To assist the department in meeting roles and responsibilities of the Biology’s EDII Committee Terms of Reference, the committee has $2,000 to support activities during 2022 and 2023 to eliminate obstacles to inclusive participation of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups (e.g. women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities/racialized groups, and members of the LGBTQ2+ communities as well as individuals who identify as, or belong to, more than one of these groups.

There will be 4 grants of $500 each during 2022-2023 with 2 deadlines:  noon November 15, 2022 and February 15, 2023.  Decisions will be made during the December and March EDII meetings (first week of the month).  Recipients will be notified immediately following the meetings and all money must be spent by August 1, 2023. All are welcome to apply in the department (undergraduate/graduate students, staff, post-doctoral fellows, researchers, and faculty).

Criteria for assessing projects if there are more than 2 applications in a cycle:

• Funding should be based on need—those projects not supported by any other source of funding (either pending or obtained) should be ranked higher
• Projects that cannot be undertaken without EDII funds should be ranked higher than those that have partial funding
• Preference will be given to projects with high number of individuals benefitted by activity
• Projects organized by more than one group/constituent will be ranker higher than those with only one group/constituent
• Other criteria that will be determined by EDII Committee

Applicants should complete the EDII application form to include contact information of the applicant(s), overall project goals, budget, target group(s), and how many individuals will benefit.  Please return the form to bioedii@mcmaster.ca by the due date.