Terms and conditions
On this page, we've provided more information about the Fellowship and how it works.
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All questions and suggestions should be sent to the Fellowship email address.
Terminology
We will use the word conference to refer to all conferences, meetings, workshops and events.
The word expenses will be used to describe expenses incurred for both travel, subsistence and expenses related to the running of workshops and forums.
The responsibilities of a Fellow
Fellows have seven area of responsibilities, with four being mandatory:
- Preparing reports on attended conferences (mandatory)
- Promoting the Software Sustainability Institute where appropriate (mandatory)
- Attending the annual Software Sustainability Institute's Collaborations Workshop (mandatory)
- Attend a Fellowship meeting in mid-2013 (mandatory)
- Possibly run a Software Carpentry workshop (optional)
- Possibly organise a policy forum (optional)
- Suggest other uses of the award to further their aims and the Institutes aims. (optional)
Funding
A Fellowship has £3000 of funding. This funding is to aid the Fellow in carryout out their responsibilities as detailed above.
Preparing reports on conferences
In exchange for the Software Sustainability Institute paying their expenses, Fellows will prepare a short report on the conferences they attend, workshops they run and policy forums they organise. Further information on these reports is provided below.
Promotion of the Software Sustainability Institute
Fellows should promote the Software Sustainability Institute where appropriate. For example, we expect Fellows to discuss our work during conversations with interested delegates at conferences and events.
We also require our Fellows to include a slide about the Software Sustainability Institute in their presentation, and, where possible, to leave publicity materials (typically A5 flyers) for distribution at the conference.
Fellows will write a minimum of one blog post per year for the Software Sustainability Institute's blog.
We encourage Fellows to use our Twitter account to broadcast news about their work.
Attending the Software Sustainability Institute's Collaborations Workshop
Fellows will attend the Collaborations Workshop, which will most likely be held during March 2013. The event will last a maximum of three days and expenses will be reimbursed by the Software Sustainability Institute.
Attend a Fellowship meeting in mid-2013
Fellows will attend a Fellowship meeting in mid-2013. The meeting will give Fellows the opportunity to exchange best practice, network and feedback on their experiences. It will last one day and expenses will be reimbursed by the Software Sustainability Institute.
Possibly run a Software Carpentry workshop
A Fellow can elect to run a Software Carpentry event at their home institution or at a domain conference (where there is clear benefit to the UK research base). The Software Sustainability Institute will provide expertise and advice on running the event. Funding for the workshop will come from the Fellows £3000 funding.
Possibly organise a policy forum
A Fellow can elect to run a policy forum hosted at their home institution. The Software Sustainability Institute will provide expertise and advice on running the event. Funding for the workshop will come from the Fellows £3000 funding.
Contract duration
In most circumstances, Fellows must submit applications for expenses over the period 1 January 2013 and 10 December 2013. The expenses must be incurred over the period 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014.
What conferences and events meet the criteria for funding?
We will only pay for a Fellow to attend a conference that is likely to provide information about a research discipline that uses software, or an event that's likely to generate interest in software and research. We are interested in uncovering information about:
- The software being used by researchers to improve their research, and the ways in which that software is being used
- Researchers who are developing software for other researchers to use
- Groups who are funding software development or helping researchers with software
Organising events such as Software Carpentry, Policy forums or other events will be agreed by dialogue; there must be a clear benefit to the UK research base and be in alignment with the Institutes aims and objectives.
How to apply for, and claim, expenses
The application process
Any Fellow can apply to have their expenses paid by entering the required information on the Fellows travel request page. The process is as follows:
- At least one month before the conference begins, the Fellow should use the event request page to submit information about the expenses. This must include:
- the name of the event
- the dates over which the event takes place
- an adequate description of why the event will generate information relevant to the Software Sustainability Institute or will benefit the research community
- an estimate of the expenses that will be incurred
- The application is reviewed by the Software Sustainability Institute
- The Fellow is informed by email whether the application is successful (the Fellow might be contacted for further information)
- The Fellow pays for their expenses and collects receipts for all expenses incurred
- Within one month of the end date of the conference, the Fellow submits their report on the conference and posts an expenses form and all receipts to the address below
- The Software Sustainability Institute reimburses the Fellow for all relevant expenses
Limitations over what can be claimed, time limits and other restrictions are discussed in the Limitations section below.
Posting expenses and receipts
Expenses will be claimed from the University of Edinburgh, hence Fellows should follow the University of Edinburgh's expenses policy (as taken from the reimbursement of expenses section on the staff expenses website. Note you need not access the actual University of Edinburgh staff website but this informaiton is provided for provenance).
All expenses must be supported by a receipt.
Completed expenses forms and receipts should be posted to:
The Software Sustainability Institute (Fellowship expenses)
Room 3412
EPCC
The University of Edinburgh
James Clerk Maxwell Building
Mayfield Road
Edinburgh
EH9 3JZ
We recommend photocopying the form and receipts before sending them to the address above via recorded delivery.
Limitations
Expenses will not be reimbursed if the limitations described on this page are not met. It is the responsibility of the Fellow to meet the limitations. The Software Sustainability Institute is not responsible for reminding Fellows of limitations and cannot be held liable if any of the limitations are not met.
We will recoup reasonable expenses, as described in the reimbursement of expenses section on the staff expenses website a copy of the document not requiring login is available. This means taking the cheapest (but safe) option when travelling, such as choosing economy class for flights and standard class for trains.
The report on the conference must use the template provided on the Fellows reporting page and must be completed to a degree considered adequate by the Software Sustainability Institute.
The Software Sustainability Institute is not liable for any expenses incurred by the Fellow before permission for incurring expenses has been requested.
Expenses will not be paid until the Fellow submits their report on the event.
Unless suitable justification is provided, expenses will not be paid if they are over 20% of the estimate of the expenses submitted during the travel request process.
Unless suitable justification is provided, expense applications must be submitted at least one month before the event takes place.
Expenses will only be reimbursed if the expenses form and receipts are received within a period of one calendar month from the end date of the event.
Termination
The Software Sustainability Institute reserves the right to cancel our contract with a Fellow at any time if the Software Sustainability Institute deems that a Fellow has not met the terms and conditions described on this page.