Grant Program

Information Architecture 2007 Progress Grants

The Information Architecture Institute (IAI) will award two USD $1,000 Progress Grants for 2007. The purpose of the program is twofold:

  • to encourage researchers and practitioners to investigate IA-specific issues
  • to publicize useful work that furthers the information architecture body of knowledge.

Applications should propose work that will forward the theory and practice of information architecture. This can include original research, a synthesis of important existing research, or the development of an innovative new technique.

Full program and committee details

Review of proposals

The IAI Progress Grant Committee will review the proposals and select those with the highest potential to benefit the information architecture field. Half of the grant amount will be awarded when the grant recipients are announced and half when the work is completed. Progress grants will only be awarded to proposals of sufficient quality, clarity, and originality.

Publication

Work supported through this program will be published on the iainstitute.org website, but it should have relevance beyond the Tools and Library collections. For instance, the work could inform future IAI workshop curricula, tie in with potential Institute publishing projects, be responsive to issues raised by members in the email discussion list, or support other Institute activities, such as Local Groups and International initiatives.

Timeline

  • August 1, 2007 - Grants announced
  • October 15, 2007 - Application deadline
  • November 1, 2007 - Grant recipients announced and first half of grant awarded
  • December 15, 2007 - Grant recipients submit brief progress report to the grant committee
  • May 1, 2008 - Completed work submitted to grant committee, work published on iainstitute.org, and second half of grant awarded

Applying for a grant

Applications should be 2,000 words or fewer and must contain:

  • Description of the problem or hypothesis
  • Methodology to be used
  • Explanation of how the resulting work will forward the theory or practice of IA
  • Conditions under which others can use the results (e.g. Creative Commons license)

Questions can be directed to the committee chair, Eric Reiss (er [at] fatdux [dot] com). Grant applications should be emailed by October 15, 2007 to grants [at] iainstitute [dot] org.

Read a detailed description of the program and committee.

Previous grants

The Institute awarded two grants each in 2005 and 2006.

2006 Progress Grants

In 2006, the Institute awarded two grants:

A Delphi Approach To Card Sorting

Card sorting is a common IA activity which aids in information design. It can be a valuable tool in discovering important information patterns and testing the suitability of category organization labels. Although a widely used method, it has disadvantages which potentially effect how difficult results are to obtain as well as how reliable.

This presentation will introduce the Delphi method and how it can be applied to card sorting, as well as discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages. It is suitable for practitioners of all levels, however familiarity with card sorting and testing methods is recommended.

Communal computing and shared spaces of usage

We are investigating Internet and Web usage in Internet Cafes in Johannesburg. The key hypothesis is that, unlike in developed contexts where the perceived use of Internet cafes is by travelers and those 'passing through', Internet cafes in developing contexts are the primary means of Internet connection for many people. They may travel some distance to use these cafes on a regular basis.

Research in Africa has shown that Internet cafes are often used by locals for business purposes or as a secondary venue for connecting when connections go down in private business locations.

2005 Progress Grants

In 2005, the Institute also awarded two grants:

Intranet Review Toolkit

The Intranet Review Toolkit provides practitioners with a set of best practice guidelines to help evaluate the effectiveness of their intranet. Developed by Step Two Designs, the toolkit itself includes a comprehensive set of heuristics which allow detailed intranet reviews to be undertaken in the areas of functionality, design and strategy. The toolkit can be used in a number of ways and covers a range of intranet facets including home page design, site structure and navigation, search, page layout, and content strategy.

Learn more about the Intranet Review Toolkit

Tools for Information Environments

Tools for Information Environments: Exploring Environmental Assessment Tools for use in Strategic Information Architecture, is a research paper exploring the use of mature environmental assessment tools in the context of strategic information architecture activities. The paper explores the nature of information environments and investigates the suitability of a pair of robust environmental tools, Backcasting and Cumulative Effects Assessment. A pair of short case studies is used to explore the value of these tools for use in discovery activities and strategic information architecture practice.

Learn more about Tools for Information Environments

This page was last modified on February 2, 2007 03:15 PM.