Congressional Visit Day Travel Grant
Supporting early-career botanical scientists to attend Congressional Visits Day in Washington, DC
Diplacus bigelovii (A. Gray) G.L. Nesom. photo credit: Naomi Fraga
Application deadline: Early 2024
The American Society of Plant Taxonomists Environment and Public Policy Committee invites applications for the annual ASPT CVD Award.
This award covers registration expenses for one early-career botanist to attend a virtual Congressional Advocacy Event, usually held in April.
Award winner will also be featured in the Plant Science Bulletin and on the BSA web page.
Congressional Visits Day is an annual event hosted by the Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition. Recipients obtain first-hand experience at the interface of science and public policy.
The first day includes policy and communications training provided by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), focusing on the legislative process and trends in federal funding for science, and how to effectively communicate with policymakers. Participants will meet with their Congressional policymakers, during which they will advocate for federal support of scientific research.
The virtual event includes a half-day training session on how to be an effective advocate for science policy. This training session will be held on April 26, 2022 and is mandatory for everyone who will be participating in congressional meetings. AIBS will also provide participants with background information and materials, as well as arrange online meetings with lawmakers on April 27-29.
To read about award recipients’ past experiences, see the "Public Policy News" section of Plant Science Bulletin.
The award is open to all ASPT members, but preference will be given to those who are in the first two years of a permanent position, postdocs, and students (graduate or undergraduate).
Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
For questions about the award, email Naomi Fraga (nfraga@calbg.org).
Application requirements:
State your name, career stage, current affiliation, and email address.
Why are you interested in becoming involved in public policy?
How will attending Congressional Visits Day impact your career?
Give an example of botanically related research in your (current) home state that represents a good investment of federal funding. How do the results of that research benefit your state (e.g., impacts on education, the environment, and the economy, including the number of jobs created)?
Awardees’ conversations with elected officials will focus on how federal funding benefits those officials’ constituents. Therefore, successful examples of relevant research may include:
How federal research funding supporting your own work and carried out in your home state provides a direct benefit in your home state.
How federal research funding supporting your own work benefits education, mentoring, training, job creation, or other broader impacts in your home state – even if the direct benefits of your research will be seen only out of state.
How federal research funding supporting a high-profile project in your home state provides a direct and/or indirect benefit in your home state – even if you are not involved with that project personally.
Recipients will write a summary of their experience to be published in the Plant Science Bulletin.
Applications should be submitted as a PDF, no more than two pages single spaced, and emailed to nfraga@calbg.org with subject line “2022 ASPT CVD Award.”