AMSI Sponsorship of Scientific Events: Checklist

This document refers to scientific meetings organised by AMSI members, whether at AMSI premises or elsewhere, where sponsorship of some costs has been requested from AMSI.

For information about any of these matters, contact Simi Henderson

Before the event

1. You (the organising department) are responsible for arranging, managing, promoting and staging of the event. Some checklists and other ideas can be found at various web sites e.g.

(Event management example)

(Example of event criteria to address)

2. If AMSI is the major sponsor (50% or more of the event sponsorship), the event is to be entitled and promoted as The AMSI Workshop on XYZ.

3. Provide AustMS  with event details for its web site (use the feedback link at the foot of the page). Include relevant logos they already have the AMSI and MASCOS logos.

4. Create a web presence for the event and notify AMSI and AustMS (via the feedback link described in 3.) of its address. AMSI will reference it on AMSI's online listing of forthcoming events.

• Prominently include the AMSI logo, and if AMSI is the (or a ) major sponsor, the AMSI logo should be at the top of the event home page.
• Hyperlink the logo to www.amsi.org.au.
• Include words such as the following

"This event is sponsored by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI). AMSI allocates a travel allowance annually to each of its member universities (for list of members, see www.amsi.org.au/members/members-of-amsi). Students or early career researchers from AMSI member universities without access to a suitable research grant or other source of funding may apply to their Head of Mathematical Sciences for subsidy of travel, accommodation and registration fee for out of the departmental travel allowance."

• It would be useful to list recommended local providers of accommodation and give hyperlinks to their web sites.

5. AMSI must be listed as a sponsor (and the AMSI logo used) on all publicity material and on the program provided to delegates and speakers.

6. Other promotion. You will arrange and provide reasonable promotion of the event. Note that the only relevant up-to-date mailing list that AMSI maintains is Heads of Departments or Schools of Mathematical Sciences in Australia.

AMSI will provide address labels for the mailing of posters to them. However, we do not send emails about conferences. Alternatives are the AustMS list (contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or, if relevant, the Australia New Zealand statistics mail server (anzstat list). Also use contact lists of people working in your own field e.g. special interest group lists. (If there are none, consider setting one up using the event as a starting point.) Send one notice early and another just before registration deadline.

7. Registration

• allow delegates from AMSI member institutions a discounted registration fee. This should be half or less, perhaps free if non-members have a nominal fee.
• specify your position regarding cancellation, refunds and transfers.
• see also below the reference to consent for photos, which should be part of the registration form.

8. A couple of weeks before the event, AMSI will contact the nominated organiser to obtain an estimate of the number of delegates. AMSI will then send you some material to include in each delegates package of materials.

9. Arrange for photography. AMSI uses photos of all AMSI funded events for its archive and for use in its Annual report and newsletters. Photos of the opening, important speakers giving talks and some audience shots are appreciated. Group shots are also good. Especially if there AMSI funded students grouped together with speakers.

Please provide the names and institutions of the people in the photos.

The photos should be taken in the highest quality possible on your camera (send us original photos from your camera, not versions condensed for the web) so that we can reproduce them in print. If photos can be provided to us in RAW that would be even better.

The high rate of photos being unusable due to camera shake, people blinking or moving means that you should take 3 photos of any shot you want to take.

NB AMSI's suggestion is that the registration form include permission to reproduce photos taken at the event.

Sample wording:

Consent. I am aware that the organisers may take photographs of the event for publicity and/or for educational use. I agree to allow the organisers and AMSI to use any photographs of myself for promotional and education purposes.

10. Use of sponsorship money

• Since the sponsorship is based in whole or primarily on estimates of travel and accommodation costs, which include GST except for international flights, it is taken to be GST-inclusive.
• The amount of sponsorship is agreed for particular expenses, normally travel and/or accommodation for nominated invited speakers. The sponsorship cannot be transferred to alternative budget items, even if they are event expenses.
• If a speaker that AMSI has agreed to sponsor withdraws, and if you wish to make a substitution, you must negotiate this with the Chair of the AMSI Scientific Advisory Committee. It is the SAC that determines whether each supported speaker is a sufficiently noted mathematician or statistician for AMSI to sponsor.
• AMSI's sponsorship cannot be extended to delegates (excluding plenary speakers) from AMSI member institutions since they have access to a travel allowance provided separately by AMSI to their departments.
• Re-imbursement of sponsored presenters and assistance for travel and accommodation is the responsibility of the event organiser, not AMSI.
• Sponsorship is based on an agreed estimate of costs. This is the maximum amount that AMSI will pay. If the expenditure is less, then that lesser amount will be paid.
• The organising Department invoices AMSI after the event when all expenditure is finalised, listing each item and ensuring that it does not exceed the agreed amount. No extra GST shall be added to the invoice since GST has already been included, where applicable, in the estimation process. A spreadsheet of expenses is to be sent to AMSI for approval before raising the invoice.
• If there is a significant income expected from registration fees, such that the event income (including all sponsorships and subsidies) exceeds expenditure, then AMSI will expect a re-imbursement calculated as net profit x AMSI sponsorship / total sponsorship.

After the event

(within 90 days after the event)

Download the AMS report template. AMSI Event Template.doc (331.50 Kb)

11. Report on the workshop, using the AMSI report template, addressing the following points:

• Reason for workshop, target audience
• Organising committee
• Topics covered
• Special presenters and their international reputation
• Summary of participants (e.g. by institution of origin, UG/PG/industry, international)
• Organisers opinion of success
• Any feedback from a review of the event by the organising committee (i.e. would you do anything different next time).

12. Financial report (see also point 10) including:

• Sponsorships, including in-kind
• Scholarships offered and taken
• Fees charged
• Itemised income and expenditure.

13. Electronic copy of list of delegates: name, institution, status (UG/PG/industry). AMSI will not divulge this information to others.

14. Electronic copy of program if available; otherwise hard copy.

15. Invoice for the sponsorship.

AMSI will not pay sponsorshop if items 11-15 are not received by AMSI within 90 days of the event