Smithsonian Institution

Office of Fellowships and Internships

Atherton Seidell Grant Program

for the

Dissemination of Previously Published Scientific Research

This announcement provides guidelines for requesting support from the Atherton Seidell Grant Program. Proposals for such support should be submitted to the Office of Fellowships and Internshipsby January 28, 2013.

Purpose. In 1979 the Smithsonian Institution received a bequest from the estate of Dr. Atherton Seidell that established an endowment to promote science by making the published records of original scientific research more widely available. The Atherton Seidell Grant Program provides funds on a competitive basis for the dissemination of previously published scientific research. It is open to all members or groups of Smithsonian staff. Awards are for a maximum of $75,000 for each project.

Proposals should not request the salaries for project directors, co-project directors, or other SI staff members. Projects targeted primarily to education, designing a new web site, or for publishing the results of new research are not appropriate.

General Review. A committee of nine members will be established to review and rank all proposals. Seven members will be chosen from Smithsonian units for their expertise in scientific research. The director of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and the Scholarly Publications Manager of the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press or their designees will be standing members. Recommendations of the committee will be submitted to the Under Secretary for Science for approval.

Additional Review for Digitization Proposals. Proposal including digitization must be reviewed by SIL prior to being submitted.

Proposals with a component involving digitizing of biodiversity literature

Proposals with a component involving digitizing of biodiversity literature should consult with Smithsonian Libraries (SIL) to determine if the texts in the proposal will be digitized as part of the Smithsonian's Biodiversity Heritage Library program (BHL).

If the texts will be digitized, the proposal should not include any cost for direct scanning; Smithsonian Libraries will cover these costs as part of the BHL. Every attempt will be made to digitize the texts in a timely manner. Smithsonian Libraries will consult with the project PI in the event content cannot be digitized (due to fragility, condition, etc.). Files will be available through the BHL Portal and made available to the Project Director/Project Co-Director for the proposed project.

Proposals NOT involving digitizing of biodiversity literature as part of BHL

If the texts are not planned to be digitized as part of the BHL, SIL will provide digitizing cost estimates, if needed, metadata creation cost estimates to be included in the proposal. Due to the scale of print digitization done by SIL, economies of scale will result in lower costs. SIL will work with the Project Director/Project Co-Director to build these costs into the proposal. SIL will arrange for the texts to be digitized at its regional scanning center. Files will be made available via the Internet Archive or other methods to the Project Director/ Project Co-Director for the proposed project.

If the texts are under copyright, it will be the responsibility of the Project Director to obtain permissions from the copyright holder(s) for digitizing. In rare some instances, SIL will digitize in-copyright content for reuse by the Project Director/Project Co-Director with more limited restrictions.

All Seidell proposals that involve digitizing of texts should address the following:

  • A description of the hardware and network infrastructure that will be in place to support the product, e.g. if it will be mounted on a server, what Unit or Department will maintain the server?
  • Plans and/or infrastructure for long-term availability

If you are considering a project that involves digitization of published or archival sources, you must contact Martin Kalfatovic, Associate Director, Digital Services Division, Smithsonian Institution Libraries at , during the development of and in advance of submitting your proposal.

For digital projects you should consider and reference the following in your proposal:

  • A description of the hardware and network infrastructure that will be in place to support the product, e.g. if it will be mounted on a server what Unit or Department will maintain the server?
  • Plans and/or infrastructure for long-term availability

Criteria. Proposals will be evaluated on

  • the extent to which the proposal disseminates results of previously published scientific research to the scientific community
  • the degree of importance of the research and value of its dissemination to the scientific community
  • the extent to which the publication is recognized in its field (usually implied by peer review)
  • the extent to which previously published research is currently available
  • the extent to which the publication was generated by or is needed by the Smithsonian

Priority will be given to projects that

  • utilize creative and effective means of dissemination (including electronic)
  • utilize award funds as seed money
  • have limited commercial or other financing

Submission. One pdf file including all materials for each proposalmust be submitted to Pamela E. Hudson Veenbaas,Program Manager, Office of Fellowships and Internships, .

Each proposal must include

a cover page (a copy is attached) with the

  • name(s) of the project director(s)
  • title of the project
  • dates of the project
  • amount requested
  • approval of the department or division chair, if any, and of the director of the museum, research institute, or office

a copy of the project directors Curriculum Vitae

a narrative, not exceeding six double-spaced pages, that

  • states the value of the published research to the scientific community
  • describes the proposed audience
  • discusses the method of distribution
  • verifies previous publication of the research
  • includes information regarding copyright or permissions
  • justification of merit if the work was not peer reviewed

and a budget with all of the following:

  • the amount of and justification for each item, including equipment
  • a statement of whether matching funds are available or are being sought
  • a statement explaining why the project cannot be funded elsewhere, with correspondence from publishers
  • a statement describing the use of projected income, if any
  • documentation from a publisher or other vendor verifying the estimated cost of publication in hardcopy or electronic form

Award. Notification of the Undersecretary for Science's approval will be sent to applicants and appropriate unit directors. All publications and products supported by these awards must acknowledge the endowment with the following credit line: Funds for this project were provided bythe Atherton Seidell Endowment Fund of the Smithsonian Institution. Funds that are not awarded in one fiscal year will be added to those available for the following year.

Administration. Project directors must observe all Smithsonian policies governing the use of funds. The Office of Fellowships and Internshipswill provide a fund number against which to charge expenses. At the conclusion of the project period, any unexpended funds must be returned to the Atherton Seidell Endowment Fund. Permission to use funds for other than the purposes set out in the project proposal and for extensions of time must be requested in writing and approved by the Office of Fellowships and Internships.

Reports. Within 30 days of the conclusion of the project, the project director must submit to the Office of Fellowships and Internshipsa final report that includes a summary of accomplishments and expenditures, as well as a statement of any anticipated income.

If you have any questions, please contact Pamela Hudson Veenbaas, Program Manager at 202-633-7070 or .

Atherton Seidell Grant Program

for the

Dissemination of Previously Published Scientific Research

PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

ProjectProject

Director: Co-director:

SI Address:

SI Phone:

Email (s):

Consultant(s):

Title of Project:

Dates of Project: From To

Amount Requested: $ Organization Code:

Signatures: (In place of signatures you may cc the appropriate individuals on your electronic submission – however they should have had a chance to review it in advance. Otherwise please provide a scan of the signed cover sheet in your pdf.)

Project DirectorDate

Project Co-directorDate

Department or Division ChairDate

Museum, Research Institute, or Office DirectorDate

SIL (for digitization project only)Date