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ARL Launches Venture Fund to Support Research and Development in Member Libraries—Proposals Due February 28

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image CC0 by Greg Rakozy

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has established a Venture Fund to support prototypes or proofs of concept that scale so as to advance the Association priorities set by the members and the Board. Proposals for Venture Fund investments may come from an ARL member representative, a group of member representatives, an Association committee, or staff persons at member libraries with the explicit approval of their library dean or director. Proposals for the 2020 funding cycle are due February 28, 2020.

Three types of projects will be considered:

  1. Research and development one-time grants capped at $15,000 for a significant enhancement or expansion of a prototype
  2. Research and development pilots lasting 1–3 years, capped at $10,000 per year, dependent on an annual review by the ARL Program Strategy Committee and a decision by the Board of Directors to continue to fund
  3. Mini grants capped at $1,500 for small-scale proofs of concept or prototypes (post–idea formulation)

Proposed projects must exist in some form already and have an identified community of users with the potential to scale. Proposals that demonstrate collaboration between ARL member institutions will be given preference.

Projects awarded Venture Fund grants will be announced shortly after the ARL Board of Directors spring meeting, to be held on May 14, 2020.

More information about the Venture Fund and the application process may be found in this document [PDF] and on the ARL Member Resources site (Member Resources login required).

 

About the Association of Research Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise, promotes equity and diversity, and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.

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