Irish Mathematical Society

Conference support by the IMS: Guidelines for applicants

Each member of the IMS who plans to organise a mathematical conference on the island of Ireland can apply to the IMS Committee for partial support of the event. Please follow the guidelines below if you intend to do this.

Scope of events supported

A meeting is eligible for IMS conference support if it is a conference or a workshop with a substantial mathematical component in any area of Mathematics, pure and applied, or in Mathematical Education.

Timing of the application

The IMS treasurer sends out calls for applications for conference funding twice a year, typically in November and in May for the following six-month period. Applications must be received by the deadlines specified in these calls. For example, if you plan to hold a meeting in March you should apply in November the previous year; if your conference is planned for September, you should apply by May the same year (or earlier)

Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Information needed as part of the application

In order for the Committee to make an informed and timely decision, the application should contain (at least) the following information:

Title of the conference
Venue and dates
List of the organisers
List of the scientific committee (if any)
Description of the aims of the meeting and why it should be supported by the IMS
Approximate number of expected participants, specifying the number of expected graduate students
An outline of the budget including other sources of funding and whether applications to other funders have been or will be submitted
The precise amount requested from the IMS.

References to webpages are not enough!

Decision process

Following the receipt of all eligible applications by a given deadline, the Committee will strive to make its decisions within two weeks. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the application without delay. If an application is approved, the applicant will be requested to provide the treasurer with the necessary bank details; the full amount of the award will be transferred into the stated bank account about two months prior to the event.

Applicants need to keep in mind that the budget of the IMS is extremely limited. As a result, applications will be considered on a competitive basis. In the event of a large number of applications, the committee will endeavour to distribute the support available between institutions.

The typical amount the IMS could support any event over the past few years were €200-300.

Reporting procedure

After the event was held, the applicant is required to provide the treasurer with a brief statement how the support from the IMS has been spent. This informal report should be provided within two months after the end of the meeting.

The applicant is further required to write up a brief report on the scientific programme and achievements of the meeting for the Bulletin of the IMS. This report should be sent to the editor of the Bulletin as soon as possible so that it can be published at the latest in the second issue following on to the end of the meeting.

Any further queries concerning the application process should be addressed to the IMS treasurer only and not to any other Committee member.