Obtaining Samvera Support for Grant Proposals

As a community-based initiative, Samvera welcomes innovation and advances from all participants. Grants from funding agencies can play an important role in driving progress for individual institutions and for the community at large. In recognition of this, the Samvera Partners encourage grants and may endorse proposals on request. This document lays out the expectations that the Samvera Community has for grant proposals, and the process for obtaining a letter of recommendation from the Samvera Board on behalf of the Partners.

If members of a Samvera Interest Group (IG) or Working Group (WG) wish to submit a letter of support for a grant, the letter should clearly state that support is on behalf of the individuals/institutions signing, not on behalf of Samvera, the Samvera Partners, or the group as a whole. If members of a group wish to offer Samvera’s endorsement and use the Samvera logo, the letter must be reviewed and endorsed via the process outlined below.

Expectations for Grant Proposals

For grant proposals to be endorsed by Samvera, they should follow these guidelines. The proposed project should:

• demonstrate benefit to the Samvera Community and a commitment to participating in the Samvera Community as part of the project.

• relate directly to existing Samvera solutions or the Samvera Community. The proposed benefits should be relevant to the goals of the Samvera Community.

• be explicit that any software produced as part of the grant will align with the Samvera roadmap and that any relevant work will be contributed back to the community codebase.

• clearly include the participation of the grantees in the Samvera Community.

• commit to following existing processes and norms established within the Samvera Community, including those processes around community discussion, and interactions via the established process for Samvera interest groups and working groups.

Process for Letters of Support

Initial public or private discussion with members of the community is encouraged early and often. Engagement with the Samvera Community is preferred prior to asking for a letter of support.

Requests should be made to the Samvera Board, as early as possible, and no later than 2 weeks in advance of the application deadline. Early discussion with the Samvera Board is encouraged to allow time for iterations and to avoid missed deadlines.

The request should contain sufficient supporting information to justify the endorsement of Samvera according to the guidelines above.

The request must include sufficient information to complete the letter of support, such as the contact details for the granting agency, the program under which the application will be submitted, the deadlines for the submission and so forth.

Members of the Samvera Board will review the request and provide feedback. The typical time for this feedback is 2-4 weeks. Once the letter is approved, the Chair of the Samvera Board will issue a signed letter of support on Samvera letterhead. When desirable and appropriate, the letter may also be co-signed by particular Samvera Partners. If a physical copy is required, please allow additional time, otherwise it will be provided as a PDF document.

Limitations of Endorsement

Any support or endorsement is provided by the Samvera Board on behalf of the Samvera Community, and does not imply support for the application from any particular individual community member or Samvera Partner.

The policy and procedures outlined in this document are subject to change by the Samvera Board with input from Samvera Partners, and will be reviewed and updated as needed.