The Information Architecture Institute (IAI) will award two USD $1,000 Progress Grants for 2006. The purpose of the program is twofold:
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
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.
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.
Applications should be 2,000 words or fewer and must contain:
Questions can be directed to the committee chair, Eric Reiss (elr [at] e-reiss [dot] com). Grant applications should be emailed by September 15th to grants [at] iainstitute [dot] org.
Last year, the Institute also awarded two grants:
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: 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