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SIGCHI Development Fund

All financial support to communities, chapters, and conferences across SIGCHI will henceforth be channeled through the SIGCHI Development Fund.

The SIGCHI Development Fund (SDF) provides resources for the SIGCHI community to spur communication, innovation, and expansion of SIGCHI globally and locally. As in the past, we invite proposals for initiatives aiming to experiment with new opportunities, innovate on hybrid/virtual engagement, reach out to new groups, help develop our specialized conferences and chapters, and/or promote sustainability, inclusivity, and accessibility. 

Please see our call for proposals for submission instructions, priorities, evaluation criteria, funding caps, and review timelines. All SIGCHI members are eligible to apply.

Apply here: https://sigchi.submittable.com/submit/265530/development-fund

The SDF has an ongoing open call, and you can expect results approximately one month after submission. For transparency, awarded proposals will be announced periodically on the SIGCHI Development Fund Recipients page. Please look at the FAQ below. You can email sigchi-dev-fund@acm.org with further questions about the SDF or feedback on the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How are funds disbursed?
    Funds are disbursed in two ways, depending on whether the event takes place at a SIGCHI conference or not.
    Sponsored initiative: If the event/initiative is (part of) a SIGCHI-sponsored or co-sponsored conference, expenses will be reimbursed. Conference registrations will be handled via the generation of complimentary codes, as per ACM recommendations. We will not cover labor costs of ACM and/or SIGCHI members, gift cards or vouchers, or services already provided by the conference or SIGCHI. The purchase of equipment is discouraged. However, if equipment is absolutely required and cannot be otherwise arranged, please discuss this with us prior to purchase. All financial claims will be reimbursed in accordance with ACM policies (for travel and non-travel expenses). Any support given is tied to the proposed activity and must not appear in the conference budget.
    Supported initiative: If the event/initiative is happening outside of a SIGCHI conference, funds will be disbursed to the “primary sponsoring organization” (a university, company, non-profit, etc.) as a lump sum check. This organization that is mainly responsible for organizing and managing the event will need to submit an invoice via email with wire transfer details for disbursement, and fill out a tax form to be submitted online to the ACM. We cannot process any payment to individuals in this case. While we are providing financial support for the activity, SIGCHI is not legally or financially liable for the event and thus cannot sign contracts, collect revenues, or reimburse expenses.
  2. When are funds disbursed?
    Funds are disbursed between 2-3 weeks after the request for reimbursements (sponsored initiative) or after the invoice and tax form are received (supported initiative).
  3. In case of a supported initiative, do I need to submit receipts?
    No, we only need the invoice with the grand total of the expenses within the approved budget, since SIGCHI is not legally or financially liable for the event.
  4. Are chapter initiatives supported or sponsored events?
    Initiatives organized by SIGCHI chapters are supported events and need to specify an organization that will be able to create an invoice, fill out a tax form, and take the financial and legal responsibility for the event.
  5. Can the invoice be in a language different from English for a supported event?
    If the primary sponsoring organization can only create an invoice in a language other than English, we need both the original invoice and an English translation to process the payment.
  6. Who reviews the submissions?
    The SIGCHI Development Fund Committee reviews each submission. When a proposal involves a SIGCHI chapter or a SIGCHI conference, the review is led by the VP Chapters and VP Conferences, respectively. Further, the AC Sustainability leads the review of specific sustainability initiatives for funding local and global collaborations.
  7. Is it possible to update a proposal after its submission?
    Yes. To make changes, please reach out to sigchi-dev-fund@acm.org and the committee will re-open the proposal for edits on Submittable. The committee can also request edits if clarifications are needed.
  8. What are the main criteria for a proposal to be accepted?
    The proposal (and budget) must align with the goals of the SDF: to experiment with new opportunities, innovate on hybrid/virtual engagement, reach out to new groups, help develop our specialized conferences and chapters, and/or promote sustainability, inclusivity, and accessibility. Proposals should demonstrate that they can spur communication, innovation, and/or expansion of SIGCHI globally and locally. Detailed review criteria are reported in the call for proposals on Submittable.
  9. When can I expect a decision about a submitted proposal?
    You can expect decisions approximately one month after your submission.
  10. Can I change the timeline or the budget of an approved proposal?
    Awarded proposals are only for the time period and the budget specified in the proposal. Any deviation in the period of the activity or any change to the approved budget must be re-approved. You can request such approval via email. Please note that approval for such requests is not guaranteed.
  11. After receiving the funds, can I keep any leftovers for follow-up activities?
    Unfortunately not. The remaining funds need to be returned to ACM. Support is given for the approved initiative only.
  12. Can I submit a research proposal?
    No. We only fund proposals for community-related initiatives aligned with the SDF goals described above.