The Society for Conservation GIS: “2004 International Scholarship Awards Program” & “2004 International Leadership Grants”

The SCGIS Scholarship Program is pleased to offer you the opportunity to attend advanced GIS training courses, focused on applications in the conservation world. Conservation GIS users who require financial assistance to enable them to attend the Conference and training can apply for limited, competitive scholarships following the steps below. Scholarship funds will cover all or partial airfare, and waivers for SCGIS conference related fees, as well as pre and post conference training. This year’s training curriculum will be dictated by the skill-level of accepted applicants all efforts will be made to accommodate your specific needs.

This year there will be a choice of venues and dates. The first is in Redlands (California) in August 2004, the second is in Washington DC in October 2004. The August Redlands CA venue will include participation in the Annual ESRI User Conference instead of the Annual SCGIS Conference. The ESRI User Conference is being held from August 9 – 13, 2004 in San Diego, California. The October Washington DC venue will include participation in the SCGIS Annual Conference. Please indicate your preference in your application. Because of our extremely limited airfare budget, we may request that you attend the closest venue so that we can afford to accommodate more scholars. If you have a compelling reason to attend a specific venue please provide justification in your application and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Scholarship application requirements are as follows:

1. Applicants must be affiliated with a non-profit conservation organization or a university conservation project in their region or country.
2. A Cover Letter from the HEAD of your Organization and a Completed Application Form (see below). Both should be sent ONLY VIA EMAIL to Charles Convis at ecp2@esri.com & Prashant Hedao at ecp10@esri.com and must detail the national or international conservation organization’s focus and current projects. The applicant’s role in the organization and current projects must be defined.
3. It is important for the applicants to make a very strong effort to supply as much of their own funding for travel to the conferences, as possible. PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO MAKE A SINCERE EFFORT TO OBTAIN SOME OF THEIR OWN FUNDING. Accordingly, the applicant must supply information about additional funding they have been able to or hope to secure.
4. Scholarship awardees will be required to (as the case may be):
   

   a) Present a talk and a poster at the SCGIS conference describing their conservation efforts and projects within their organization.

   b) Present this talk and poster in the Conservation Booth/Area at the ESRI User Conference.

   c) Be available to volunteer to help run the SCGIS conference.

   (We expect recipients to volunteer for 4 hours over the course of the conference. Some work may take place during sessions, but adjustments can be made to ensure that volunteers attend the sessions that are most important to them. Details for volunteers will be provided shortly before the conference)

5. Scholarship recipients will also be required to write a paper about their projects for inclusion in the post-conference SCGIS newsletter.
6. Closing date for SCGIS conference scholarship applications is FEBRUARY 29, 2004. Applications ONLY VIA E-MAIL must be received by the above date.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Charles Convis, Chair – SCGIS International Committee at ecp10@esri.com or Prashant Hedao, Co-Chair International Networks Committee at ecp10@esri.com.

Charles Convis
Chair, SCGIS International Committee
C/o ESRI
380 New York Street
Redlands CA
92373, USA
Website: www.scgis.org

2004 International Leadership Intern Grants:

This year there is also a new “International Leadership Intern” program that will provide grants of up to $10,000 to leaders and advanced GIS activists to help build SCGIS chapters internationally. These interns will also be involved in California and DC to get advanced training and to help teach and participate with the international scholars. If you have leadership experience and a background in conservation activism using GIS and are interested in this program please cc this application to Charles Convis, ecp2@esri.com. Please include at the top an essay on your leadership abilities and your thoughts on the problems and challenges in building a community of activists using technology in your area. The first such grant is available now but the application procedure has not yet been defined so we’ll be borrowing from this application at first. We hope to eventually provide 10-20 such grants

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW AND SUBMIT A COMPLETED FORM (BELOW) TO ecp2@esri.com and ecp10@esri.com BY FEBRUARY 29, 2004 IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

[SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS]
[SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM 2004]

Please read the instructions COMPLETELY before preparing and emailing in your application. The application form itself is at the end of these instructions.

CONTENTS

-APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
*===ELIGIBILITY
*===INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FORM
*===HELP RESOURCES

-APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

*===ELIGIBILITY

Grants are made on a competitive basis to individuals working with GIS in conservation science and action in any country. Preference goes to those who are working for or associated with a non-profit or non government organization, who can show some ability to find local funding for their work and who show an ability to teach about conservation GIS to other non-profit organizations in their region or country.

*===YOUR OBLIGATIONS

If granted, you will be obligated to present a paper or demonstration of your work at the SCGIS conference, file a post conference report and a status report on your work one year after the conference.

The status report can be any length, and you are encouraged to include examples of the mapping, analysis or teaching work you were able to do. Please send your status report to the same address as you send this application.

You may also be asked to send photos, text or maps during the year to help SCGIS prepare stories or articles on your work for publication in the SCGIS newsletter.

*===INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FORM

This form is for email submission only as directed below. To complete this form, please type in your answer at the end of each and every question, after the colon (?:) You can type as much text as you want and add or paste in as many lines as you want between the colon (:)and the * at the beginning of the next line. Please do not erase any of the questions, even if you are not filling those, just leave them blank.

