Grant Program
Information Architecture 2008 Progress Grants
The Information Architecture Institute (IAI) will award two USD $1,000 Progress Grants for 2008. The purpose of the program is twofold:
- to encourage researchers and practitioners to investigate IA-specific issues
- to publicize useful work that furthers the information architecture body of knowledge.
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
Review of proposals
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.
Publication
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.
Timeline
- October 15, 2008 - Application deadline for 2008 Grants
- November 1, 2008 - Grant recipients announced and first half of grant awarded
- December 15, 2008 - Grant recipients submit brief progress report to the grant committee
- May 1, 2009 - Completed work submitted to grant committee, work published on iainstitute.org, and second half of grant awarded
Applying for a grant
Applications should be 2,000 words or fewer and must contain:
- Description of the problem or hypothesis
- Methodology to be used
- Explanation of how the resulting work will forward the theory or practice of IA
- Conditions under which others can use the results (e.g. Creative Commons license)
Questions can be directed to the committee chair, Eric Reiss (er [at] fatdux [dot] com). Grant applications should be emailed by October 15, 2007 to grants [at] iainstitute [dot] org.
Read a detailed description of the program and committee.
Previous grants
The Institute has awarded two grants each year since 2005.
2007 Progress Grants
In 2007, the Institute awarded two grants:
The Effect of Scent on User Recall of Website Navigation
Marc L. Resnick and Amir Abou Baker , Miami, FL, USA
When designing navigation menus there are some key factors usability professionals struggle with to ensure an easy to use navigation system. In the short term, the menu should support effective user wayfinding and confidence to accomplish the current task. Menus can also achieve longer term benefits by intimating the information architecture of the site, providing support for future tasks. The effectiveness of menu design hinges on whether these objectives are achieved. The focus of this study was the impact of label scent on user performance in navigation tasks. Labels of high and low scent were placed at two menu positions to measure the impact on the short term goal of finding a known item and the long term goal of developing an awareness of the information architecture. The results provide insights that can be used in the design of navigation menus.
Learn more about The Effect of Scent on User Recall of Website Navigation
Information Architecture Education in Europe
Andrea Resmini, Bologna, Italy
Andrea Resmini from the University of Bologna, is researching educational opportunities in the field of IA in Europe. To this end, Andrea and his multi-national team have arranged a retreat in Sweden, scheduled for early August. Here, educators from across Europe will gather for two days to discuss how to improved educational offerings and coordinate curricula.
This page was last modified on July 7, 2008 02:58 PM.