The Jones-Fenleigh Fund was founded in 1989, with money donated by the Jones-Fenleigh family in memory of Edward Jones-Fenleigh, the man who introduced the first museum-quality dinosaur models, made by his company Invicta Plastics of Leicester, UK.
Its purpose is to provide bursaries to individuals with no access to funding for conferences so that they can attend the Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy (SVPCA).
Bursaries from the fund can only be used to support attendance at an SVPCA meeting and may not be used for any other purpose. Applications to cover SVPCA optional extras (e.g. field trips and conference dinners) will not be considered.
The Fund is administered by the Palaeontological Association on behalf of SVPCA. The Council of the Palaeontological Association acts as the Fund’s trustees and are responsible for the management and distribution of bursaries.
The Fund is supported by donations from delegates, including the proceeds of the Annual Auction that takes place at each SVPCA meeting.
Who is eligible?
All delegates who wish to attend SVPCA are eligible to apply, but those intending to present a verbal or poster presentation will be given priority. The SVPCA meeting Chair and other members of the Organising Committee are excluded from consideration. Although applications are welcome from all potential delegates, preference will be given to undergraduate and postgraduate students, post-doctoral researchers, avocational/freelance palaeontologists, and individuals no longer in full-time employment (e.g., retired, unemployed).
How are bursaries awarded?
The Council of the Palaeontological Association will convene a review panel for applications that will be composed of no fewer than three members and will also include the Chair of each year’s SVPCA meeting. This panel will assess and rank the applications.
The number of awards varies from year-to-year, depending on the number of applicants and the amount of money available in the Fund. Awards are allocated at the discretion of the panel, but up to five grants will normally be supported, up to a value of £500 each.
The award is competitive. Criteria for selecting bursary winners include:
- A statement of 250 words outlining why you need the funding and stating clearly why you have no other support to attend;
- If you are a student, postdoc, or employed academic, a clear demonstration that institutional/grant support is lacking (e.g., a letter from your institution/employer);
- We also encourage an optional, free text open statement of up to 300 words outlining any further issues you wish to raise concerning need, access, diversity, or any special circumstances.
- Awards will be allocated via an anonymised lottery system, with applicants from the above-mentioned preference groups given priority.
The award is claimed retrospectively from the Executive Officer of the Palaeontological Association and must be supported by relevant receipts. The award can only be used to pay for the following expenses: travel to/from the meeting, the conference fee, accommodation, and subsistence. Optional extras (e.g., conference fieldtrip, conference dinner, conference merchandise) cannot be claimed.
How to apply:
Please apply by online application using the link below by the 1st of September deadline. For your application you will be asked:
- What is your career stage?
- Have you submitted an abstract to present at the meeting?
- To provide a statement of 250 words outlining why you need the funding and stating clearly why you have no other support to attend.
- If you are a student, postdoc or employed academic, to upload a letter of support from your supervisor/line manager, confirming there is no institutional support for you to attend.
- A budget breakdown.
- Optional free-text statement of up to 300 words outlining further issues you want to raise concerning access, diversity or special circumstances.
Incomplete and late applications will not be considered.
Rubric
- Is the application complete? If no, reject.
- Is it clear why funding is needed, and is the budget sensible? If no, reject.
- Abstract acceptance? (Yes /No)
- Part of a prioritised group (students, postdocs, vocational/freelance, and retired/unemployed applicants)? (Yes / No)
- Of those, identify applications that have a strong diversity/access/special circumstances case.
- Pick from those that fulfil (3), (4), and (5) using a lottery system.
- If there is money left over, pick from those that fulfil (3) and (4) using a lottery system.
- If there is money left over, pick from those that fulfil (3) using a lottery system.
- If there is still money left over, pick from the remaining applications that passed (1) and (2) using a lottery system.
Applicants will be notified of decisions at least 1 week in advance of the meeting start date.