IDCP Travel Fund

International Development Consulting Project Travel Fund — Overview

The Social Enterprise Program provides financial support to Columbia MBA students who complete international development consulting projects involving travel outside the United States during intersession periods. The International Development Consulting Project (IDCP) Travel Fund covers transportation costs incurred as part of the consulting project. Projects initiated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public and nonprofit organizations will be given preference over startup ventures and companies.

The IDCP Travel Fund provides up to a maximum of $2,000 per student to cover air travel and ground transportation costs. "Business" and "First" class airline tickets will not be reimbursed. The IDCP Fund does not cover any other expenses including accommodation, food, visas, insurance, vaccinations and other materials costs.

Eligibility

To be considered for travel support, you must be enrolled in the Columbia MBA or EMBA program. Dual degree students must have commenced or completed courses at the Business School. Students may work individually or in teams. Teams may include non-Columbia MBA students, but those students will not be eligible for financial support. In addition, travel outside of the United States must take place during the Business School's intersession periods (including winter and spring break), as shown on the School's academic calendar.

The IDCP Travel Fund does not cover travel expenses incurred as part of a summer internship. Please see if you are eligible for the Summer Fellowship Program.

The IDCP Travel Fund does not cover travel that occurs after the student has graduated, even if the project commenced while the team member was a student.

It is recommended that student teams find a Columbia Business School faculty advisor for their project.

Students should not ask faculty or Academic Affairs to move exams or request exam makeups to accommodate extra-curricular activities including travel for projects. Projects are subject to the School's Honor Code and the School Academic Policies.

Selection

Selection is based on the quality and relevance of project analysis and tasks to the MBA skill set, and available funding given the number of students requesting support. In addition, preference will be given to projects initiated or organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public and nonprofit organizations.

MBA project team leaders seeking support for their team should contact the Social Enterprise Program as early as possible, and before making travel arrangements for the project. Prior to travel, students [including teams staffed on International Development Club (IDC) projects] must demonstrate progress and provide the following information:

a. Project description: one page that contains an organization and/or client description, contact details for the project supervisor, project scope, analysis and deliverables;

b. Team member resumes;

c. Finalized Statement of Work or Detailed letter of engagement from the client and/or organizing institution: email correspondence with the client showing agreement on a "Statement of Work". This should contain project scope, work streams, deliverables, timeline, key dates and any other relevant details;

d. Intended dates of travel and a Draft Timeline/workplan (see "Documentation" below); and

e. Spreadsheet indicating the total budget for the trip for all team members who plan to travel. Categories may include: air travel, ground travel, accommodation, food, and other sources of funding provided by the client and/or other supporting organizations.

Student team leaders will be notified about the status of their application prior to traveling if the project has been selected for support with the IDCP Travel Fund.

Documentation

After completion of travel, and in order to receive funds from the Social Enterprise Program, the following is required no later than 120 days after the trip has ended:

1. Documentation of transport expenses. Please read this section carefully before you travel, as incorrect paperwork significantly delays processing of payments.

The "Travel & Business Expense Report" form (click here for .xls file) should be filled out, with the necessary transport expenses documentation taped to blank sheets of paper. Please do not use any staples or double sided printing - all paperwork must be scanned in to be processed.

Airfare expense paperwork should be documented first, and then taxi receipts in chronological order. Receipts should be numbered to match the "Travel & Business Expense Report". Please do not use a highlighter.

Expenses in a foreign currency that were not paid by credit card, should be converted into USD on the average or daily currency worksheet (and not itemized on the first page of the spreadsheet) as per the instructions in the spreadsheet file above. A copy of the currency rate on the relevant date(s) from www.oanda.com/convert/classic/ is also required. All transport expenses should appear in the "Unsegmented" column.

For airline travel, ALL of the following items are required in addition to the spreadsheet above:
a) payment receipts;
b) boarding passes;
c) credit card statement showing the student's name and relevant charges; and
d) a copy of the airline travel itinerary (e.g. email booking confirmation), including price paid.

Expenses without receipts (e.g. taxis) will not be reimbursed.

Only the person who actually paid for the airline ticket can be reimbursed. So if you pay for yourself and another team member, only you can be reimbursed for both tickets. Please indicate charges clearly on your credit/debit card statement and itinerary. This is acceptable, as long as your cumulative expenses are less than the allowable maximum for the number of team members you paid for.

Students who have not previously been reimbursed for expenses by the university, will need to submit a W9 form (click here for .pdf file - Please fill out and type in the fields contained in the pdf file before printing). International students who do not have a SSN, will need a W8 form (click here for .pdf file), and should write "International student - no SSN" on the expense form/spreadsheet, AND provide a copy of the first page of their passport and a copy of their US visa.

Please deliver a signed copy of your T&E form and transport documentation to Carolyn Tharp in Uris 203, together with the items below.

2. Project summary with description of the organization, outline of project scope and objectives, and the outcome and experience for both the client as well as the student(s). For an example project summary please click here (.doc file).

3. An article with photos for The Bottom Line, Social Enterprise News or other School publications, including any photos of the team, client or project location.

4. Timeline/Work plan: analysis and tasks that were planned and completed with milestones/dates.

5. A copy of the final report, presentation or other deliverables provided to the client. Students should contact the Social Enterprise Program if deliverables contain sensitive or confidential information to discuss what information should be submitted.

Team leaders should ensure that all team members who travel, submit their expenses at the same time. Please check the documents provided by your team members (missing information from one person's expense paperwork can delay payments for the whole team).

If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Navalli in Uris 203 at:
sn2010 (AT) columbia (DOT) edu.