Section V. Special Programs

B. Conferences, Symposia, and Workshops

The Foundation supports conferences, symposia and workshops in special areas of science and engineering that bring experts together to discuss recent research or education findings or to expose other researchers or advanced graduate students to new research and education techniques. The Foundation encourages the convening in the United States of major international conferences and assemblies of international unions. Conferences will be supported only if equivalent results cannot be obtained at regular meetings of professional societies. Although requests for support of conferences, symposia and workshops ordinarily originate with educational institutions or scientific societies, they may also come from other groups. Shared support by several Federal agencies, states, or private organizations is encouraged. Because proceedings of such conferences normally should be published in professional journals, requests for support may include publication costs. Requests should generally be made at least a year in advance of the scheduled date. Conferences or meetings, including the facilities in which they are held, funded in whole or in part with NSF funds, must be accessible to participants with disabilities.

A proposal (which complies with the page and font size instructions in Section II. C.) for support of a conference, symposium, or workshop must include:

Summary of one page or less indicating the objectives of the project. (Project Summary, NSF Form 1358, Section IX, Proposal Forms Kit, may be used to submit this information.)
Statement of the need for such a gathering and a list of topics.
Recent meetings on the same subject, including dates and places.
Names of the chairperson and members of organizing committees and their institutional affiliations.
Information on the location and probable date(s) of the meeting, and the method of announcement or invitation.
Estimated total budget for the conference together with an itemized statement of the amount of support requested from the Foundation. The budget may include participant support for transportation (when appropriate), per diem costs, stipends, and other conference-related costs. Participant support costs must be excluded from the indirect cost base.
Support requested or available from other Federal agencies and other sources.
Statement of how the meeting will be organized and conducted, how the results of the meeting will be disseminated and how the meeting will contribute to the enhancement and improvement of scientific, engineering and/or educational activities.

For additional coverage on allowability of costs associated with meetings and conferences, proposers should consult Section 522 of the Grant Policy Manual.