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This is the SCGIS Global Scholarship Program 2017 application form with instructions. v.1
Please read the instructions carefully before filling out and submitting your application.
The form has changed this year, and we do not accept application forms from previous years!
NEW for 2017 Scholar Applicant Website: www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2017/SCGIS2017SCHOLAR.html
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*=== INTRODUCTION
The Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS - http://www.scgis.org) Global Scholarship Program is not a typical scholarship program. Rather, it is a support program that covers SOME of the costs to allow you to receive top level GIS training and attend and present your work at 2 of the best Conservation GIS conferences in the world: Esri and SCGIS. You will join in a very tight-knit community of comrades as you participate in specialized 4-week training courses before these conferences. Local travel and accommodations will be simple and plain so that we can afford to include as many people as possible, and you may be asked to pay for some of these costs. These support grants are PARTIAL in that you contribute some of the costs yourself, and you will be expected to do a lot of work as a scholar. These grants are competitive in that your application will be considered in comparison to others, evaluating your work, your activism with NGO's and the conservation GIS community in your region, your needs, and your resources in relation to the environmental and economic issues of your region or country. If our resources permit, these grants will also include software, books, and refurbished hardware, depending on your needs. Specific amounts of funding available for this year’s program haven’t been clarified yet, therefore the number of people that we will be able to award this time is not determined yet, but we expect that there will be a strong competition between the applications regardless of the program size decisions, so please study these guidelines and work hard to make sure your chances of selection are good.
In 2017, our program has expanded to almost 6 weeks, covering the tentative dates June 12- July 19, 2017. We have expanded to two GIS training tracks, a “Core” track as in the past, and an “Advanced” track for advanced & experienced GIS users. The “Core” track is based at UC Davis from June 12 -30, and the “Advanced” track is based at Esri Redlands from June 12-30. Both tracks combine for cloud, online & presentation training July 1-8, then off to the conferences July 9-19. Both tracks will focus on ArcGIS Platform, but the core track covers material ranging from introductory to some advanced GIS analysis in conservation applications and will have additional guest lectures and workshops on conservation science. The advanced track will have guest workshops on programming & statistics. The combined track will cover online and cloud gis. All courses will be taught by professional GIS instructors. Besides course modules, the instructors will work with each scholar individually on their specific GIS projects (please see details below in the instructions). Because of these 2 tracks, the application instructions below will often have 2 options for how you deal with questions like travel arrangements and your GIS experience, so bear in mind that if you are applying to the “Core” UC Davis program, look for those guidelines, otherwise look for the “Advanced” Esri Redlands guidelines. To help you the new “Advanced” guideline sections will be in a green font.
After the training, the group of SCGIS scholarship awardees will attend two GIS conferences: the 37th Esri International User Conference held on July 10-14 in San Diego, California the 20th SCGIS Annual Conference, held on July 16-19 in Monterey, California, and
The Esri UC is the largest GIS event in the world. Each year it brings together over 15,000 attendees from all over the world, providing an opportunity for GIS practitioners of all levels and backgrounds to meet, network, and learn about the most recent developments in the GIS technology. The Environmental track plays an important role at the conference, attracting conservation GIS professionals and raising awareness about GIS in conservation among the general conference audience. The SCGIS Annual Conference is attended by approximately 100–200 conservation GIS activists, providing a convenient venue for the attendees to meet and have focused discussions on GIS application in the field of conservation.
In 2017 our program has also expanded to include a second major donor, besides the core support we get from esri. The World Wildlife Fund Education for Nature program (WWF EFN) is a global program that provides professional training grants to deserving conservationists from the following countries:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/professional-development-grants-pdgs
LATIN AMERICA: Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname,
ASIA: Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam,
AFRICA: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Dem. Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zambia
OCEANIA: Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands,
Their grants fully include support for GIS training programs like ours and they have been very generous to the few prior scholars who qualified in the past. Our problem each year was that their deadline was 2 months before ours. So at their request, we are moving our announcement date back to early November and adding a new “EARLY DECISION-EFN” application deadline to accommodate their schedule and permit those Scholarship Program applicants from the eligible countries the chance to apply for this very generous funding program.
(SCGIS is an independent all-volunteer international society supported by membership donations and grants from Esri, Juniper GIS, University of California Berkeley, and other foundations, partners, and vendors)
*=== REQUIREMENTS
Scholarship application requirements are as follows:
1) Applicants must be involved with a NON-PROFIT CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION or a UNIVERSITY CONSERVATION PROJECT in their region or country, and involved in the SCGIS CHAPTER OR CONSERVATION GIS COMMUNITY in their region.
2) SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS:
a) COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM (see below).
b) AN ABSTRACT OF YOUR PROPOSED PRESENTATION should be included in a special section of the application (see below).
c) AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR CONSERVATION GIS OR MAPPING WORK which may include map screenshots, database structure description, or other mapping or GIS related works that YOU created.
