The DSA is currently in a position to provide funds towards certain student/ ECR activities that fall within the wide spectrum of Development Studies research/ practice/ policy for students/ ECR members of the DSA as well as those who are based at institutional members of the DSA.
DSA Council tasked the new Council student representatives (June 2023) to determine from the DSA student membership and via the student representatives at the institutional members (IMs) what are the key areas/ issues that students would like assistance with and therefore where, and on what, funds would be best allocated. They have made good progress with this and now have a sizeable group of student reps at DSA IMs.
Council student representatives, IM student reps and individual student members based anywhere in the world can apply to Council during two yearly calls, via the DSA online application form, to request DSA funds for activities that assist students/ ECRs within its membership. These activities can take place anywhere in the world. All applications will be reviewed by a panel and decisions communicated.
The DSA defines ECRs as someone still working in research within 5 years post-PhD (or 7-years post-PhD due to career/health/parental breaks).

It is advised that planned events/activities are scheduled for at least 2 months after a call deadline to allow time for decisions to be made (1 month) and if successful, to then advertise the activity (1 month). Overall, such events/ activities will be organised and run by Council student reps, IM student reps or other DSA student members. NomadIT and the DSA Communications Officer can provide support where appropriate, but their role is not to organise events for the students. The focus of the activities proposed should be to assist students/ ECRs in a certain sector or area of their work/ research/ training that will be beneficial to the applicant(s) and others, especially fellow DSA members (individual and/or institutional members).
Small events would require funding up to a limit of £750 per event and larger events as those requiring £750-£2000. No single event can request more than £2000. Based on the overall annual DSA student budget, we envisage the possibility of funding 4-5 student-led events per year. This would be a combination of larger and some smaller events. If an event is very successful, it may perhaps be repeated annually, but this would be subject to a successful application in future calls.

Initiatives that are open to all DSA members and are highly inclusive of DSA student/ECR members and those at our institutional members.
Training or skills building activities that are not typically provided by UK universities. Preference will be given to those activities that are highly inclusive. Student/ ECR- led events that are well organised in advance, well run during and deliver concrete outputs that can be submitted to the DSA after the event, e.g. Workshops, seminar series or mini-symposia.
Within a planned event or activity, funding can be requested for travel costs of participants to attend an event, venue hire (room or lecture theatre) as well as reasonable catering/ coffee break costs for a one day event. No funding will be provided for alcohol. Accommodation costs will not normally be funded. Depending on number of attendees and cost of travel, travel funding might be capped at a certain amount per person. All items within the budget will require a clear rationale e.g. why organisers are hiring a chargeable venue and not using university rooms that are available for free or at a reduced rate.

Highly exclusive events that overly restrict the number of attendees. If the event is restricted to a specific group e.g. women only events, a clear justification must be put forward in the proposal.
Events that do not and cannot deliver any measurable or formal output as to what was achieved/ created at the event.
Events that ask for significant funding for an in-person event that could easily be held in an online format which would allow for more people to attend and at lower cost with lower time commitment (no travel or overnight stays etc.).
Requests for funds for general DSA or other conference attendance costs.
Also always consider how the funds are best spent and received by those participating in an event, e.g. if an event will gather 50-100 people, that is fine but to provide lunch to all of those people in the UK in certain venues will very likely be extremely expensive and maybe those attending will be happy purchasing their own cheap lunch before arriving or during a break and funds being spent instead on the actual initiative or something more lasting for them than a free lunch.
The use of funds to pay the event/activity organiser. Payment for time spent organising an event cannot be requested. Funds cannot be used to pay attendees to attend events. It is highly unusual that a budget will be approved that requests honorariums for any attendees, however if a strong and clear rationale explains why this is necessary it might be approved.

Complete all sections of the online form as fully and accurately as possible. The application needs a clear, well-argued rationale for the idea and the request for funding. It will also need a work-plan and basic calendar of events/processes related to it. An outline of who will do the work involved in each step and, where outside assistance is needed, who will do this or who will be approached to do this. What will the outputs be from the initiative and how will they be delivered and by when. Lastly, a detailed budget must be uploaded to the online form, as to the funds requested breaking down what the main expenditures will be, for how many students/events/ venues etc. resulting in the final total. If costs are significant is there any scope to seek co-funding from another institution/ funder?
All items in your budget must be provided in GBP. If applying from outside the UK, do add some expected/ reasonable bank transfer costs for the reimbursements as these costs will need to be covered as well.

A final report must be submitted within 2 months of the activity/ event’s date. In addition all promised outputs need to be submitted as well as an updated final spending summary, expense claim forms, receipts, invoices etc. in order to receive reimbursals.

Any incorrect (accidental or intentional) information at the application stage and/or after the approval and payment stages will be taken very seriously. In such cases and at any stage, applicants may be requested to return any payment they have received. Approval to fund the activity is taken based on the details provided in the application form, any changes that are not approved explicitly by the DSA Review Committee will not be paid even if these are within the limits of the approved funding amount.

Final payments will be made only following the submission of the final report and intended activity outputs, evidence of expenditure including receipts, invoices, payslips or any other agreed form specified within the application. Depending on the purpose of the fund, an advance payment of up to 30% of the cost may be possible.

By accepting this DSA funding, applicants are granting DSA the right to publish any and all information related to the funded activity.

A rejected application for a specific event can be improved and re-submitted only once in a future call.

* To complete the online application form you will need to first download a) the template workplan and b) the template budget files, edit and complete as required, and then upload them within the online application form (see the form for exactly what is required in each file).