and an outline of the project. The statement should be in 10-point font on letter
size paper, single-spacing is permitted.
2)
Reference Letter(s) – a letter of recommendation and support from the department head,
graduate coordinator, and/or a faculty member of the applicant’s department. This letter
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3)
should detail how the project benefits graduate students at the University of Calgary.
Each reference letter should be a maximum of 1 page. You may include up to 43
reference letters with your application.
Supporting Documentation
a)
If application is retroactive, submit photocopies of appropriate receipts to
complement the budget. If application is not retroactive, submit receipts upon
project completion.
b)
For projects with advertising, attach a copy of one piece of advertising
material (i.e. a poster).
Deadlines
Applications are accepted twice a year.
Fall due date:
November 6, 2015
Winter due date:
March 4, 2016
Fall term applications must be for projects that occur between May 1, 2015 and
December 31, 2015 inclusive.
Winter term applications must be for projects that occur between January 1, 2016 and
August 31, 2016 inclusive.
Late applications will NOT be considered.
Decisions are made approximately six weeks after the closing date.
Conditions of Award
1.
Non-retroactive applications must submit a report upon completion of the project, or
within at least 8 months of the receipt of the grant. This report shall include:
(a)
A detailed account of expenses funded by the GSA (re-fill out Section F of the
application form)
(b)
Photocopies of receipts for the expenses funded by the GSA
(c)
Any comments on the GPG and its administration, along with suggestions for
improvement
4)
This report should be submitted via email to the GSA’s Awards Chair
(grants.gsa@ucalgary.ca). The subject line should read GPG REPORT in capital letters.
5)
Any unused portion of an award must be returned to the GSA upon completion of the
project.
6)
Funds can only be used towards the items and the project/conference for which they
were awarded.
7)
If a project is cancelled, or its start delayed beyond the expected date by more than four
months, the funds awarded are to be returned to the GSA. In the case of a delay of less
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than four months, a letter explaining the reasons for the delay should be submitted to the
chair of the Awards Director for consideration by the awards committee.
8)
Any applicants failing to comply with items 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 above will not be eligible for a
Group Project Grant funding for a period of two years.
9)
If a project is cancelled, upon returning the money to the GSA the applicant is re-eligible
for the next round of applications.
10)
Successful applications will be kept for 2 years after the date of notification of the award.
Unsuccessful applications will be kept for 8 weeks after the same date. Both will be
shredded after these respective time periods. Appeals (see below) will delay shredding
of unsuccessful applications.
Other Regulations
1.
The GSA will not be responsible for any tax liability incurred by the awarding of funds.
2.
Unsuccessful applicants may appeal the decision about their application to the full
executive of the GSA following the GSA appeals process. This must occur within a
period of one week after the applicant is informed of the decision.
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