(or, in which I shamelessly use the blog for my own professional purposes)

Hypothetically speaking, let's say that you worked at a community college with finite funding. (Shocking, I know, but bear with me.) And let's say that the state in which your college is located is also taking some nasty financial hits, so the 'public subsidy' side of things is likely to get worse before it gets better. (I think that narrows it down to about 48 states. I'll admit that I'm not in Wyoming.)

And let's say that the already-paltry funding available for travel and professional development is being squeezed even more, since so many other costs are fixed.

To up the ante a little, let's say that you're thinking that the fairest way to decide how to divvy up what little travel/PD money is available is to charge a group of faculty to come up with criteria for you to use when comparing proposals. The idea is that they'll come up with ground rules, and you'll take responsibility for implementing them.

A few questions:

What criteria might you suggest?

What traps might one expect to find?

Would it make more sense to go the other way around?

How would you comprise the committee, if at all?

Wise and worldly readers, I need your guidance. What do you think?