IDEA Initiative Call for Proposals

SMBE, through the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) task force, aims to address systemic racism, sexism, colonialism and other exclusion in our SMBE society. With this in mind, a budget of up to $25,000 per year will be dedicated to initiatives that help reduce inequities in molecular biology and evolution research. The task force would therefore like to invite members of SMBE to propose initiatives that would take place in the year 2024/2025.

Examples of initiatives could include, but are not limited to, workshops, symposia, training opportunities, stand-alone featured talks, or inequity data collection in particular groups, countries, or regions (to name a few). If you are interested in knowing what projects have previously been funded, please visit SMBE IDEA tab of the SMBE website. We especially encourage initiatives that could potentially be sustainable beyond the funded year. We welcome proposals that require the full or only a portion of the budget, (budget justification will need to be provided). Special emphasis will be given to projects that directly benefit the members of the SMBE society.

This form allows applicants to submit their proposal. You will find specific information for each requirement below.

Timeline:

13th of September - Submit your initial description via this form. Initial description of the proposed idea must be submitted via the present form. More information regarding format and requirements are below. ATTENTION: Regardless of the number of organisers, each proposal should be submitted only once. Once submitted, you can no longer edit this form. You can choose to have the form sent to your email by clicking "send me a copy of my responses" at the bottom of this page.

11th of October - Be notified on whether your project is pre-selected or not: Initial submissions will be reviewed and pre-selected by the IDEA task force and candidates will be notified with a decision on whether their proposal was pre-selected or not.

8th of November - Submit your full project plan: If your initial submission is pre-selected, organisers will be informed and will be expected to submit a full project plan by email to smbe.idea@gmail.com. This must include a budget and time plan, as well as relevance and expected short and long-term impacts of the initiative on inclusion, diversity, equity and/or access. You will receive more information regarding the requirements for the full proposal if your project was pre-selected.

6th of December - Hear whether your project will be funded or not: Successful proposals will be notified. SMBE treasury will be notified of the selected proposals so that the funds can be transferred as soon as possible.
- At least one of the organisers must be a member of SMBE. Please note that students from underrepresented regions may apply for free membership by contacting SMBE directly. More information on how to do this is found in the SMBE webpage under Membership.

• All deadlines are 5pm local time.
• Organisers of successful proposals are expected to submit a report (around 2 pages) to the SMBE IDEA task force (smbe.idea@gmail.com) within 3 months of its completion.
• Successful proposals will have the opportunity to present their progress at the IDEA symposium during the 2025 SMBE meeting - however we are unable to provide travel funding at this time.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at smbe.idea@gmail.com.