Special call for proposals: Virtual Observatory-Office of Astronomy for Development Special Grant

The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) have a partnership that aims to bring together the complementary resources and expertise of these institutions to advance the application of astronomical data and/or technology in different areas of society, most notably for education, development and public outreach. To this end, we will offer a special grant to support the development of Virtual Observatory (VO) tools in an undergraduate teaching context.

Deliverables 

The successful grant holder will deliver on the following

• A desktop survey of learning outcomes for undergraduate astronomy/physics curricula in South Africa and Africa;
• Identify where existing VO tutorials and/or resources map onto learning outcomes in those curricula;
• Write up minimum requirements for running those tutorials, e.g. computing, internet speed, lab hours required;
• Work with the relevant stakeholders to make South African data available in VO tools, and create (or adapt existing) VO tutorials using SA data; and
• Present those tutorials to course convenors in one-on-one sessions.

Application

Proposals should not exceed two pages (minimum font size 11)  and include the following:

• Name and contact details of the proposer;
• Team members’ profiles (who will be involved and what are their roles/skills/experience);
• Plans to deliver on the above requirements;
• Detailed timelines and milestones;
• Detailed Budget (for professional costs, rates and time estimates should be provided); and
• Any additional motivation. 

Selection

A selection panel, comprising representatives from the OAD and the SAAO VO team will assess the proposals based on the following criteria: 

• The capability of the project leader and team (score out of 10);
• Feasibility of project plan (score out of 10, based on plans and timelines);
• Cost-effectiveness (score out of 10, based on budget and timelines); and
• Additional considerations (score out of 5, based on motivation).

Deadline

Proposals should be sent as a pdf to vanessa@astro4dev.org  by 15th April 2022.

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