To submit this form, email as an ASCII email only to the following address- ecp2@esri.com and ecp10@esri.com.

DO NOT SEND IT AS AN ATTACHMENT AS IT MAY BE UNREADABLE.

************IMPORTANT*************

For the subject of your email, write in your organization’s name, state/country and the date, i.e. “RAINFOREST NETWORK, CANADA, JAN 01, 2004”. You MUST also delete everything above the indicated line at the top of the form or your email will not be properly routed.

If your request is granted, non-confidential information may be posted on the Society for Conservation GIS website at www.scgis.org, or reprinted in the SCGIS newsletter.

*===SECTION-BY-SECTION INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FORM. REMEMBER, THE FOLLOWING ARE INSTRUCTIONS ONLY. THE ACTUAL FORM FOLLOWS AFTER THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

Enter today’s date at the top of the form.

[*R]==SPECIFIC REQUEST (CONFIDENTIAL): please enter what you are requesting in this section. The things, which can be granted through this form, are:

Airfare scholarship: 1) Enter the TOTAL airfare from YOUR nearest International Airport to LOS ANGELES, California USA. : 2) Enter the TOTAL airfare from YOUR nearest International Airport to WASHINGTON DC, USA. (Please research and provide airfares for BOTH destinations) 3) Enter the dollar amount you want to request to help you afford the airfare to the USA. 3) Enter the amount you expect to be able to raise locally by yourself. If granted, SCGIS will also send you a special formal letter that you can use to help raise funds locally.

SCGIS Conference Fees: Enter “YES” if you wish to apply for a registration fee waiver of the SCGIS conference, which is about US$ 80.00

ESRI Conference Fees: Enter “YES” if you wish to apply for a registration fee waiver of the ESRI International User Conference, which is about US$ 1200.00

ESRI GIS training: Enter “YES” if you wish to receive GIS training. Courses covering the most current versions of ArcView and ArcGIS/ArcInfo, and conservation GIS mapping (maybe) will be offered in the two weeks preceding the SCGIS conference and during the weeks before and after the ESRI conference.

Accommodations: Enter “YES” if you need help finding or paying for accommodations, and approximately which days. Please know that some or most of the accommodation we are able to arrange for you will be at people’s homes, shared dormitories and occasionally camping. If for some reason you are not able or willing to accept such accommodations please mention NO at the appropriate item along with the reason.

The total cost of LOCAL TRANSPORT (between conferences and trainings), ACCOMMODATION and FOOD for 4 weeks amounts to about $1000.00. You should let us know how much you can afford to pay from this amount.

[*O]==ORGANIZATION data: Please fill in the general contact information for your organization. If applying as an individual, you can enter your own name here, but you must still complete the contact data section in full.

Budget information: Please enter your best estimates of your last year total organizational budget, and your best estimate of last year’s total GIS budget including hardware, software, salaries and maintenance.

[*C]==REQUIRED APPLICANT/STUDENT data: Please fill in your personal contact information here. For the Alternate contact, fill out the details for a person who can contacted to convey important information in your absence.

[*M]==MENTOR data: Please describe (if any) the main Mentor or international organization that sponsors and supports your work.

[*G]==GIS EXPERTISE LEVEL/COURSES data: Please briefly explain your “GIS expertise / capability level” – BEGINNER, MEDIUM or ADVANCED.

BEGINNER – Know about basic concepts of GIS and have used ArcExplorer or similar level of GIS.

MEDIUM – Know about the analysis concepts of GIS and have used ArcView 3x or similar level of GIS

ADVANCED – Have been a GIS user for many years and have used the Advanced ArcView or ArcGIS/ArcInfo.

Please also mention if you have any programming experience, please note that knowledge of programming is not necessary for using GIS.

What GIS software you have used (if any) or are familiar with? And while in California what GIS courses you would like to attend? Please go through the course list at:

www.esri.com/training/ and identify the course that you would like to take and list them in the order of priority.

*REQUIRED JUSTIFICATION (CONFIDENTIAL)? Enter here a specific justification for why you need a grant. As a separate essay, please provide the reasons for your specific choice of a venue. Besides the obvious, other differences between the venues are: California will allow training at ESRI world headquarters in advanced GIS technology, but DC will probably (not yet confirmed) allow training at global conservation NGO’s like The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Smithsonian Institution. DC will allow attendance at the main SCGIS annual conference and a possible attendance at an ESRI regional conference, while California will allow attendance at the main ESRI annual conference, with various informal SCGIS meetings and gatherings beforehand.

*===HELP RESOURCES

You may contact the following person who has agreed to provide help to applicants on an as-available basis. Email is usually the most reliable contact method.

Charles Convis, Chair, SCGIS International Committee Tel: (909) 793-2853, Fax: (909) 793-5953 Email: ecp2@esri.com

Prashant Hedao, Co-Chair, International Networks Committee Tel: +91-413-2622170 Email: ecp10@esri.com

IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT!

FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS WILL RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION BEING LOST!

=====TO SUBMIT, DELETE EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE====

[SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS]
[SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM 2000]
*Today’s Date?:
[*R]==SPECIFIC REQUEST (you can provide details below in section J) :
*Venue Choice ( ie “Calif” (Calif/Aug) or “DC” (Wash DC/Oct) or “None” ) [RVENUETOT]?:
*Airfare from your nearest Intl Airport to Los Angeles CA in August [RFARETOT1]?:
*Airfare from your nearest Intl Airport to Washington DC in October [RFARETOT2]?:
*Airfare amount requested [RFARE]?:
*Airfare amount YOU can pay yourself [RLOCAL]?:
*Do you need an SCGIS Conference Registration Fee waiver [RSCGIS]?:
*Do you need an ESRI User Conference Registration Fee waiver [RESRI]?:
*Do you need ESRI GIS Training [RETRAIN]?:
*Would you like help with Accommodations [RHOUSING]?:
*Accommodation/Local Transport Costs That YOU can pay [RACCOTRANSP]?:
*Will you share a private home? [RHOME]?:
*Will you share a motel room? [RSHARE]?:
*Will you Camp? [RCAMP]?:
*Do you need to borrow camping equipment? [RCLOAN]?:

*Comments: Any special notes or comments? [RNOTES]?:

[*O]==ORGANIZATION data
*Organization Name [ORGNAME]?:
*Street/Fedex address [OADDR1]?:
*Street Address line 2 [OADDR2]?:
*Mailing Address [OADDRM]?:
*City [OCITY]?:
*State ( 2-letter code) [OSTATE]?:
*Zip or Postcode [OZIP]?:
*Province (if any) [OPROV]?:
*Country (i.e. USA) [OCNTRY]?:
*Work phone with area code [OTEL]?:
*Work fax with area code [OFAX]?:
*Main email [OEMAIL]?:
*Org Web site URL if any [OWEB]?:
*Org subject keywords [OKEYWORD]?:
*Your Organization’s last year total budget [OBUD]?:
*Your last year’s total GIS program budget [OGISBUD]?:

[*C]==REQUIRED APPLICANT/STUDENT data
*Your full name and any initials [CFIRST]?:
*Your honorific (i.e. Dr., Mr. Ms.) [CPREFIX]?:
*Your direct address if different [CADDR]?:
*Your direct phone number [CTEL]?:
*Your direct email address [CEMAIL]?:
*Your job title or role [CROLE]?:
*Your own interest keywords from appendix 1 [CKEYWORD]?:

*Alternate contact full name and any initials [CLAST]?:
*Alternate honorific (i.e. Dr., Mr. Ms.) [CPREFIX]?:
*Alternate contact direct phone number [CTEL]?:
*Alternate contact direct email address [CEMAIL]?:
*Alternate contact job title or role [CROLE]?:

[*M]==MENTOR/SHIP data:
*Status: Mentor
*Mentor Organization Name [MORGNAME]?:
*FedEx address [MOADDR1]?:
*Shipping Address line 2 [MOADDR2]?:
*City [MOCITY]?:
*State ( 2-letter code) [MOSTATE]?:
*Zip or Postcode [MOZIP]?:
*Province (if any) [MOPROV]?:
*Country (i.e. USA) [MOCNTRY]?:

[*G]==GIS EXPERTISE LEVEL / COURSES:
*Briefly describe your GIS capability/expertise [GGISCAP]?:
*What GIS software (if any) have you used [GGISSOFT]?:
*What GIS courses you are interested in [GGISCOURSE]?:
*Please explain your programming experience (if any) [GPROG]?:

[*J]==REQUIRED JUSTIFICATION (CONFIDENTIAL)? Essay justification of why you require a grant [OWHY]?:)?

*Venue: Essay justification of your choice of venue [OVENUE]?:)?

[*P]==REQUIRED PAPER that you will present at the conference:
*TITLE: Title of the paper you will present [PTITLE]?:
*ABSTRACT: Short abstract/summary of the paper you will present [PABSTRACT]?:

[*S]==REQUIRED BACKGROUND data for all requests:

*HISTORY: Please describe the history of your local work in conservation and GIS [SHIST]?:

*SUPPORTERS: Please describe how your work is supported by your local community [SCOMM]?:

*INTERNATIONAL: Please describe how your work is supported by any international groups who work with you [SINTL]?:

*TEACHING: Please describe the local non-profit and non-government groups who you support, and how you help them to learn about conservation and GIS [SLOCAL]?:

*UNIQUE: Please describe what is the most unique and the most challenging about the conservation/GIS work that you do [SUNIQ]?:

*PLAN: Please provide a 1-year plan for how you hope to apply the skills you will learn under the SCGIS scholarship, and what you expect to be able to achieve in your conservation GIS work over the next year [SPLAN]?:

*SUMMARY: Please provide an executive summary of your request, and include any special statements about your work that you would like to make at this time: [SEXEC]?:

[*E]===END-this is the end of the SCGIS application.