Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $10,000
- Application opened: 26 July 2024
- Application closed: 20 September 2024, 10:00 am
Program objective
The Program supports research conferences taking place in 2025 in NSW in areas of relevance to the NSW 20-Year R&D Roadmap.
The intended outcomes of the Program are to:
•disseminate knowledge leading to advancements in science and technology, benefiting NSW’s overall intellectual capital
•foster collaboration, knowledge exchange and expertise sharing among participants, leading to significant contributions and outcomes
•collaborate and drive change through innovation.
This program is administered by Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible for the Program applicants must be from an NSW public sector research institution or from the NSW community sector.
This includes:
1. Non-profit organisations incorporated under the Federal Corporations Act 2001 as applied in NSW OR a national non-profit organisation planning a conference in NSW
2. Community groups
3. Universities
4. Government associations
5. A Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) may apply in partnership with the above entities.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Sponsorship grants will be available for scientific conferences taking place in NSW between January and December 2025.
When the project can start and end
The project should be started by 1 January 2025 and the project must be completed by 31 December 2025.
What costs you can apply for
Funds can be expended on any aspect of conference organisation occurring in NSW.
Examples include (but not limited to):
•speaker costs – airfares and accommodation
•venue hire
•catering
•promotion – marketing/advertising
•audio visual services
•conference management fees
•transportation
•insurance.
Who can’t apply
Applicants are not eligible to apply for the Program if they are:
•insolvent
•an individual
•a partnership
•unincorporated association
•a private company
•a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agency or body excluding government corporate entities.
Conferences that received funding from OCSE in 2024 are ineligible.
Most recent recipients
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
Not applicable
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Director, Policy – Science and Research
The assessment of applications will be led by the Department. Your application will be considered based on a two-stage process. Where the Department considers an application unsuitable or unsatisfactory against any criteria, we may exclude that application from further evaluation. Only eligible applications will move to the next stage. We consider eligible applications through an open competitive grant process.
Stage 1: Eligibility Assessment
The OCSE Secretariat will conduct an initial eligibility screening for all applications according to the published eligibility criteria in these Program Guidelines that are set out in Section 2: Eligibility Criteria. Only applications which meet all eligibility criteria will progress to assessment against the assessment criteria.
Stage 2: Assessment by the Assessment Panel
The membership of the Assessment Panel (Panel) will be determined by the Department in its sole discretion and may include independent assessors from the broader NSW public sector.
The Panel will assess each application against the assessment criteria and compare it to other eligible applications before recommending which applications should be awarded a grant
When making their recommendations, the Assessment Panel may take the following into consideration:
•the total funding available for the Conference Sponsorship Program 2025 round.
•the assessment criteria outlined in these Guidelines.
•the requested amount against the scope of the project i.e. could the applicant effectively deliver the conference with less funding.
•whether a reduction could pose significant risks to the success of a conference.
•whether applicants have sufficient or additional resources or avenues available to raise capital other than this grant that could assist with the success of their conference.
•whether a decrease of funding will impact achieving the overall aim of the Conference Sponsorship Program.
The Director, Policy – Science and Research, Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer or their delegate, will consider recommendations from the Panel and determine final grant funding approvals.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is 01/12/2024
Support and contact
raap.grants@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au and 02 9228 4184