Documentation And Research Assistantship Scheme

What is the Documentation and Research Assistantship Scheme?

The Documentation and Research Assistantship Scheme is Scheme No. 3 in the list of schemes of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), an academy under the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa, established to foster and develop Tiatr and its dances, music, songs and literature.

The scheme addresses a preservation problem the Academy states directly. There are many materials with Tiatr artistes, Tiatr lovers and even institutions; manuscripts, photos, handbills, advertisements, newspaper or magazine clippings, video and audio recordings. These materials are of immense value in the documentation of Tiatr. But in many cases the materials are not categorised or organised for better access and digital preservation, and there is a high degree of risk that some of them may be lost to posterity if efforts are not undertaken to preserve and document them. TAG formulated this scheme to encourage documentation and digitisation of such materials.

The scheme therefore has two sides. On one side are the holders of Tiatr-related material, who receive assistance to organise and document their holdings and a one-time incentive for converting them into electronic formats. On the other side are the documentation assistants, who do the work and are paid an honorarium.

Who is eligible under this scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a possessor of material related to Tiatr, an artiste, a Tiatr lover or an institution holding manuscripts, photos, handbills, advertisements, clippings or audio and video recordings, and you wish to have those materials organised or documented electronically. Norm 3 requires holders to indicate to TAG their willingness to permit and facilitate the tasks, and they may also indicate proximate candidates willing to undertake the documentation.
• You are a candidate willing to serve as a Documentation Assistant. Norm 4 says such candidates shall submit applications to TAG, which will assign tasks according to the requests received from the holders.
• You can submit a self-attested copy of your Aadhaar card along with the application, which norm 10 makes compulsory.

You cannot benefit under this scheme if:

• You hold no Tiatr-related material and are not willing to work as a documentation assistant. The scheme has no third category of beneficiary.
• You are unwilling to permit and facilitate the documentation work on your holdings. Access to the material is the basis of the whole arrangement.
• You do not submit the Aadhaar copy with the application.

The scheme gives preference to persons who are in proximity to the venue of the holdings, because the work is done where the material is.

What work does a documentation assistant do?

Norm 6 lists the tasks that may be performed:

• Compilation and organisation of the materials — arranging, cataloguing and similar work.
• Typing or word-processing of the textual materials, or scanning and converting by OCR.
• Conversion of images by scanning or photographing with a digital camera.
• Converting video or audio recordings from analogue to digital format.

The application form's annexure also lists photographing and photocopying and indexing among the categories of work a holder may indicate.

How much is paid?

The Tiatr Academy of Goa does not publish a rupee figure for this scheme, and no fixed amount should be assumed. What the scheme text says is:

Because the rates are set by the Academy and not by a published schedule, an applicant should ask the TAG office for the current rate before committing time to a large holding.

What happens to the digitised material?

A copy of the digitised material is provided to the holder on DVD or pen-drive, and a similar copy is kept by the TAG for its uses. The holder therefore does not lose control of the material and does not have to part with the originals permanently, while the Academy builds its archive.

How to apply for the Documentation and Research Assistantship Scheme

1. Decide which side you are applying from, as a holder of Tiatr-related material who wants it documented, or as a candidate willing to serve as a documentation assistant.
2. Collect the prescribed application form for Scheme No. 3 from the Tiatr Academy of Goa office, or from the scheme PDF published on tiatracademyofgoa.com.
3. Fill in the form; name of the artiste or documentation assistant, address, contact number, email ID, Aadhaar card number, and the aspect of Tiatr on which documentation can be done.
4. Holders should also indicate the nature of the work to be undertaken from the categories listed in the form, organising, arranging and cataloguing; typing, word-processing and indexing; scanning and performing OCR; photographing or photocopying; and converting audio or video recordings from analogue to digital formats. Holders may name proximate candidates willing to do the work.
5. Enclose a self-attested copy of your Aadhaar card, which norm 10 requires.
6. Sign the declaration that you have read and understood the rules of the scheme and abide by it, and that the information given is true.
7. Submit the form at the Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, and keep a copy with the date of submission.

How the work is reviewed and paid

TAG assigns tasks to documentation assistants according to the requests received from the holders. The work done must be certified by the holder of the material before the honorarium is paid, so a documentation assistant should get the holder's certification at each stage rather than at the end of a long project.

TAG periodically reviews the work undertaken and accordingly extends or curtails the assistantship. An assistantship is therefore not open-ended, and poor or slow work can be curtailed.

Common reasons an application does not proceed

• No Aadhaar copy attached. Norm 10 makes it compulsory.
• The holder is unwilling to permit access. Nothing can be assigned without the holder's willingness to permit and facilitate the tasks.
• No holder's certification of the work done. The honorarium is paid on that certification.
• Distance from the holdings. Preference goes to persons in proximity to the venue of the holdings, so a distant applicant may not be assigned.
• Expectation of a fixed fee. The amount is decided by TAG, and the scheme expressly reserves TAG's right to make changes in the rules.

Where to ask questions

The Tiatr Academy of Goa is at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, telephone 0832-2230738 and 0832-2230739, email tiatracademy@gmail.com. The full scheme text and application form are published on the Schemes of TAG page at tiatracademyofgoa.com.

The scheme document is signed by the President and the Member Secretary of the Academy, and closes with the statement that TAG reserves the right to make changes in these rules. Applicants should therefore check the current PDF on the TAG site rather than an older printed copy.

How to check your application status

The Documentation and Research Assistantship Scheme runs entirely offline, so there is no online tracking ID, portal login or SMS update to check. Status has to be confirmed directly with the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) office.

For holders of Tiatr-related material who have submitted the form:

1. Keep the dated copy of your submitted application. This is your only proof of when you applied, since there is no acknowledgement number generated online.
2. Call the TAG office on 0832-2230738 or 0832-2230739, or write to tiatracademy@gmail.com, quoting the date you submitted the form and the name under which it was filed.
3. Ask specifically whether TAG has assigned a documentation assistant to your holdings yet. Norm 4 means TAG matches assistants to holders' requests, so your form may simply be waiting in that queue rather than having been rejected.
4. If a proximate candidate was already named in your application, ask whether that person has been confirmed as the assigned assistant, since named candidates are not automatically approved.

For candidates who have applied to work as a documentation assistant:

1. Contact TAG on the same phone numbers or email and ask whether your application has been matched against any holder's request. Since assignment depends on holder requests coming in, a candidate application can remain pending for a genuine reason: no matching holder request yet, not a rejection.
2. Once work is assigned, track your own status through the certification step described in the scheme rather than by asking TAG. Payment of the honorarium depends on the holder certifying the work done, so confirm with the holder that they have signed off on each completed stage before expecting payment.
3. Ask TAG at intervals whether your assistantship has been extended or curtailed, since the Academy periodically reviews ongoing work and adjusts assignments accordingly; this review is the closest thing the scheme has to a formal status update once work has started.

In person: visiting the TAG office at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001 is a reasonable option if phone or email do not get a response, since a small-scheme office like this typically has direct staff who can check the file while you wait.

Because rates, assignments and continuation of an assistantship are all decided by TAG case by case rather than through a published timeline, applicants should not expect a fixed processing period, and following up periodically by phone or email is the normal way this scheme is tracked.