Deadlines for submission of workshop proposals are 15 January, 15 May and 15 September.
In each evaluation round, proposals for workshops taking place within 16 months after the deadline will be evaluated.
We strongly recommend consulting Henriette Jensenius (
telephone +31 (71)527 5580), with a draft proposal or a preliminary idea at an early stage.
Keep in mind that a proposal does not need to be long - in our experience a well-chosen topic and setup can be explained in just three pages.
The different points in the outline are further explained below. If you have a great idea for something you would like to try out in the Lorentz Center@Snellius, please use good sense in applying these guidelines to your particular case.
Proposals can be submitted by any active scientist from any country.
Outline of a proposal
Title
Organizers and co-organizers
Scientific case (motivation and goal)
Outline of the content of the workshop
Participants
Factsheet
Budget (html form provided)
The different parts of the proposal:
TITLE
It should be short and catchy; count on a maximum of 50 characters. Longer titles are not easily picked up and people will make their own abbreviations which may not describe the workshop.
If necessary a subtitle can be added.
ORGANIZERS AND CO-ORGANIZERS
Think carefully who to involve as co-organizer(s). In our experience, co-organizers serve two major functions: they help to attract the right people to the workshop and, during the workshop, they stimulate open discussions. Most organizers are mainly involved in the scientific aspects of the workshop.
In particular, if you aim to bring together different communities, it is normally a good idea to include co-organizers from the most important of these.
Consider including a co-organizer based in the Netherlands. This helps involving the Dutch research community in a natural way, including visibility. It is also practical for efficient and easy contact with the Lorentz Center.
Mention the (relevant) areas of expertise of each (co)organizer.
A maximum of 5 (co-)organizers is recommended, of which, at any time, one should be designated the main contact for the Lorentz Center.
SCIENTIFIC CASE
A concise and clearly motivated scientific case that explains, to non-expert colleagues, why a workshop on the proposed topic is timely and what you want to achieve. While not too technical, be specific about the scientific/technical challenges, possible targets or outcomes, and/or the issues which will be discussed.
To ensure that the goals and motivation are explicitly and concisely stated, you should include a sentence beginning with: "This workshop will be considered a success if ...".
At this point, do be specific about this particular week and not the developement of the field in general.
Mention the connection of the proposed theme to the Dutch research community and the possible profitable results of organizing this workshop in the Netherlands. Although an advantage, a connection to Dutch research is not a prerequisite for the approval of a Lorentz Center workshop.
OUTLINE OF THE CONTENT
Describe the topics of the workshop. Especially if you are bringing different (sub) fields together, think of specifying topics which connect the participants (common techniques, phenomena, problems, goals...).
Keeping in mind the goal(s) of the workshop, describe how you plan to organize the week. Given the small number of participants the program can be very flexible, but the board(s) would like to know how you want to work (how much lectures compared to 'work' time and discussion time for instance). We advise you to be very restrictive in planning formal lectures.
Specify the desired length of the workshop. Most common are workshops of one week (5 days). Please give a clear motivation if choosing a shorter or longer period. In particular, less than one week often is not enough to make real progress.
PARTICIPANTS
Give an estimate of the expected number of participants. Space can be offered for a maximum of 25 persons, although successful workshops may have less participants.
Provide a list of key participants and/or invited speakers including their affiliation and expertise. This is to help also non-experts assess the thematic coverage and geographical spread.
Contact the prospective key participants and indicate whether they have confirmed their participation ("pending approval"). Obtaining such preliminary statements of interest is pivotal for the evaluation by the scientific advisory boards, as they are important indicators for the reception of the idea by the community and the potential quality of the workshop.
Participation of the vast majority of the participants during the entire workshop period is important.
We encourage you to invite young promising scientists. Please mention explicitly the ratio of junior and senior participants you are aiming at.
The Lorentz Center and its scientific advisory boards strive to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the workshops. Please keep this in mind, and take a moment to consider if there are excellent women, or researchers from other underrepresented groups, who would enrich your workshop. Since the scientific advisory boards often ask for information about this, you are advised to address the issue explicitly in your proposal.
FACTSHEET
Please provide a separate factsheet with the following information:
Title (max 50 char.). Subtitle if necessary.
Preferred dates for the workshop: Provide 3 different periods/weeks, with priority. Include motivation, if applicable (back to back with related conferences, availability of (a) key participant(s), commemorative dates etc.). Indicate non-weeks.
Anticipated number of participants
Preferred facility@Oort or facililty@Snellius
Full contact details (name, affiliation, mail address, e-mail, and telephone numbers) of all (co)organizers. One or two of them act as the contact for the Lorentz Center staff in organizational matters.
For use on the workshop webpage each (co)organizer must further provide: a short version of their affiliation (informative for colleagues) and a webpage link (if available)
BUDGET
Please include a preliminary budget estimation in your proposal and identify possible co-sponsors, using the Lorentz center Meeting Budget Sheet. Find further guidelines on preparing the budget below.
