An ACM India Professional and Student Engagement Initiative

May-June 2025 Cycle Note:

Due to the large number of applications, the results will be announced by June 07, 2025."

The following activities will be supported by the ACM India Activity Based Funding initiative for the January-February and March-April 2025 cycles. The details have been emailed to each recipient individually.

 

Important dates:

	January	March	May	July	September	November
Call for proposals	01	01	01	01	01	01
Application deadline	08	08	08	08	08	08
Proposal Reviews	18	18	18	18	18	18
Announce Decision	23	23	23	23	23	23

Apply online using the ACM India Activity Support Application form.

The Professional and Student Engagement group of ACM India has launched an initiative towards partial financial support of activities by its student and professional chapters in India. Generally, any activity that adds clear value to ACM members, and/or the student chapter, the professional chapter, ACM India and/or the broader computing community, would be considered for funding. Typical activities include hosting several talks, hackathons, mini workshops, etc. Funding is usually limited to one activity per chapter per year, and may only partially cover the costs of the activity. Activity funding may also be combined with funding through the Eminent Speaker Program (ESP) and any support offered by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee of ACM India. Applications for activity funding are solicited every 2 months. So chapters should plan their activities about 3 months in advance and apply for such funding.

Detailed guidelines on the nature of the support and the process for application and decision making are given below.

Funding Rules

● Funding proposals will have a call-for-proposal call six times a year.

● Typically a chapter will be funded for once per year. However, a proposal rejected in one call of a year can be improved and submitted a subsequent call of that same funding year.

● Proposals that are approved for funding will be reimbursed the approved costs on completion of the event and submission of relevant receipts and documentation.

● Large conferences follow a separate approval process handled by ACM HQ and hence not covered under this scheme.

● Chapters should target an attendance of at least 50, composed mostly of professional members, student members or ACM members.

● Chapters are encouraged to invite one speaker from the Eminent Speaker Program of ACM India to enhance the impact of the event. The ESP application is separate and on top of this activity funding.

● Proposals should be endorsed by (a) 20 ACM Members, (b) Two or more ACM Chapters (besides the one organizing it), or (c) Three or more academic or industrial institutions. These endorsements should indicate that they will attend the event and support it.

● Funding will cover the costs of renting a facility or infrastructure. Organizers should find a host ready to provide complimentary space and infrastructure.

● A small registration fee (about INR 100 to 200) should be charged for each attendee to offset the costs of the event. A discount in the fee may be given to ACM or chapter members. The expected income from the registration fee and other sources (e.g., sponsorship) should be listed in the proposal budget.

Selection criteria for activity approval

● The chapter should be in good standing. Visit the ACM Chapter Policies page for more information on checking if your chapter is on probation or how to make it active again if de-chartered.

● A clear statement of some objective, measurable value to multiple ACM members, the student chapter, the professional chapter, ACM India and/or the broader computing community.

● The activity should be endorsed by 20 ACM members, or 2 or more additional chapters in good standing, or 3 or more institutions (academic or industrial).

● Activity that is able to get funding or sponsorship from additional sources will be given higher preference.

● Expenses types supported

○ Catering cost for food

○ Travel/Accommodation cost of the speakers

○ Local travel

● Expenses types not supported

○ Mementoes, Flowers, gifts, etc.

○ Infrastructure and facility rental costs

○ Printing expenses (hard banners, backdrops etc.)

Sample list of activities

An activity must typically be a day long (about 6-8 hours) and host about 50 attendees. Here are some examples.

● Talk/Seminar: Arrange a day long series of talks by high level experts on locally relevant or contemporary technical issues. The talk can also include an ESP speaker.

● Regional Quiz/Programming contest/Hackathons/Bootcamps or similar activities that keep the fun and learning element of Computing alive. This should benefit both ACM members and the broader computing community.

● Workshop, Symposium, etc. with a mix of technical activities such as talks, presentations, posters, panel discussions, mentorship sessions, etc.

Funding amount

The support from ACM India for each activity funding will be limited to Rs. 50,000 (Rs.Fifty Thousand only per activity). The costs will be reimbursed based on actual and approved expenses after the completion of the event.

Call for Activity Funding Proposals

There will be six calls for proposals each year, every 2 months: (i) Jan, (ii) March, (iii) May, (iv) July, (v) September, and (vi) November. Chapters are encouraged to apply about 2-3 months prior to the event, but not earlier than 6 months prior to the event.

1. Proposal call: Week 1 of the cycle.
2. Proposal to include
   1. Clear objective
   2. Deliverables
   3. Activity and publicity plan
   4. Budget
      1. Funding plan including external support like sponsorship, registration fees etc.
      2. Support required from ACM India.
   5. Commencement and End dates

Apply online using the ACM India Activity Support Application form.

3. Proposal deadline: Week 2 of the cycle
4. Proposal review: Week 3 of the cycle
5. Results: Week 4 of the cycle.
6. The actual activity should happen in a subsequent period.

Funded Project Closure

● For Student chapters: The activity should be reported on the ACM India Chapter Portal.

● For Professional chapters: A report of the activity together with the programme (e.g., speaker, title, abstract, duration), number of participants, photos, audio/video recordings, etc. must be submitted to ACM India.

● All chapters are encouraged to video-record key talks or discussions and submit them to the ACM India YouTube channel.

● Final budget statement, summary of expenses and income, and scanned receipts for expenses being claimed should be submitted for reimbursement.

● Any deliverables mentioned in the proposal should also be submitted.

● For premature closure of the project, permission must be sought from the evaluation committee, and a closure report must be submitted.

The above should be completed one week after the end date of the activity.

Funding will be released within two months of receiving the above.

For any further information regarding the funding, please write to [email protected].

Example

A professional chapter ABC plans to have a day-long activity of a series of talks on “Writing Secure Code” in the 3rd week of April. Here is the sequence of steps:

Month	Week	ACM India Role	Chapter Role
March	1	Cycle Announcement
	2		Apply online
	3	Proposal review
	4	Support decision	Yay!
April	1
	2
	3		Conduct talks series
	4		Closure formalities