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Request for Proposal

Request for Proposal

Cornelius O’Brien Lecture Series Funding Request Form

Request for Proposals

As of October 2025, applications are currently closed while the committee updates its criteria and procedures. We expect to resume in Spring 2026.

Overview

With funding from the Cornelius O’Brien Lecture Series, approved groups and organizations throughout Indiana are encouraged to sponsor speakers experienced in historic preservation for presentations bearing directly on that subject. Except in rare instances, O'Brien lecturers reside in states other than Indiana and without the support of the Lecture Series would be unavailable to the local organizations desiring their services. Potential speakers may present at workshops, banquets, meetings, or lectures that are free and open to the public.

Award Amount

O’Brien lectures may be requested for an amount ordinarily up to $4,500 total for honorarium and travel expenses. Honorarium requests exceeding $2,000 will be required to submit additional information and generally will be requested to provide matching funds up to 50%.

Honorarium requests may be approved in full, or for lesser amounts, at the discretion of the O'Brien Lecture Series subcommittee of the Indiana University Committee on Historic Preservation.

Travel Regulations

Travel reimbursement requests must meet all Indiana University travel requirements, which can be found here. Please note that no reimbursement can be provided for alcoholic drinks.

Selection Criteria

The Cornelius O'Brien Lecture Series Committee supports speakers on the basis of their qualifications and does not advocate any particular approach or philosophy concerning historic preservation. Requestors will be notified approximately seven weeks prior to the speaking event (if requested ten weeks in advance). If approved, both the requestor and lecturer will be notified via email.

For an approved application, unless otherwise specified, the committee pays the speaker a specified honorarium and necessary travel costs. Responsibility for the publicity and local arrangements rests with the local sponsor. It is understood that Cornelius O'Brien Lecture Series funding will be acknowledged, both in advance publicity and at the introduction of the speaker, and that the lecture will be free and open to the public. A member of the O’Brien Lecture Series Committee will be in attendance at each lecture, if possible and if a meal event or reception takes place before or after the funded lecture, that committee member will be invited at no charge.

Following the lecture, the requestor will submit an event program and post-event form to report on promotion, attendance, reception. This form will be provided upon confirmation of an approved application.

Changes to Program

This award will be based on the expertise and skills of the speaker presented in your proposal and the topic of the proposed lecture, as well as the supplied budget and venue information. Therefore, any change in the program as outlined in the application must be approved by Cornelius O’Brien Lecture Committee two weeks in advance of the presentation. Such requests must be submitted in writing.

Request for Proposal

Cornelius O’Brien Lecture Series Funding Request Form