For assistance, advice, and suggestions at any stage of the preparation of a proposal you are welcome to contact Henriette Jensenius who is in charge of the planning and evaluation of the scientific program:
telephone +31 (71)527 5580
In any case, we strongly recommend consulting Henriette Jensenius, with a draft proposal or a preliminary idea at an early stage.
Please send your final proposal (and Budget form) by email to
Budget
PLEASE NOTE:
For further information on the budget please contact Mieke Schutte
.
Financial Aspects of Lorentz Center Meetings: Funding, Expenses and Guidelines
For all workshops, the Lorentz Center covers the costs for the following items:
Lorentz Center facilities and support
Round the clock coffee, tea, water and juices, with cookies during the breaks
The wine and cheese welcome party
The workshop dinner
The workshop poster (design, print and distribution)
On average, these items amount to € 3,500 per meeting (excluding facilities and support).
Most meetings at the Lorentz Center are further granted a refund budget by the Lorentz Center. The refund budget depends on the anticipated number of participants and is currently € 28.00 per participant per day. The refund budget is for reimbursement of costs for accommodation, travel and/or lunches, to be assigned by the scientific organizers. In the case of (team) meetings of already financed groups/networks, the boards may decide that a reduction of this refund budget is in order. The following guidelines apply:
Refunds for accommodation can be up to € 77.00 per person per night, which is the Lorentz Center special rate for Hotel Van der Valk Leiden (including breakfast and taxes) www.hotelleiden.nl.
In our experience, the number of hotel nights on average equals the number of meeting days.
Travel refunds are on the basis of travel receipts, up to € 300.00 for European countries and € 800.00 for other countries.
The Lorentz Center refund budget is based on the anticipated number of participants, as indicated in the workshop proposal. When the actual number of registered participants deviates substantially from the anticipated number of participants, the budget may be adjusted accordingly.
Travel refunds exceeding € 300 / € 800 may be provided only when supplementary external funding is available.
Expenses other than the specified items may be considered, in consultation with the workshop coordinator.
Expected meeting costs will be finalized on the Monday prior to the meeting week. Subsequent changes in budget assignments will usually not be considered.
The wine and cheese welcome party is an extensive happy hour that contributes to the informal spirit of the meeting. The wine and cheese party is held at the end of the first meeting day.
The workshop dinner is a social event aimed at further promoting a cordial atmosphere and providing a platform for informal contacts. It explicitly is not a farewell dinner. The dinner is therefore preferably held on Wednesday. The meeting dinner may take place in any of a number of selected restaurants in Leiden area. Other options may be considered, in consultation with the workshop coordinator. The dinner budget includes dinner, drinks and, if needed, transportation.
The budget for the workshop poster includes professional design, printing and distribution.
The Lorentz Center does not charge registration fees.
External Funding
Many scientific organizers wish to supplement the financial support that the Lorentz Center can provide. Acquisition of supplementary external funding is done by the scientific organizers. It is convenient when the amount of external funding is known at the time of the intake meeting (i.e., 6 to 9 months before the meeting). Most funding agencies do not require a definitive approval of the meeting by the Lorentz Center at the time of application. If desired, we advise to apply for supplementary external funding as soon as possible.
For your inspiration, we have listed the agencies that have funded specific Lorentz Center workshops since 2008: List with funding agencies.
Most correspondence with external funding agencies must be done by the scientific organizers as they are the recipients of the funding. The Lorentz Center will invoice each funding agency before the meeting takes place. The Lorentz Center will provide the scientific organizers with a financial statement of the meeting costs about four months after the workshop has been held.
External funding that will be administered by the Lorentz Center must be transferred to the Lorentz Center's bank account. Otherwise, external funding cannot be handled by the Lorentz Center nor will it be communicated through Lorentz Center mailings and such.
In case of a surplus in the finalized account, the meeting costs will be charged in the following order: external funding, Lorentz Center funding and, lastly, personal funds of the scientific organizers.
Spending of external funding is always according to the guidelines of the funding agency. Ultimately, all budgetary matters, including those involving external funds, are at the discretion of the executive manager of the Lorentz Center. For uncommon activities to be organized within the Lorentz Center framework, financial aspects as well as the additional workload for the Lorentz Center staff are subject of consideration.
The Lorentz Center takes pride in organizing high-quality scientific meetings with moderate means. We welcome meetings that are organized in line with this idea. We also encourage funding to be spent in such a way that it benefits all participants or those most in need.
For details on the budget breakdown, you are advised to contact Executive Manager Mieke Schutte at your earliest convenience by email
or by telephone +31 (71) 527 5405.
For questions about a choosing a week please contact Ms Auke Planjer at:
Please send your final proposal (and Budget form) by email to
Deadlines for submission of workshop proposals are 15 January, 15 May and 15 September.