Terms for Project Funding

Guidelines for Funding Requests

The following is a list of priorities for Funding Grants. MEF is not restricted to funding projects on this list.  However, the vast majority of Funds allocated should be towards these types of projects.

• Improved learning facilities
• Improved Computing Services
• Lab equipment purchased through a department in a university faculty. Equipment for personal use is not funded. All equipment using MEF funds belong exclusively to the University.
• Guest Speakers
• Support for academic Math clubs
• Funding of classes that students want offered in Mathematics, which otherwise would be cut or not offered
• Projects of various departments/students that serve an academic purpose relating to Mathematics

As the proposal sponsor, you or a representative must attend the MEF council meeting to answer questions that funding council members might have regarding your project. If for any reason, you or a representative is unable to attend the council meeting, your request will be deferred until the following academic term. The on-stream Executive Director will notify you of council meetings where questions may arise regarding your request.

When it comes to reimbursements/payments for projects approved for funding by the Funding Council, it falls into the following categories:

A. WUSA and MathSoc affiliated teams such as clubs and associations: Contact WUSA/MathSoc and fill out their club or society forms to process your reimbursement. In addition, please ensure that all conditions specified in your funding approval email have been met in order to be reimbursed.

B. Engineering design teams: To claim the funding, contact your respective Department in the Engineering Faculty. Below is a list of important notes on the reimbursement process particularly for design team:

1. You have exactly one year to spend the funds, and they will not be available until next term.
2. You must be reimbursed through your own UW team account first, and then later reimbursed by MEF through one final transfer before the expiry date stated on this proposal. This means that anyone applying for funding MUST have their own UW account.
3. Once all reimbursements have been charged to your UW account, you are to request a Unit4 transaction report from the person who manages that account.
4. You must have all reimbursement requests submitted and processed through your own UW account 3–4 weeks before the MEF expiry date so that they can be processed in time to show up on a Unit4 transaction report. This is to show that the expenses were indeed paid out from your account. 
5. You must compile all the required paperwork (i.e. receipt(s), paid invoice(s), proof(s) of payment such as screenshots of corresponding line(s) on bank statement, etc.) and send them to the person that manages their account (and then in turn, it gets sent to the appropriate person to prepare the transfer).

C. Other teams that do not fall into the above categories:

In compliance with university Policy 31 - University Expenses Policy 31 – University Expenses | Secretariat | University of Waterloo, all Project Funding applications are required to have a "One-Over-One Approver." The "One-Over-One Approver" certifies that the proposed activities and related expenses can be supported within their own faculties according to university policies, faculty procedure, and facilitate the payment and/or reimbursement of related expenses. The Project Funding One-Over-One Approver Endorsement Process is described below:

1. Prior to applying for MEF funding through the website, clubs referred to in the table below are required to fill out and submit the One-Over-One Approver Endorsement Form to their own departmental supervisors for endorsement. In the case of faculties that are not referred to below you should contact the on-term MEF Executive Director for guidance on the relevant one-over-one supervisor in their faculty.
2. Each supervisor may have their internal procedure, further requirement(s), and/or deadlines to provide such endorsement. Please contact them for more details. MEF is and will not be responsible for establishing or reviewing such additional procedure(s) or requirement(s).
3. All proposals should be sent to the relevant departmental supervisor at least one (1) week prior to the MEF Project Funding application deadline to give time for processing.

Recommended supervisors and their email addresses are provided below:

     4.    The endorsement by the appropriate supervisor means the supervisor agrees to act as the “One-Over-One Approver” for the Project Funding applicant and will make reimbursement of expenses from departmental/faculty funds to the students in compliance with Policy 31.

     5.    After receiving endorsement from the relevant supervisor of the Project Funding application, clubs should upload the signed One-Over-One Approver Endorsement Form at time of submitting the Project Funding application.

     6.    Requests to share reasons for not endorsing a proposal should be made directly by the applicant to the respective supervisor.

     7.    The endorsement of the supervisor does not guarantee funding approval. MEF reserves the right to final funding decision.

     8.    After the completion of the project work and before the expiry of MEF funding period, the supervisor, with the assistance of the faculty financial officer in the relevant faculty, will arrange to recover funds from MEF. This process of recovery from MEF is referred to as “Correcting Journal Entries Procedure” of the University that faculty financial officer in the relevant faculty would initiate.

Important Notes

1. All submissions must be accompanied by a formal estimate of cost.
2. MEF does not guarantee funding. Requests for Funding are approved with a variety of factors in mind, such as the amount of funding available for a given term and the total number of requests made.
3. If your project receives funding from MEF, a series of "Accountability Guidelines" must be fulfilled. These guidelines will be explained after funding is granted.
4. MEF reserves the right to defer any submission to the following academic term, due to time constraints.
5. Members of the MEF funding council are not eligible to make submissions for project funding.
6. All equipment that is purchased using MEF funds remains the property of the University and must be returned after the project is complete.

By submitting a project funding proposal, you acknowledge that you have read through the guidelines and notes and agree to be bound by them.