Summit 2011 Attendee Funding

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Background

During the previous Summit, OWASP was fortunate enough to be able to fund all OWASP leaders to attend the Summit. Unfortunately, the budget for the 2011 Summit is not as large as the previous budget. As a result, we are making the following compromise with our attendees: OWASP will provide the venue meeting rooms, the A/V equipment, and the venue supporting staff in order to enable attendees to work effectively; attendees just have to pay for travel and accommodations for themselves.

We have aggressively negotiated with multiple venues in order to find the best possible pricing for attendee accommodations. As you know, the Summit is not a conference - it is an opportunity to bring together the community to "get stuff done". OWASP is not making any revenue from the Summit - we are charging essentially at cost prices for the accommodations and food. There is only a small deviation simply due to villa room configuration, as we expect to have some villas that are not filled to capacity.

Summit Budget

The venue costs account for 40% of the Summit budget. The remainder of the budget is being used to fund as many attendees as possible. OWASP leaders who follow the funding request application process will be considered for funding as available. Unfortunately, we will not be able to fund everyone that wants to attend. If you are able to obtain funding through your employer, please do so. We have prepared a number of letters that you can give your employer - we can even mail signed copies of the letter directly to your employer on request!

Funding Priority

As one of the primary goals of the Summit is for OWASP leadership to meet to set the agenda for 2011, we are prioritizing funding for the following parties:

1. OWASP Staff
2. Board Members
3. Summit Organizing Team
4. Active Global Committee Members
5. Funding Applicants identified by the selection process

Funding Request Application Process

Please remember that funding for attendees is extremely limited this year. If you are able to obtain funding through your employer, please do so. We have prepared a number of letters that you can give your employer - we can even mail signed copies of the letter directly to your employer on request!

If you need funding to support your attendance to the Summit, please take the following steps:

1. Add your name to the list of attendees that need funding support by entering your name on the Attendee page. To add your name to the Attendee page, go to the page and find the first blank line without a name. Click on the "Edit" link as show below and add your details. Make sure to include your email address in the Attendee form or we won't be able to contact you!
   
2. Fill out this application to ask for sponsorship by your local Chapter or a Project that you contribute to or lead and send it to Sarah Baso

You must follow these directions to be considered for funding. Funding is extremely limited and preference will be given to people that follow instructions.

Selection Process

We are trying to be as objective and fair as possible in determining who is funded. To that end, we have created a ranking system to identify which applicants to fund first. The ranking system takes into consideration the following characteristics (in no particular order):

• Date of Application
• Followed Application Process Directions
• Past Committee Member
• New Committee Member
• New Project Leader
• Active Project Leader
• Participated in AppSec Conference in 2009/2010
• Organized an AppSec Conference in 2009/2010
• Active Chapter leaders
• Past OWASP leaders
• VIP Invitation

Funding Rounds

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis in rounds. At the conclusion of each round, all remaining applicants will be ranked based on the selection process. Depending on the funding available for that round, individuals will be awarded funding which must be claimed with in a week of the end of the round. Once the period has expired, previously chosen applicants will be removed from the applicant pool and the next round of funding will begin. Any unclaimed funding from the previous round will be combined with any corporate sponsorship funding that was obtained in the interim period. All applicants that have not previously been chosen will be re-assessed and the process will repeat.

Deadline for next round: December 23rd, 2011

Award Claim

Applicants that are awarded funding will be contacted by email. The award is only good for one week - applicants must book and confirm their reservation through Diplomata Tours before the one week period expires. We have instituted this deadline to ensure that we bring as many attendees as possible. If an award recipient does not claim the funding, this policy allows us to offer that funding to another attendee who can attend.