Guidelines for Meetings Support

The guidelines below were adopted in 2008 and the last time modified by the Bureau on 13 July 2023. The program of IUGG support for scientific meetings (e.g., workshops, advanced schools, symposia) is one of the most important means by which the Union and its Associations pursue a goal of promoting geophysics and geodesy through international collaboration.

A fraction of the IUGG’s budget is devoted to the support of these scientific meetings. The IUGG Executive Committee places great emphasis on maintaining high scientific standards, coverage of a balanced spectrum of topics, and an appropriately broad and international flavour for the scientific program of the meetings. In that respect, the ISC rules on non-discrimination in the access of qualified scientists from all parts of the world to any IUGG-sponsored meeting apply.

The number of co-sponsored meetings ranges from 10 to 15 (up to US$10,000 each). Accordingly, not all meeting proposals worthy of support can be awarded IUGG sponsorship. IUGG funds are provided to support travel of students, early career scientists, female scientists, and especially those from less-affluent countries.

The following guidelines for obtaining IUGG sponsorship should be observed by prospective proposers:

• An IUGG-sponsored scientific meeting should have a well-defined and scientifically relevant theme, should be scheduled at a propitious time for significant progress in the field, and should be of interest to young researchers as well as senior experts.
• While the IUGG embraces all fields in geophysics and geodesy, a proposed program should maintain a balanced scope relevant to IUGG Associations. Each proposal will be judged on its own scientific merits.
• Given the international nature of the Union, meetings are by definition internationally oriented. This requires a well-balanced geographical and gender distribution.

Normally, the initiative to propose a scientific meeting for IUGG sponsorship originates from a group of scientists in a certain field. Prospective meeting organizers should contact the respective Association Secretary General (ASG) well in advance of their intended proposal submission, by sending a request for IUGG support until 15 October 2024.

If a meeting needs to be postponed for up to 18 months (from the original date of submission), the previously guaranteed IUGG financial support will be transferred accordingly. If a meeting gets postponed for more than 18 months, the applicant should re-apply for IUGG financial support. Multiple postponements are not permitted. No IUGG financial support will be provided if the meeting is cancelled.

To ensure that the information necessary for the evaluation of the proposals by the Associations and the IUGG Bureau are complete and in a uniform format, allowing objective comparison between proposals as far as possible, the request for support must specify all entries listed below:

• Name of meeting, venue and dates
• Primary sponsors and other known co-sponsors
• Name and address of the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee
• The meeting website
• Scientific objective and scope of the meeting
• Estimated number of participants, abstracts, and sessions
• Level of support requested (in US$) and explanation of how the money will be used
• Additional information as appropriate

IUGG will not support scientific meetings in the year of an IUGG General Assembly (except for the aforementioned postponed meetings) and those meetings organized during Association scientific assemblies.

The scientific merit of each scientific meeting’s proposal should be evaluated by the respective ASG, taking into consideration comments and advice received from the Association Executive Committee.

The Association Secretaries General should communicate their recommendation for selection to the IUGG Secretary General as soon as possible after receiving the requests, but not later than 31 October 2024.

The allocations will be suggested by the IUGG Secretary General and reviewed by the Members of the IUGG Bureau to assure impartiality. The Bureau will decide on the final selection of the successful applications.

The decision on the IUGG support will be communicated to the Association Secretaries General by the IUGG General Secretary in a letter of award as soon as possible but not later than 1 December 2024.

The IUGG support should be acknowledged in all documents related to a sponsored meeting (e.g., in scientific program, on the website, in brochures, publications of proceedings, etc.).

Within 2 months after the meeting, a meeting report must be sent to the IUGG Secretary General by the respective ASG and must contain:

1. a brief technical report summarizing the scientific highlights of the meeting (1-2 pages);
2. a copy of the final scientific program;
3. a list of participants, including their distribution by gender and country; and
4. a list of recipients of IUGG grants, stating amount, country, age, and gender.