The Swiss Society for Endangered Languages offers two types of grants:
Grants of type 1 can be used to finance a stay in the field or a pilot study. They can be used for travel and accommodation costs as well as for the payment of local consultants. The purchase of technical equipment is only financed in well-supported cases. Per diem allowances are explicitly excluded from this funding scheme. In addition, grants of this type can be used to finance activities that serve the preparation of field stays or the post-processing of field data collected. This includes the participation in courses / summer schools on language documentation or the compilation of publications and / or teaching materials on endangered languages. Such activities necessarily have to be directly connected to a planned or completed field trip.
Grants of type 2 can be used to finance a small but coherent documentation project (i.e. a partial grammatical description, a vocabulary, a collection of annotated and translated texts). They can be used for travel and accommodation costs, paying local consultants and covering printing costs. Applicants have to give proof of confinancing to apply for this grant.
Type 1 applications must be submitted to the managing board by March 15 (for projects from July to December of the same year) or by September 15 (for projects from January to June of the following year) They are (a) examined by the managing board or an evaluation committee to determine whether they fully meet the general and specific eligibility criteria, (b) evaluated and (c) accepted or rejected.
Type 2 grant applications have to be submitted to the board by March 1. They are evaluated by the board and - provided that they fulfill the criteria for support - put to vote at the general assembly.
Applications have to contain detailed information about goals, time schedule, and relevance of the planned activities as well as about the type of data to be collected. In addition, applications have to include a detailed budget. Applications have to meet the Society's purpose as stated in the statutes.
Applicants who are students of / researchers at Swiss universities will receive preferential treatment. In any case, applicants have to give proof of an affiliation with a Swiss research institution and have to give the contact details of a referee at a Swiss research institution who can be contacted for questions concerning the proposal. In addition, grants are only given to persons who are members of the Swiss Society for Endangered Languages or have submitted a pending request for membership.
Granted projects have to be started and closed within 12 months after filing the initial application (extensions will be granted in well-founded cases). In order to close a project, the applicant has to submit a cost overview and a final report.
The cost overview must include a detailed list of expenses including original receipts (only verifiable costs will be reimbursed).
The final report should inform about the course and the results of the project. The report will be published on the Society's homepage after the closing of the project and should therefore be furnished with some pictures.
The Swiss Society for Endangered Languages recommends applicants to publish and archive the data that has been collected in the course of their projects. The board is happy to advise applicants in their efforts.