IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant

Call for Proposals In 2016, IRRT members and supporters established the IRRT Endowment. Interest from the Endowment will be used to fund member-initiated proposals for international projects which contribute to ALA’s role in international librarianship. Goals for the funding are to provide support for international projects or partnerships; promote a global dialogue about librarianship; increase visibility of international opportunities for U.S. and international librarians, and encourage international collaboration in librarianship.

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Call for Proposals

In 2016, IRRT members and supporters established the IRRT Endowment. Interest from the Endowment will be used to fund member-initiated proposals for international projects which contribute to ALA’s role in international librarianship. Goals for the funding are to provide support for international projects or partnerships; promote a global dialogue about librarianship; increase visibility of international opportunities for U.S. and international librarians, and encourage international collaboration in librarianship.

Examples of proposals that could be considered for funding include, but are not limited to:

  • Support for travel that is necessary to advance an international project
  • Funds to support collaborative sister library projects
  • Funds to support the development and distribution of training or publicity materials in support of an international project

The amount available for grants may vary each year. IRRT may choose to use available funds to provide one or more grants of varying amounts. The maximum grant amount per proposal will be $1,000.00.

Proposal process:

Individual IRRT members may submit or support only one proposal per year. Use of the IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant Proposal Form is required. Once complete, the form may be sent to the International Relations Office by e-mail only. Proposals submission deadline has bee extended to January 22, 2024, and will be reviewed by the IRRT Endowment Committee.

Criteria:

All documents required in the criteria, including the form, must be submitted for your application to be considered for the grant.

Reports and IRRT articles will be posted on the IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant web site.

All proposals are submitted to the ALA International Relations Office for review by the IRRT Endowment Committee. Applicants may be contacted for additional information.

  1. The proposal must be submitted by a current IRRT member. Length of IRRT membership will be considered when reviewing applications. [Note that ALA international members are considered IRRT members when joining ALA.]
  2. The proposal must support projects that advance the IRRT Mission and/or ALA’s international strategic goals and must include concrete outcomes.
  3. The proposal must involve collaboration or engagement with librarians from more than one country.
  4. The proposal must support a project that will be completed within one year of award date.
  5. Proposals must include an anticipated budget with details on how the award will be spent. In addition, awards will not support purchase of books or materials for a specific library, conference travel unrelated to a project supported by the Mission Enhancement Grant, or volunteer work for an established program.
  6. Proposals may be re-submitted for consideration in a consecutive year if work is ongoing.
  7. Recipients agree to send a report by the end of the year indicating:
    1. A description of how the project was carried out
    2. Concrete outcomes
    3. An evaluation of the project related to the outcomes, describing successes and challenges
    4. Photos and quotes from project participants about the project
    5. A separate document that provides an accounting of how funds were spent
  8. Recipients agree to submit an article to IRRT’s publication, International Leads, within 3 months of completing the project.
  9. Recipients agree to acknowledge the IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant on publicity, reports, and other documentation related to the project.

Notification process:

Individuals submitting nominations will be notified of a decision by February 28th. The Committee may elect to offer partial grants in response to a proposal.

Past winners

2023 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant Winner: “Capacity Building for LIS Professionals in Cambodia and Maldives through Continuing Professional Development (CPD)”. Dr. Shrianjani (Gina) De Alwis Jayasuriy

2022 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant winner :ASEAN "Best Practices" Sister Library Partnership

2021 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant winner: Nciaragua 3D printing project (Press Release)

2020 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant winner (Report, International Leads)

2019 - No award was given.

2018 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant Report (PDF file)

Back to IRRT's Endowment page