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Guidelines and Rules for Sponsorship

Initial step

When contemplating URSI Sponsorship, organisers of meetings should obtain the essential documents, such as the application form and the set of ICSU rules on Freedom in the Conduct of Science* by:

• contacting the URSI Secretariat;

• or contacting the relevant Commission Chair;

• or downloading them from the URSI Website (http://www.ursi.org/en/ursi_forms.asp).

Approval procedure

(1) Fill in the application form for the appropriate sponsorship mode (A or B, described in the appendix).

(2) The advice of the relevant Commission Chair(s) will be sought by the Secretariat.

Approval depends on the application satisfying the conditions for the desired mode of sponsorship.

For all modes of sponsorship the following conditions must be met:

• The scientific level of the meeting is high enough;

• The local affiliated URSI Member Committee (if it exists) has been consulted;

• The meeting organisers agree that URSI and its officials shall have no liability whatsoever and, in particular, no financial liability, associated with the meeting;

• The ICSU Rules on the Freedom in the Conduct of Science* are satisfied;

• Participation by Young Scientists (less than 35 years of age at the time of the meeting) is encouraged.

Mode A (recognition by URSI) sponsorship must also satisfy the following conditions:

• The meeting supports some of the URSI themes and areas of interest;

• There is no conflict between the meeting and the General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, which must be sufficiently distant.

Mode B (recognition and funding support by URSI) sponsorship must also satisfy the following conditions:

• The meeting supports some of the URSI themes and areas of interest and is truly international in nature;

• There is no conflict between the meeting and other URSI meetings or, most importantly, with the General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, which must be sufficiently distant.

Registration fees for URSI Radioscientists

If the meeting is co-sponsored by URSI, URSI Radioscientists should receive the same reduced fee as the members of any other sponsoring organisations.

Steps before the meeting

Sponsorship entails commitments beneficial to both URSI and the meeting organisers:

(1) URSI's sponsorship must be mentioned in the various documents promoting the meeting. URSI logos are sent to the organisers upon request, to be used in conjunction with the meeting literature. Such use is truly desirable, because one of the advantages URSI provides is the "blessing" which our Union gives to the meeting; the appearance of the logo makes this "blessing" evident.

(2) An official URSI representative must be chosen. His/her main task is to put the expertise of the URSI sponsoring Commission at the organisers' disposal. It should be somebody who will attend the Conference (his/her expenses cannot be covered by URSI). The URSI representative should be chosen by the Chair of the (main) sponsoring Commission.

(3) Details about the meeting - such as the limit date for the submission of abstracts - must be communicated sufficiently early to the URSI Secretariat to permit publication in “The Radio Science Bulletin” at an early stage. All this information should also be on a meeting website.

It would be appreciated if the texts meant for insertion in “The Radio Science Bulletin” could be e-mailed to the Secretariat (e-mail address: rsb@ursi.org). The Secretariat uses Adobe InDesign CS4. Please enclose a copy of your text for comparison and e-mail the photos separately in .jpg.

Steps after the meeting

(1) A suitable report on the meeting - 2 to 4 pages long - must be sent to the Secretariat shortly after the end of the conference. This report will be published in “The Radio Science Bulletin”, thus providing a free (and significant) advertisement to the meeting, a particularly important point if the latter is part of a series. (Responsible person: URSI Representative or delegate)

(2) If Young Scientists have been supported, their name, address and affiliation should be given to the Secretariat. (Responsible Person: URSI Representative or delegate)

(3) A suitable financial report should be made in the case of mode B sponsorship. (Responsible Person: Meeting Organiser)

* The Principle of the Universality of Science embodies freedom of movement, association, expression and communication for scientists as well as equitable access to data, information and research materials. Important responsibilities for scientists are inherent in these freedoms. The Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science (CFRS) serves as the guardian of the Principle, adherence to which is a condition of membership to ICSU. More information at www.icsu.org.

Appendix : Modes of Sponsorship

In order to promote the scientific objectives of the Union, URSI may sponsor scientific meetings of two kinds:

(a) URSI-generated meetings, which are organised by official bodies of URSI (Commissions, Scientific Committees, Working Groups), maybe with other bodies as co-sponsors ; are particularly encouraged.

(b) For meetings that are organised by scientific bodies outside URSI, a necessary condition for URSI to be mentioned as a sponsor or co-sponsor is that the Union should be adequately represented in the preparation of the meeting. This category also includes national meetings intended to promote URSI themes in the member committees.

URSI sponsorship may be granted according to two modes:

Mode A : The meeting is recognised by URSI as appropriate and relevant to the Union’s interests. URSI agrees to be explicitly mentioned as a sponsor or as a co-sponsor. This kind of moral support is granted only if the character and scientific value of the meeting is ensured. No financial commitment is involved, but URSI will support the meeting by publicising it in "The Radio Science Bulletin” and in the conference calendar on the URSI Website.

Mode B : URSI agrees to assist the meeting by providing seed funding. URSI grants a fixed, unconditional sum. This type of financial support is restricted to cover expenses of Young Scientists, key speakers, or other deserving scientists judged to be in need of financial support. The support for these people is typically EUR 500. It can be raised to EUR 1000, but only under special circumstances. It may not be used to absorb general expenses, and in particular meetings of the Organising and Program Committees. Receipts from the beneficiaries are required. The support monies will be paid, either directly to the beneficiaries, or by way of the Organising Committee, which will then take care of payments to individuals.

In some special circumstances, URSI may offer a loan to support the planning and organisation of a meeting. This sum may be combined with an additional, fixed unconditional sum to be used in accordance with Mode B. Anybody interested in pursuing this option should write to the Secretariat and request further information. However, note that URSI will not agree to share the financial responsibility in an event, especially if there is a potential deficit. Guarantees about financial health are taken through participation of an appointed URSI representative on the Financial or Organising Committee of the meeting. Financial support such as this will be granted only if the event budget shows that the loan will be reimbursed to URSI. In any case, the Union will not be liable for losses exceeding the loan granted. A financial closing statement after the meeting will be expected. In the event of a profit, the Union should be adequately repaid with an agreed proportional based on the total profit.

Application forms for URSI Sponsorship :

FORM 1 (due for modes A, B), downloadable form in MS Word

FORM 2 (fixed sum - due for modes B), downloadable form in MS Word