Academic Initiative Support Policy

The Graduate Law Students Association (GLSA) wishes to encourage its members to initiate and organize academic activities in Toronto by providing some financial support, subject to budgetary and other considerations.

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1. Graduate Academic Support Fund (GASF)

1.1 Conditional upon its annual approval by the Executive Committee of the GLSA, depending on its financial situation, and subject to its discretion, the GLSA aims to set aside a Graduate Academic Support Fund (GASF) of up to $1,000 of its annual budget to provide financial support for academic initiatives organized by and aimed at its members. The sum is divided equally between the two deadlines set out in section 3.1.

1.2 The total funds set aside for the GASF are voted upon during the first meeting of the new Executive Committee of the GLSA or during the meeting in which they approve the provisional budget for the upcoming year.

1.3 In any given year following an application deadline, the Executive Committee of the GLSA can, at its discretion, increase or decrease the sums allocated to the GASF or to the amount to be disbursed for that application deadline according to the number and overall quality of applications.

2. Eligibility

2.1 To be eligible, the academic initiative for which funding is sought must:

(a) Be of an academic nature;

(b) Be aimed at members of the GLSA (members of the GLSA include all graduate students of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law) , either as organizers, speakers or participants;

(d) Be held in Toronto; and

(e) Not have been approved for GASF funding for an application made at a previous deadline in the same academic year.

2.2 The application must also include:

(a) A fully filled out application – see Academic Initiatives Support – Application Form 2020;

(b) A budget (estimate); and

3. Application and Selection Procedure

3.1 The application must be sent to the Treasurer of the GLSA with all of the required documents by one of the deadlines set out in sections 3.1.a and 3.1.b. Applications received after a deadline will not be considered for funding during the associated round of funding. Unsuccessful or late applications may be resubmitted for a later deadline if the academic initiative will take place within the relevant time period for the new deadline. Note that the eligible time period covered by each deadline overlaps considerably with the other deadline. This is intentional, and if your event falls within the overlap, you may apply by either deadline. You may also apply during both rounds if your first application is unsuccessful.

(a) If the event will take place between November 15th to August 1st (inclusive) of the following year the application may be submitted by the deadline of November 15th.

(b) For the events taking place between March 1st to December 1st (inclusive) of the same year, applications may be submitted by the deadline of April 1st.

3.2 The decision to fund applicants’ academic initiative is made by a majority of the Executive Committee of the GLSA, provided that they still meet the quorum requirements once all the members (if any) of the executive who have a conflict of interest have withdrawn from voting.

3.3 The GLSA will make its decision and communicate with the applicants within two weeks of the application deadline.

3.4 Two years after the passing of this Policy, the GLSA Executive will evaluate if the organization of the entire funding process to optimally achieve the policy’s goals and, if necessary, undertake necessary changes.

4. Selection Criteria

4.1 In selecting the academic initiatives to be funded among the eligible applications, the Executive Committee of the GLSA will take into consideration the following criteria:

(a) Whether or not the initiative fills a gap in the academic life of the membership of the association;

(b) The extent to which graduate students are involved in organizing, speaking and/or participating in the initiative;

(d) Whether GLSA members are charged a participation or other fees; and

(e) Whether other sources of funding are sought out.

4.2 Preference will be given to those initiatives that provide opportunities for members of the association to present or showcase their work and/or have their work discussed.

4.3 The GLSA award funds in accordance with the discretion of its Executive Committee and conditionally upon the funded initiative actually taking place.

5. Other Formalities

5.1 The applicants whose event has been accepted must submit receipts of all expenses for which they requested financial assistance within two weeks of the conclusion of the initiative.

5.2 The Treasurer of the GLSA can either reimburse applicants following the conclusion of the initiative or advance the funds to them prior to that conclusion. .

5.3 The remainder of any advanced funds that have been granted but not fully used must be returned to the GLSA by the applicant upon submission of receipts of all expenses.