IEEE SPS & HTB Projects Call for Proposals on Signal Processing Technologies for Local Community Challenges

IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) and IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) are partnering to conduct a special Call for Proposals to support humanitarian projects in SPS Chapters that utilize signal processing technologies to address local community challenges.

Awards from US$1,000 to US$3,000 will be made to selected projects that present a convincing plan to a) understand the real needs of a local community or local stakeholder organization and b) complete in no more than six months’ time a project utilizing signal processing technologies to address those local community challenges. 

Any local community challenge that can map back to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be considered.

Signal processing is the enabling technology for the generation, transformation, extraction, and interpretation of information. It comprises the theory, algorithms with associated architectures and implementations, and applications related to processing information contained in many different formats broadly designated as signals. Signal processing uses mathematical, statistical, computational, heuristic, and/or linguistic representations, formalisms, modeling techniques and algorithms for generating, transforming, transmitting, and learning from signals.

Projects must have a good connection to the local SPS Chapter and engage a significant number of SPS members. “Significant” will depend on the scope of the project. Project teams should make a concerted effort to involve as many SPS members as appropriate for the project. 

Projects MUST comply with all national/federal, state, and local laws, guidelines, safety codes, and restrictions.

All projects that involve children must follow IEEE Guidelines for Working with Children. Any project funding will be contingent on policy compliance.

17 August 2023 – 17 September 2023 at 11:59pm EDT (UTC -4:00).

Applications must be submitted via the IEEE HTB/SIGHT Online Funding Opportunities Portal. First time applicants will need to create a user account in order to submit a proposal.

Please download the template files which are required to complete the online proposal

• Project Assessment Matrix
• IEEE SPS and HTB Projects Budget Template 2023

Applicants may prepare by taking advantage of the HTB/SIGHT educational resources on submitting strong proposals.

• Proposals must clearly articulate the impact of the project and how it will be measured, using the Project Assessment Matrix. Instructions on how to complete the Matrix and an example are available here.
• Applicants may take the free HTB/SIGHT online training course Project Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation on the IEEE Learning Network prior to developing your submission.
• A recording of a Q&A session on addressing common pitfalls in completing the HTB Project Assessment Matrix Template is available here.

See the following presentation on characteristics of a great proposal, tips on completing the project assessment matrix, common proposal pitfalls, and how to submit an application.

Do you have any questions you wish to ask about the potential suitability of your proposal? If in doubt, please contact SPS at sps-mdi@listserv.ieee.org before developing and submitting your proposal.