TPAC 2020 Diversity Fund applications and reimbursement framework

Hi all,

There are three aspects to this message, for this group’s consideration (that will be on the agenda of our next call on September 1):

1) What we may or may not fund 
2) How the applications can be made
3) The proposed text for the program

1) What we may or may not fund:
===============================

We had a look for feasibility for the suggestions that were made during the IDCG call last week (<https://www.w3.org/2020/08/18-idcg-minutes.html#t02>) and here is a statement of what is possible under our organizational constraints:

1) The Diversity Fund operations will be handled by the W3C Host at MIT (but please, see point 4.) MIT requires itemized receipts and scanned receipts are usually acceptable.

2) MIT will reimburse by wire for international expense only. Reimbursements for domestic expenses will be processed as a check.

3) We may make purchases in advance so awardees will not have out of pocket expenses. If purchasing equipment for International awardees incurs high shipping charges for example, we will reimburse. 

4) MIT will not reimburse for child/elder care or any type of services. I am still awaiting input from my colleagues at ERCIM and may not get an answer before next week.

Note: if it turns out that ERCIM may indeed help operationalize this, I suggest we direct the awardees to a single contact at W3C and that contact will get the right things done.

5) MIT will reimburse for conferencing equipment that would make it easier or possible for Diversity Fund awardees to attend virtual TPAC. MIT requires itemized receipts, but if W3C makes the purchase, we will have the receipts and can do the expense filing.

6) The IDCG suggestions from last week’s meeting that unfortunately will not work are:
* Finding an intermediary in our community who could help make a purchase on behalf of an awardee.
* Giving money in some fashion before any purchase is done.



2) How the applications can be made:
====================================

Yes, WBS can be clunky but it's useful as it’s clear where the responses should be typed, and for the tabular view of the results. 

My preference is for one system only, but if we wanted to mix wbs and email applications, we (most presumably I) would just add the overhead to compile both sources for the committee to have a look at.

Last year we used it to ask applicants to fill 10 sections/questions. <https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/diversity-fund-2019-new/>.



3) The proposed text for the program:
=====================================

(WendyR you had offered to review the proposed fodder. Here goes, heavily based on last year’s text.)

-----------------------------------

@@ Intro section TBD@@

Eligibility section:

To apply to the diversity fund you should be from a group that is under-represented in the web community, and unable to participate in TPAC without financial help.

Description:
============

When you apply, you will be asked to explain (in one or two sentences) what perspectives you will bring, which areas you would like to contribute to during TPAC, and how you will use any funding you might be awarded.
You are not required to self-identify as belonging to any particular group, but If you are comfortable sharing that information it will help us ensure the fund is balanced across different under-represented groups.

The definition of "under-represented" means different things to different people, and the language used is also different depending on where you are. For this reason we've chosen to give some specific examples, but this is not an exhaustive list. None of the labels for the different under-represented groups are universally accepted; please understand that these examples use labels or concepts which may be geographically- or community-specific, and that does not mean that only those labels and concepts are relevant for this fund.

Under-represented groups include (but are not limited to): people with disabilities/disabled people; people of color/BAME people; women; LGBTQIA+ people; people from outside of Europe and North America; indigenous people; and refugees.

If you are thinking of applying to the diversity fund but you are not sure whether you should, please get in touch. We will answer your questions in confidence, and can offer any help you might need to complete the application.

Selection criteria:
===================

* We will prioritize new participants and established participants who have not previously participated in TPAC.
* Where we know which under-represented groups applicants are from, we will prioritize diversity amongst the people to receive assistance.
* We will not use the writing quality of applications as a metric, recognizing that people find writing difficult for many reasons including it being a foreign language, cognitive disabilities, and reading/literacy difficulties.

Selection committee:
====================

A selection committee, that will use the selection criteria to choose the awardees, will be comprised of:

* One person from each of the sponsor organizations.
* Two people from the W3C team.
* Two people from the Inclusion and Diversity Community Group (IDCG).

@@ Timeline section TBD @@

@@ The rest of the question pretty much like in <https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/diversity-fund-2019-new/>, replacing “(airfare, hotel)” as appropriate, and “attend” with “participate”.

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--
Coralie Mercier  -  W3C Marketing & Communications -  https://www.w3.org
mailto:coralie@w3.org +337 810 795 22 https://www.w3.org/People/Coralie/

Received on Wednesday, 26 August 2020 17:18:37 UTC