ACM SIG Officer Orientation
SIG Discretionary Fund (SDF) Overview
1997-08-22
Mark Scott Johnson, ACM SIG Board Vice Chair

• Purpose: To promote technical excellence and foster new programs thruout the Association and the computing field.

 
• Background
• Outgrowth of prior SIG Fund Balance "excesses" about 10 years ago
• "United Way" approach to funding
• On hiatus during SIG financial crisis about 5 years ago
• Reactivated about 2 years ago
• Over 30 Projects Funded (http://www.acm.org/sig_board/sdfprojects.html)
• ACM Turing Award endowment
• Computing Reviews classification revision
• ACM HQ Data Processing Facilities Fund
• WGBH series on the history of computing
• ACM Video Library series
• Data Plan marketing study
• ACM Career Information Handbook
• Minerva's Machine: Women and Computing video
• Risk underwriting for several new SIG technical meetings
• Process
• SIGs make contributions via their FY budget.
• Proposals are solicited twice yearly (mid-April and mid-October).
• Panel filters proposals, distributes to SIG Chairs for evaluation, and tabulates results.
• Panel recommends funding to SIG Board, who make funding decisions.
• ACM HQ administers grants.
• Grantees make final written report.
• SIG Board establishes policies, with input from SIG Chairs.
• Current Status (full report tomorrow)
• Three proposals received in recent semi-annual cycle
• Two circulated to SIG Chairs for comment
• One funded: reprint and distribute CRA Women in Computer Science brochure ($43K)
• Remaining funds negligible
• FY98 SIG contributions are $18,500 from 6 SIGs
• FY99 SIG contributions needed this fall
• SDF Panel Members
• Lori Pollock, Chair
• Jim Cohoon, Past Chair
• John Michael Pierobon
• Mike Lorenzetti