The NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, BC and Yukon, is pleased to announce the Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (WWEST) Partner Project.  This project will provide funding to non-profit groups in BC and the Yukon who are undertaking outreach, recruitment, and/or retention projects focusing on women in engineering, science and technology.  The WWEST Partners project aims to bring together groups with similar goals from across the region to share best practices and provide peer support, while reducing duplication of effort.

Available funding

Groups may apply for 1, 2 or 3 year grants for new or existing projects. Single-year projects are eligible for a one-time grant of up to $5000. Multi-year grants are eligible for up to $6000, distributed over the years of funding.

Groups may apply for multiple grants for multiple projects if they have the organizational capacity to support them. WWEST reserves the right to combine smaller projects from a group into a single grant.

Individual projects will generally be funded only once in a three-year period, so multi-year projects are encouraged to apply for multi-year grants.

The overall funding pool is limited, so it is anticipated that we may not be able to fund all projects, or may not be able to fund projects at the requested level. If receiving less funding than you applied for will cause the project to be cancelled or significantly modified, please include details in your proposal.

Criteria

Project selection will be based on:

• The need for the project;
• The impact the project will have and the number of people affected;
• The sustainability of the project after the funding ends, including organizational capacity;
• Organizational readiness for the funding;
• How the project will be measured and plans for dissemination of results.

Project funding will be based on recommendations from a review committee.

How to Apply

There is a multi-stage process to apply for WWEST Partners funding.

1. Submit an abstract of less than 300 words, describing your proposed project and the funding you are requesting, by no later than January 2, 2011 to wwest@mech.ubc.ca.
2. Groups with accepted abstracts will be requested to send delegates to the WWEST Partners workshop, held at UBC on January 10, 2011 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. The day will include: best practices for small-scale sponsorship, a project management workshop, and a discussion of WWEST Partners funding proposal expectations.
3. Full application packages, based on the accepted abstracts, are due January 31, 2011. Application forms will be distributed at the workshop.
4. WWEST will make funding decisions by February 28, 2011.