Eligibility and requirements

1. Projects must have an impact on the geophysical profession or students of the geosciences.
2. Awards will not exceed US$10 000, except for field camps where awards will not exceed US$20 000.
3. Any funding award which is not used for the purpose outlined in the proposal must be returned to the SEG Foundation, unless written permission is received to change the scope of the original project request.
4. Any funds not accounted for with invoices or receipts must be returned to the SEG Foundation.
5. Evaluation of the project is required. An evaluation report must be received by the SEG Foundation Business Office, within 60 days of the last day of the project.
6. Funds may not be utilized for administrative, overhead, or indirect costs.

Maximum allowable grant and non-allowed expenses

1. The maximum allowable Project of Special Merit award is generally US$10 000.
2. Field Camps Projects are now eligible for up to US$20 000 for a period of one year.
3. Indirect costs are not allowed under the Projects of Special Merit grant program.
4. Proposals should only request one year of funding, but may indicate the project goals beyond one year.

Review criteria  

The primary criteria that will be used to review and prioritize qualifying projects are intellectual merit and broader impact:

1. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
   • How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within applied geophysics, broadly defined?
   • How well qualified is the applicant (individual or team) to conduct the project?
   • To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts?
   • How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity?
   • Is there sufficient access to resources?
   
    
2. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
   • How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding?
   • How well does the activity promote teaching, training, and learning?
   • How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g. gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)?
   • To what extent will the activity enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships?
   • Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?
   • What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

1. Applications must include time-framed and measurable objectives.
2. Applications must clearly describe methods of financial and programmatic accountability.
3. Applications must clearly describe how the project relates to the mission of the Foundation by advancing geophysics today and/or inspiring geoscientists for tomorrow.
4. Applications must specify the purpose for which SEG funds will be utilized and describe how the project will verify and report that funds have been expended in the manner requested and approved.
5. Applications must describe how the project will publicly recognize the support of SEG and the SEG Foundation.
6. Applications should address whether the project can proceed with partial funding.  NOTE:  The program is not intended to fully fund an entire project.  Applicants should have other funding sources to support a project.