Conference Grant Support Program Policies

Background

The SRS is not establishing a new, ongoing, advertised funding program, as SRS funds are limited, and the organization prefers to support research grants. However, the SRS would be willing to consider occasional requests for conference support that furthers the mission of the SRS, and in which the SRS has a role in the formulation of the Conference. All requests for conference support from the SRS should be initiated by the conference organizers before the speaker roster has been finalized. The request will be considered by the SRS Executive Committee at their next available meeting, and if they agree that it is worthy of support, they should appoint a member of the Board of Directors who will work with the Conference Organizers to come up with a plan to present to the full Board of Directors. After the Conference had been planned with the Board of Directors liaison appointed by the Executive Committee, it would be brought back to the Board and presented by the liaison, for a full vote, which would be required for approval.

Since the scale of support will always be small, this would almost always place the SRS as a co-sponsor of the meeting. The relationship of the SRS with other co-sponsors would then have to be a factor in whether the conference received approval by the Board of Directors. (For example the SRS might not want to participate in a conference with a commercial for-profit entity that is making a profit on the conference, or could potentially skew the conference in a way that supported specific commercial products.)

Requests for support must include a detailed description of the program including a list of speakers and topics, clearly defined learning objectives and target audience. The budget must contain the cost of the program, description of how the funds will be spent and details on supplemental funding (if any) from other sources/institutions. Post-event report must include a summary evaluation of the educational activity and detailed accounting of expenses.

Program Description

SRS will consider funding requests for conferences dealing with sleep and circadian topics that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• The conference must focus on novel research for healthy sleep, latest scientific findings, and increasing the funding available for sleep research
• The conference must be primarily sponsored (i.e., ≥ 50%) by NIH or another federal agency
• The conference must involve SRS members. This could be in the form of speakers or presenters, invited attendees, or other significant forms of participation

Additional criteria that are preferred, but not required, include:

• Conferences that are judged to be an educational opportunity for SRS members where attendance is open, without charge to them
• Conferences that lead to manuscripts submitted to SLEEP
• Conferences involving SRS trainees

The SRS will not consider

• Conferences that compete with or overlap current SRS educational offerings
• Provisions for administrative expenses and staff time
• Grant requests in excess of $10,000

Application Process

Applicants must fill out the Conference Grant Support Request form and submit it to the SRS national office 90 days prior to the conference. All questions must be answered and all required supplementary information must be included with the application. In special circumstances additional information may be requested. Incomplete or invalid applications will be returned.

Applications will be considered by the SRS Board of Directors. Partial support may be granted depending on availability of funds.

Guidelines for use of funds

Grant recipients must agree to follow the program guidelines for utilization of funds and post-event reporting requirements regardless of the amount of funds granted. Funds may be used for:

• Faculty honoraria
• Faculty travel and hotel expenses directly related to the program
• Meeting space and audio-visual expenses

Post-event report must include: a) detailed accounting of anticipated and actual expenses in a budget format; b) final number of attendees; c) the number of SRS attendees; d) number of SRS presenters (mutually exclusive with those listed as attendees); and e) summary of program evaluations, post-event surveys etc.

• Download Conference Grant Support Request form

All materials (application and post-event reports) should be submitted to:

Sleep Research Society
Attn: Sleep Research Society Coordinator
2510 North Frontage Road
Darien, IL 60561
Fax: (630) 737-9790