3) CLOSING DATE: Your Chapter or Mentor is responsible for reviewing your application before submitting it to SCGIS International. They will set the specific deadlines you must meet and for 2017 there is now an additional deadline for the “EARLY DECISION-EFN” program. We estimate that the deadlines they will set for you for the EFN program will somewhere between Dec 15th-30th, 2017, and for the standard program somewhere between Jan 1st to Jan 31st, 2017, so get started now!. Applications may only be sent VIA E-MAIL to your local chapter, mentor or sponsor as explained in the “*=== How to submit your application” section below
*=== ELIGIBILITY
Grants are made on a competitive basis to individuals outside of the U.S.A. and Canada who work with GIS in conservation science and action, and are strongly involved with their local conservation GIS community. Preference goes to those who are working for or associated with a non-profit or non-government organization, whose GIS research serves as basis for direct conservation action, 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.
If you were awarded a SCGIS scholarship in the past, but for some reason were unable to attend the program, you have to apply again this year if you want a scholarship. We currently don’t roll over earlier awards to the following year. Your prior effort and acceptance will be taken into consideration, however your new application will be in competition with an entirely new group so you may receive a different score this time.
The SCGIS scholarship program alumni of 2016 are not eligible to apply this year, the alumni of any prior year are eligible to apply.
*=== YOUR OBLIGATIONS IF SELECTED AS A SCHOLAR
Scholarship awardees will be required to do all of the following:
a) Attend the scheduled training classes in either the “CORE” or “ADVANCED” track during the indicated time period, and come prepared to work on their specific GIS project during the training. You will need to bring your GIS data and any other raw data you need to incorporate in your project (please see also training details in the form instructions below). You will be expected to create an online map at ArcGIS.com based on your work (the class will teach you how).
b) Present a talk and a map poster at the SCGIS conference describing their conservation efforts and projects within their organization.
c) Be available to volunteer to help with the SCGIS conference and the Environment Showcase at the Esri User Conference. The volunteer help may include helping setup/teardown of the Showcase, running SCGIS membership booth. We expect recipients to volunteer for approximately 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.
d) Be available for other scholarship support activities in the evenings and weekends. During the entire program give priority to the SCGIS events and activities over any other events nearby that are of your personal interest.
e) Complete and submit 2 reports:
1. Scholar's report is an informal account of your experiences as a scholar and is due towards the end of your travels.
2. Scholarship Final report is a formal account of your work back home and is due a few months after you return home. It describes how you have applied the training, software and other items of your grant, with example maps and photos, and specific suggestions and criticisms for improving the program. Specific requirements and due dates are finalized later.
f) Read and respond quickly to many emails related to the program organization. There will be about 20 emails from us with important announcements that you are required to read and respond to. Failure to do so in a prompt manner can result in the disruption or even loss of portions of your grant.
*=== SCGIS OBLIGATIONS TO YOU IF SELECTED AS A SCHOLAR
You will receive a combination of fee waivers, travel expenses and in-kind grants that can be worth over $10,000. The specific components of this grant are:
a) Tuition fees for GIS training (retail value $535 per person per day) are FULLY waived.
b) Attendance fees for the Esri User Conference ($1,695) and for SCGIS Annual Conference ($150) are FULLY waived.
c) Travel expenses are PARTIALLY covered, depending on your grant level, beginning when you leave to attend the program and ending when you return home from the program, including the following categories of costs: Lodging, Food, Air and Ground Transport. Each applicant's grant allocation will be different and many factors will go into determining the grant for each scholar.
d) Travel preparation expenses are NOT covered, including fees or travel expenses you must pay locally to obtain Visas or pick up air tickets.
e) Software and Textbooks grant: As a scholar you will be encouraged to apply for a customized grant of software and textbooks through a separate, customized application process based on the Esri Conservation Program guidelines at http://www.conservationgis.org/grant . You will receive details about this if you are selected.
*=== GENERAL APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Please review above the list of materials that are expected from you. Of course, properly and thoughtfully submitted application form is the essential part of the list, but the other parts are also important! Applications submitted without the other required materials will stand a much lower chance of award, or may even be rejected.
Before filling out the application form, please read the section-by-section instructions below, and think carefully about the overall structure of your application.
Please DO NOT ERASE ANY OF THE QUESTIONS from the application form. If you believe a question is not applicable to you, just leave the answer area blank. Please DO NOT APPLY CUSTOM FORMATTING to the application form, the reviewers will expect to see all applications in the same simple format as included at the end of this document.
You will see that many sections are labeled in the instructions as ‘very important’, and it’s true – we really need detailed and thoughtful answers to most questions we are asking. The competition for SCGIS scholarships is very tight, and if you limit your answers to short general phrases this will reduce your chances of winning a scholarship award.
Please write your application in the English language. Although some of our review committee members speak other languages, we’ll be able to judge your application more fairly if it is written in English. Remember, if you are awarded a scholarship you will join a group of people from all corners of the world, and in such situations English is usually the common language. Also, the training and conferences are all conducted in English. Technical GIS English is less demanding and few of your colleagues will be fluent, so your English skills do not have to be brilliant and shiny. Your excellence in English is not our criteria, we only require reasonable level of proficiency that allows to communicate with your conservation GIS colleagues, so please do not feel intimidated if your English is not perfect.
As indicated above, part of the application process is your ability to pay some of the costs. It is important for the applicants to make a very strong effort to supply as much of their own funding for travel 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. If you cannot pay anything, you will need to provide strong evidence about the financial circumstances of yourself, your organization, your country. Each year we do make some grants to scholars who are unable to contribute anything, but the majority of the grants we make go to applicants who are able to contribute an amount that is appropriate and sustainable given their financial circumstances.