ILTA Grant Funding for Workshops and Meetings

ILTA GRANT FUNDING FOR WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS - Call for Proposals
ILTA aims to promote high standards of professionalism in language testing and assessment practice. One way of carrying out this mission is to encourage workshops and meetings where language testing experts educate and train teachers, test developers, and others, including policy makers, principals, and even test takers in key skills and knowledge in language testing/assessment.

ILTA offers individual grants of up to US$ 3,000 for carrying out an approved workshop/meeting designed to help diffuse knowledge among a wider group in different parts of the world. The aim of a workshop/meeting should be to promote understanding, familiarity, and knowledge of language testing issues and practice among various groups of test users. It is expected that the award will be used as 'seed' money to organise such a workshop/meeting and, ideally, to establish a permanent local organisation that that will conduct further practical activities in language testing in the future, especially in places in need of language testing expertise.

More than one award of US$ 3,000 may be made available in any one year, subject to sufficient funds being available. The procedures require that an award must be used within 15 months of awards (i.e. proposals approved in 2011 must be carried out by the June 30, 2012)

CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSION:
Those eligible to apply are individual language testers, teachers and others representing various types of institutions such as universities, research institutes, schools and testing organisations. Applicants must be ILTA members or, in the case of joint applications, at least one applicant must be an ILTA member. (In cases of extreme financial hardship the membership costs for ILTA may be included as part of the proposal, but a justification is needed in such a case.)

APPLICATION PROCESS:
Those interested can apply by sending a 3- to 5-page proposal which should include the following:
1. brief background regarding the state of language testing in the specific context (country, region, school system)
2. rationale for the meeting including specific reasons and needs for holding the meeting
3. description of target participant groups and their prior training/knowledge in language teaching and in language testing/assessment
4. plan for the meeting including specific themes to be covered
5. tentative list of speakers/workshop leaders plus information about their expertise
6. background of the organiser(s) in the area of language testing (the CV of at least one main organiser should be included to support this point)
7. duration and location of the workshop/meeting
8. intended audience for the workshop/meeting
9. amount of money needed and a specific description of how it will be used (including budget breakdown)
10. intended results of the workshop/meeting, specifically the short- and long-range impact the event is expected to have
11. a specific explanation of how the workshop/meeting will contribute to the mission and to the establishment of a permanent, local organisation
12. full contact details of the organiser(s)

The application must include a written statement of a commitment to provide ILTA within 3 months of the workshop/meeting, with an evaluative report of the event. This will be posted on the ILTA website and may be distributed to ILTA members.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Applications should be sent by e-mail to the ILTA President John Read at ja.read at auckland dot ac dot nz by March 31 2011. No late applications will be accepted.

SELECTION PROCESS:
Each application for grant funding will be evaluated by a special committee of ILTA Executive Board members, which is chaired by the ILTA President and includes one or more of the current ILTA Members at Large. The committee may also call upon other relevant experts to input to the selection process. In light of this, the committee will determine the likely evaluation/wait time needed before a decision can be made and will notify the applicant(s) accordingly.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION:
Selection will be based upon the fit between the application and the criteria which are outlined above. Priority will be given to contexts where language testing is not well-established so that the workshop/meeting can contribute significantly to increasing awareness, knowledge and effective practice in language testing/assessment.

Malone, M. [LTEST-L] ILTA Grant Funding for Workshops and Meetings. LTEST-L listserv (LTEST-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU, 9 Feb 2011).