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Small Collections Grant Conditions

IAPT provides competitive grants for the improvement and/or maintenance of botanical collections (herbaria) of algae, fungi, and plants.

 

Collection improvements include digitization projects, processing specimen backlogs, shipping endangered collections to other herbaria, conservation improvements to current specimens, and/or other herbaria-related activities. Requests for materials to mount herbarium specimens will also be considered.

 

Grants are open to small herbaria with fewer than 100,000 specimens. Proposals from herbaria located in any part of the World will be considered, but proposals to support herbaria in low- and middle-income countries will be prioritized. Herbaria must be listed in the Index Herbariorum.

 

Proposals must follow the guidelines below:

 

  1. The call for proposals is open between 1 February 2024 and 30 March 2024.

  2. Applicants must be IAPT members at the time of the grant submission to be eligible for an IAPT grant.

  3. The award should be preferably used for digitization projects, processing specimen backlogs, shipping endangered collections to other herbaria, conservation improvements to current specimens, or other herbarium-related activities.

  4. Applications must be submitted by a collection director, curator, or manager.

  5. Proposals must be written in English, including: (i) herbarium code, (ii) name of the applicant, (iii) country, (iv) institution, (v) project title, (vi) objectives, (vii) a succinct description of the problem that the grant will seek to solve, (viii) time table, and (ix) proposed budget to be prepared using this excel template.

  6. The proposal should not exceed two pages (single-spaced, 12-type font). There will be no exceptions, and proposals exceeding two pages will be rejected without review.

  7. The proposal should list the name and contact details of two curators from other herbaria who are familiar with the collection for which funds are requested. The two curators must be willing to provide information supporting the proposal.

  8. Applicants should include a short CV not exceeding 3 pages.

  9. All documents must be submitted in a Portable Document Format (PDF).

  10. The project should be submitted via the IAPT website using the online form. If this is not possible, applications may be submitted via email to Eva Kráľovičová, IAPT Managing Secretary (office@iapt-taxon.org). Any applications via email must follow the same character and file size limits imposed on the online applications.

  11. All proposals received will be acknowledged by e-mail. Please contact Eva Kráľovičová, Managing Secretary IAPT (office@iapt-taxon.org), if you submit a proposal but do not receive a confirmation within a week.

  12. The maximum award is US$2,000.

  13. The selected projects will be announced on the IAPT web page and through e-mails to all the applicants.

 

APPLICATIONS OPEN: 1 February 2024

APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 30 March 2024

Evaluation of Proposals

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Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

 

1. Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)

  • Enhancing access to the collections (e.g., digitization, data entry, setting up database structure, purchasing relevant equipment, imaging specimens, and linking to relevant online data repositories/hubs) – up to 30 points.

  • Enhancing floristic knowledge by making new herbarium specimens available (e.g., processing of backlog) - up to 30 points.

  • Securing collections (e.g., distributing duplicates to other regional or international herbaria, incorporating orphan collections, or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium) - up to 30 points.

  • Improving physical collections by enhancing the conservation status of specimens (better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) - up to 30 points.

 

2. Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)

  • Match between budget and methods in relation to the aims described - up to 20 points.

  • Perceived need, where more points are given for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries - up to 20 points.

 

​3. Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)

  • Durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites, linking with other projects/datahubs/herbaria/institutions) – up to 20 points.

  • Outreach/training/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 20 points.

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