Travel Support for Researchers

Travel Support for Underrepresented Researchers

PLEASE NOTE: This program has been retired and will no longer accept submissions.

Overview

Are you a researcher in a government lab, or conducting industrial research, and interested in attending a conference but having difficulty finding the funding?

This project supports researchers who identify as a member of a group underrepresented in computing for whom traveling to a conference/workshop without financial support from one’s employer would constitute a hardship, and where attending the event would provide valuable opportunities to network and grow professionally.

CRA-WP will provide full or partial support for actual travel expenses to conferences or workshops in the applicant’s area of research. Travel to CS-related summer schools for the purpose of learning technical material or to a program committee meeting that requires face-to-face participation may also covered. Up to $2000 ($3000 for international conferences) will be available per trip. If the applicant’s employer is able to cover part of the cost, CRA-WP will reimburse the remaining amount of actual expenses, up to the limit. However, support from the home institution is not required to apply for this program.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this program, the applicant must:

Be a full-time or part-time employee of a government-funded research laboratory or conducting industrial research in the US or Canada who identifies as a member of a group underrepresented in computing (i.e. woman, African-American, Latinx, Native American/First Peoples, and/or People with Disabilities).
Provide evidence of being an active researcher, either by having a PhD granted from an accredited institution and/or a record of publications in academic conferences/journals.
Conducting research in a subfield of computer science, or be traveling to a conference related to computer science.

* Students are not eligible for this program.

Travel funds are provided by the CRA-WP organization, therefore the conference or the applicant’s research must be in an area related to computer science. The applicant’s home institution must be located in the U.S. or Canada. Travel grants are limited to one per person per calendar year.

Preference is given to researchers underrepresented in computing (i.e. woman, African-American, Latinx, Native American/First Peoples, and/or People with Disabilities) just starting out in a research career. Preference is also given to researchers who have not previously received travel funding through CRA-WP.

Travel funding is limited to two researchers per conference event. If more than two researchers apply to attend the same conference, subsequent applications cannot be funded.

Application

Since conferences occur throughout the year, applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

A panel of CRA-WP members will consider each application and make a decision within 4 weeks of receiving the application.

Application materials:

A current CV
A personal statement (1 page) explaining why attending this conference/workshop is important to you and your eligibility
A letter from your supervisor at your home institution attesting you are a full- or part-time employee of a corporate-funded or government-funded research lab, and that your institution cannot cover the full costs of your travel to this event.
A budget estimating the costs for attending the meeting; see Budget tab.

If accepted, reasonable uncovered travel expenses will be reimbursed, up to a limit of $2000 (or $3000 for international conferences). Grant recipients are encouraged to volunteer their time to the CRA-WP (e.g., serving on a panel at a workshop, helping judge future grant applications, and mentoring younger women).

Budget

Please provide a detailed and realistic budget including:

Conference Registration
Airfare
Lodging
Meals
Transportation

International travel is acceptable. You should plan to stay in the conference hotel or a reasonable priced hotel. If part of your travel costs can be covered by your employer, state the amount clearly. Decisions will be made based on the amount of funds available to the program, as well as our evaluation of whether the amount requested is appropriate. Please send the budget as part of the application to travelsupport@cra.org.