Grants talk:TPS/Vantharith/BarcampKampongCham2013

Questions about your budget

Hello, Vantharith:

First, thank you for this request. We are excited to have an opportunity to support this work!

However, your budget does not seem realistic. Even the State Department per diem for incidentals and expenses is only US$30 for this region and we can (at max) fund only up to 75% of that rate per day. The State Department rate for lodging is also lower than the rate you've quoted and when investigating quotes from standard travel sites, rates per night are much lower this time of year, even for fairly nice hotels (in the range of US$10-US$20 per night). Additionally, it appears bus routes from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham cost about US$5 each way and that taxi routes, while a bit more expensive, would cost only about US$20-US$30 round trip. For a reference, check out the WikiVoyage page for Kompong Cham. Please correct us if we're just missing something or if there are special circumstances that require this special budget.

We would be happy to approve this request with a more realistic budget. Regards, Winifred Olliff (Grants Administrator) talk 16:44, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

My Response/ Detailed budget breakdown

Greetings from Seoul!

Hello, Winifred. thank you for your question and I think I should have made it more clearly/ detailed breakdown in my requested budget. Ok, in fact I was somehow rush and then busy with following up on what was happening during last weekend's Parliamentary Elections in Cambodia.

Anyway, please find the my responses below. FYI, this budget is requested for our team of 2 people - another User:Tep Sovichet and myself.

• Travel: ~USD 200 (my intended plan was to rent for a small taxi/car as I expect my schedule to be very tight and I'm not so sure whether my time is ok with the bus's departing time/schedules.)
  • I just found the bus schedules online updated as of May 2013, there are quite many good departing time options available to choose from. Thus, I think I'll be good with one of these bus options or else I try to take a taxi ride).
  • Revised quote = ~USD 70 = 60$ (bus/tax from/to Kampong Cham for 2pax) + 10$ (local transport, if any).
  • (5-15$/ticket x 2pax x 2ways) - Let's keep it as open options between 5$-bus & 10-15$-taxi ride, for now.
• Accommodation: ~USD 100 (2 separate rooms for 2nights).
  • (~20-25$/night x 2pax x 2nights).
• Meals and incidental expenses: ~USD 200 = 180$ (for meals) + 20$ (other incidentals, e.g. communication/phone recharge).
  • (10-15$/meal x 3meals/day x 2pax x 2days).
  • I just referred to US Department of State per diem rate I believe Kampong Cham rate should be based on that of Sihanoukville, NOT the OTHER rate in order to better reflect the actual expenses as of 2013, inflation and everything else (you might notice the effective date for OTHER, it has been since 2003).

=> TOTAL = 70$ + 100$ + 200$ = USD 370
Hope this helps clarify your concern. Let me know if you have further questions. Thank you! --វ័ណថារិទ្ធ (Vantharith) (talk) 00:52, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Reply, and suggested budget for approval

Hello, Vantharith:

First, thank you very much for the quick responses! We did not realize this budget covered both you and User:Tep Sovichet, so it makes a lot more sense to us now! We are fine covering the costs of both of you for this project. The revised travel and hotel quotes also seem a lot more realistic, so thank you for the adjustments. We are able to approve those quotes for travel and hotel expenses.

We do expect those being reimbursed through this program to budget for only 75% of the assigned Department of State per diem rate for meals in their region, unless special circumstances apply. The Department of State rates do not need to be adjusted for inflation, as the rates are updated by the Department of State when needed, and Kampong Cham is probably not comparable to a heavily-visited tourist destination like Sihanoukville. For Kampong Cham, the standard rate would be 75% of US$30 for each person (this includes meals and incidentals), or a total of US$45 for two people. For meals and incidentals, this is the maximum amount we can approve. Are there specific expenses you have in mind, beyond your meals, that you are afraid this amount will not be covered adequately? If so, please let us know so that we may consider them.

Otherwise, we will reimburse you up to US$70 + US$100 + US$45 = US$215. If you agree to this revised budget, we'll go ahead and approve the request now, since we think this is an excellent opportunity and we're excited to have the opportunity to support your work and User:Tep Sovichet's.

Regards, Winifred Olliff (Grants Administrator) talk 17:29, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Final, revised budget with minor change (correction)

Hello Winifred,

Thanks for your response and suggested budget. We are fine with it as we do value every single cent of WMF fund from donors. We are ok with after-event reimbursement too, not a problem with that. But, it seems that you miss calculate the M & IE for 1 day - but in fact, it should be 2 days => it should be USD 90. Thus, please refer to the revised budget for your confirmation.

• Travel: USD 70
• Accommodation: USD 100
• Meals & Incidental Expenses: USD 90 (30$ * 75% * 2 days * 2 pax)
• => TOTAL = USD 260

We will wait for your confirmation and grant letter to sign off. Oh, another thing beside the financial request - re the WMF merchandising, please let me know whom I can contact to get it in Hong Kong at Wikimania conference. We expect around 30-40 participants for my session, so it would be great if we have enough freebie to distribute to them as this will make more attachment and sense of belonging to the global WMF community as well as sense of achievement and reward. Thank you and see you in Hong Kong if you happen to be there! --វ័ណថារិទ្ធ (Vantharith) (talk) 22:46, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Request approved

Hello, Vantharith: This request is approved at US$260. We will follow up by Email to issue the agreement and discuss how we might get you some buttons and stickers to distribute at the event. Cheers, Winifred Olliff (Grants Administrator) talk 23:26, 2 August 2013 (UTC)