Guidelines for Seed Grant recipients
Focus of Seed Grants
The Legatum Center seed grants are intended to assist teams in developing for-profit enterprises in a low-income country.
Eligible Grant Expenses
Travel, market research, prototype development, pilot testing, and other expenses that directly advance the project development are all eligible grant expenses and can be reimbursed up to the amount of the Seed Grant. All monies must be spent and all travel and purchases must be completed during the allotted seed grant award period (by Feb. 1, 2010 for IAP seed grant recipients, and by the end of the summer for summer seed grant recipients) to be eligible for reimbursement.
*Important note on other funding sources: When you submit your receipts and final report you must let the Legatum Center know of any other funding that you received for this project and the contact information for the other sponsor so we may coordinate your reimbursement.
Guidelines for Reimbursement and Advances
Please be aware of the guidelines for seed grants. Incomplete or wrong information, missing receipts and delay in project report will delay your reimbursement. You are responsible for submitting Grant Deliverables (see below) and your forms and receipts for reimbursement of funds to the Legatum Center within one week of completing your project. If you are purchasing materials or goods locally with your grant, please remember that we are tax-exempt in the state of Massachusetts. We will send you a tax-exempt form to use when making your purchases. MIT will not reimburse for tax if you do not use the form.
Travel and accommodations:
Purchase tickets through the one of the three MIT approved travel agencies: Travel Collaborative, Carlson Wagonlit Travel or OT&T. Your seed grant will be applied directly to the purchase of your ticket. If you prefer to use another travel organization you will have to purchase your tickets with your own money and submit the travel form and supporting documents for reimbursement of the agreed upon amount. To process your reimbursement you will be asked to submit original itemized receipts and boarding passes (for travel). For accommodations and other travel-related expenses you can purchase the necessary services yourself and submit the original itemized receipts and travel form for reimbursement or you can request a travel advance. All travel advances must be submitted at least ten days before the advance can be picked up.
You are responsible for your travel arrangements, travel documents, safety, insurance and personal health. Please be sure to have the appropriate documentation and shots before your trip. We recommend that you consult the Centers for Disease Control and State Department websites.
Professional services:
You will need to submit a contract form at least five days before receiving professional services. Once you are invoiced for the professional services, you will submit the invoice and a request for payment form. It is highly recommended that you use the professional services offered at MIT before going to an outside vendor. Professional services at MIT are often times less expensive.
Equipment, marketing expenses, tools, and other purchases:
Please use tax-exempt form ST5 when making your purchases. You will be personally responsible for paying the tax if you do not use the exempt form. You will have to pay for these items with your own money and submit the original itemized receipts and the request for payment form to be reimbursed. Items that are purchased for over $1,000 become the property of MIT while you are a student.
Post-Project Deliverables and Expectations:
Upon completion of their award, recipients of Legatum Center seed grants are expected to:
- Sumbit a 1-2 page report detailing how the seed grant money advanced the project, and what opportunities exist for further advancement. This report is due within one week of completing your project.
- Submit at least 5 high resolution (greater than 5 mega-pixels) photographs (with captions) from work done on your project. Examples of encouraged photographs include photos of the technology and tools relevant to your project, photos of you and your team at work in the field/lab, photos of the constituents who will benefit from your project, photos of the geographic region in which your project takes place, etc.
- Participate, upon returning to campus, in a short video interview at the Legatum Center.
- Participate, upon returning to campus, in a special Legatum Center poster session where you will have the opportunity to share your project with the greater MIT community.
All submissions (photos, videos, descriptions of the project/seed grant usage, etc.) can be used by the Legatum Center at its discretion, without restriction. Intellectual property is retained by the seed grant recipients. Report and photos are due within one week of completing your seed grant-based work.
Tips on Photos
We've found that the best images are:
* Images of people: We encourage photos of your team members as well as the people you meet and work with on your projects.
* Your team in action: Although posed images are fine too, we like to see some candid shots that show your team and partners at work or in conversation – we love to see interaction between people.
* Transformative technologies: Take photos to showcase your innovative technology, preferably photos that portray your team or community partners using the technology.
* Process and results: Photos of both your projects in process and of any final results are appreciated.
* Optimism: In general, the Legatum Center looks for positive portrayals of development and innovation – we prefer to show the ways that people are working toward progress rather than present images of devastation that illustrate only the economic and social issues to be solved. We believe that dignified, optimistic images of progress are those that will truly inspire action.
And on a technical note, try to take photos that are as high-resolution as possible. Please use the highest resolution setting on your camera. Ideally, JPEG files should be at least 1 MB. No matter how powerful or well-composed an image is, we cannot use it in many of our materials if it is not high-resolution.
*We welcome video as well - any video questions can be directed to legatum at mit dot edu
Additional resources
