Scholarship Award
There are 3 types of Community Scholarships:
- Full Scholarship recipients receive complimentary conference registration. The full scholarship also covers up to US $750 (US/Canada) or US $1500 (International) to and from the conference at the lowest fare for economy travel and up to 5 nights hotel accommodations at the discounted scholarship rate. A daily stipend may also be provided for awardees from resource-limited countries.
- Partial Scholarship recipients receive complimentary conference registration and coverage of travel OR hotel depending on the recipient’s need as demonstrated in their application
- Registration Scholarship recipients receive complimentary conference
Scholarship Criteria
The CROI Community Educator Scholarship is limited and highly competitive. Applicants must be actively involved in communications, education, and advocacy efforts in their communities. Only candidates affiliated with organizations that provide communications, advocacy, or educational services will be considered (limit of 2 applications per organization).
Applicants will be assessed on motivation, creativity, competency, literacy, and their demonstrable ability to understand and disseminate research in communities. Scoring will include the overall quality of the application, as well as the applicant’s letter of recommendation (limit of 1 letter of recommendation per recommender). The selection committee will consider the following: 1) demonstrable experience and aptitude in understanding and disseminating conference-acquired information, 2) application quality, 3) work setting, 4) demonstrably strong scientific literacy and strong command of English, and 5) applicant’s degree of financial need.
Community Educator Mentor Scholarship applicants will be assessed based on their experiences with mentoring colleagues and their willingness to mentor new Community Educator Scholars to help them navigate the CROI 2024 Conference, including their ideas and advice on how best to support and engage these scholars to ensure they get the most out of CROI. When applying, be mindful to include the information requested by the Community Educator Mentor Scholarship, located in the Additional Information Section of the Community Educator Scholarship. This is not a separate application for CROI 2024.
Preference is given to individuals who:
- Have demonstrated the capacity and commitment to engage diverse communities with relevant science- and research-based information
- Engage in community-focused communication, advocacy, and education efforts. The selection committee will give preference to individuals whose efforts in this area go beyond direct-to-client prevention services (including biomedical-focused services) and clinical trial recruitment
Medical professionals, administrators, researchers, and media professionals are not eligible to apply for the CROI Community Educator Scholarship. Scholarship recipients are limited to a total of 3 scholarships. As there is a limit on the number of scholarships that can be awarded every year, this policy is designed to give a wide variety of individuals the chance to attend CROI. Due to the transition of CROI 2020 from an in-person to a virtual conference, scholarships received that year will not be included in the consideration of the number of scholarships the applicant has received.
All CROI Community Educator Scholarship recipients are required to participate in the full conference, including the Program Committee Workshop for New Investigators and Trainees. At the close of the Conference, scholarship recipients will need to complete all conference evaluations. Scholarship recipients who cannot participate in the full conference must decline the award. The scholarship is not transferable.