The Project Incubator aims to bring together teams of librarians, faculty and technologists to work on collaborative projects at AMICAL 2023.

The Incubator is not a traditional conference session, but rather an opportunity for teams to devote concentrated time to the development and growth of collaborative projects. Teams will clarify their goals, explore divergent ideas, strengthen collaborations, and gather feedback from peers.

What kind of teams and projects are sought?

To apply for the Project Incubator you will need the following:

1. A team of staff and/or faculty from at least two AMICAL member institutions
2. A project:
   1. that requires collaboration
   2. that relates to libraries, technology and/or pedagogy at AMICAL member institutions (for further context about the kind of work AMICAL supports, you may find it helpful to view our organizational goals and the conference priority topics referenced in the “Call for Proposals”)
   3. with potential impact for AMICAL members: e.g. intending to benefit consortium members directly, or a project whose development process or outcomes could be shared later as models for other members to draw from, etc.
   4. that could clearly benefit from giving team members time together, face-to-face, with each other and with AMICAL peers who have relevant expertise or interest for feedback
3. A brief, timelined plan for your team’s work on your project between now and AMICAL 2023.

If you’re not sure whether your project is eligible, ask us! (See the bottom of this page for details.)

What will teams do during the Conference?

The Incubator will consist of two sessions during AMICAL 2023:

1. Collaboration sprint: 6 hours of focused time, with several breaks, for each team to work on their project. This time is unstructured and each team can use it to do whatever is useful for their project. There will not be workshops or structured facilitation, though organizers can offer suggestions for organizing their discussion if a team requests this.
2. Feedback session: A 60-90 minute session during which each team will have the opportunity to present a specific challenge related to their project and receive feedback from peers (about 20 minutes per team).

How will teams be supported?

If accepted for the Project Incubator, your team will:

• Receive financial support to attend AMICAL 2023.
• Receive assistance with applying for further training or funding through AMICAL’s Small Grant program.
• For digital projects: receive online consultation and training by AMICAL’s Mellon Digital Liberal Arts Fellow, or other digital project advisors.
• Potentially influence the shape of new consortium-level grant proposals AMICAL is working on, in ways that could support their project in the future.

Note: Direct financial support is limited to participants from Full and Affiliate member institutions, and will require a brief update before the Conference on what your team has accomplished from your submitted work plan.

How will applications be reviewed?

Proposals will be reviewed by AMICAL staff, who will be looking for projects that fulfill the eligibility criteria outlined above. Priority will be given to projects with clear, concrete and realistic pre-Conference work plans.

Application

Send a document (PDF or Word) to contact@amicalnet.org by end of day on 23 January 2023 that includes the following:

1. Description of the project your team wishes to work on, including the project’s current status, challenges to be addressed, intended outcomes, and relevance to AMICAL’s areas of focus.
2. List the names and contact information for each of the participants in your team, including a brief description of their current role, relevant background, expertise and interests, and what they are contributing to the project. Teams must have at least 2 members. We are not imposing an upper limit on team members, but the higher the number, the more important it is for you to clarify each of their roles in the project and the pre-Conference work planned.
3. Pre-Conference work plan: Outline the work you plan on doing before arriving at AMICAL 2023, including one or more milestones you plan to accomplish. This should be clear, concrete, and realistic. We will ask for a brief update on what you’ve accomplished from this before the Conference, so only include here milestones you believe you will accomplish.
4. Project Incubator plans: Outline what you plan to work on during AMICAL 2023.
5. Post-Incubator plans: Outline potential follow-up activities during and after AMICAL 2023.

(Your application document should be no more than 1000 words in total. You can use lists for items 2-5.)

Assistance with your application

To help you submit a strong application, we’ll be holding brief online Q&A sessions to answer questions and offer advice.

Sign up for one or both of the sessions:

• AMICAL 2023 Q&A #1 – Dec 19 10:00, Paris time (see local time)
• AMICAL 2023 Q&A #2 – Jan 17 11:00, Paris time (see local time)

You can also send us questions by email at contact@amicalnet.org