UBS Optimus Foundation seeks Funding Proposals

UBS Optimus Foundation (UBSOF) has issued a call for proposals from eligible NGOs and their partnerships with universities or research institutions in Asia, Latin America and Africa to fund the projects aimed at linking health and education. The funding is aimed at promoting multi-sectoral integration, such as mainstreaming early child development into health Programs like maternal and child health, nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and violence and injury.

UBSOF is a non-profit philanthropic organization established by UBS in 1999. UBS Optimus Foundation focuses on three grant areas: Education, Child Protection, and Global Health Research.

Eligibility of Projects
UBSOF is looking for projects that respond to the following criteria:

• Projects that link health and education
• Projects that promote collaboration between an implementing organization and a research institute
• Projects that focus on the age range from conception to the age of 8 years
• Projects that can potentially deliver measurable outcomes for the improvement of children’s lives

Priority regions for interventions: Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Selection Criteria

• Topic relevance and responsiveness – how well does the proposal address a key need within the topic.
• Feasibility – are goals and milestones clearly defined and achievable, is there a strong organizational structure on the part of the applicant, and is there scale-up potential that provides a clear path for further support?
• Contributing evidence – is there potential for measurable outcomes and is there a sufficient plan for monitoring and evaluation?
• Innovative, state-of-the art approach – how well does the proposal provide ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to address challenges of linking health & education.
• Some examples of innovation projects include:
• development of new tools, or inventions, such as a new cost-effectiveness calculation to significantly improve the well-being of children.
• new approaches, methods and models for solving problems, such as new ideas to encourage young mothers to better engaging in improved child care practices,
• new combinations of players and stakeholders, such as new education or research consortia that link communities, researchers, implementers and/or countries such that there is dialogue among the various players
• trans-disciplinary approaches, such as holistic approaches that transcend the narrow scopes of traditional disciplinary views and engage researchers, implementers, community members and other stakeholders to work with each other in a way outside of their usual practice.

Funding Size
Maximum size of funding for projects under this request for proposals is CHF 125,000.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 30, 2011

For more information, visit this link.

UN Women | Fund for Gender Equality Call for Proposals 2011-2012

The UN Women has issued a call for proposals under the Fund for Gender Equality to support innovative programmes helping women achieve political and economic empowerment. This year, the Fund has been divided to two phases and the first phase will consider proposals for Arab States region only. Proposals will be accepted in English and Arabic.

The Fund provides grants ranging from $200,000 to $1 million for impact-oriented programmes. The Fund has the following main themes with an emphasis on women in situations of marginalization. Applicants can submit their proposals to target any one of these themes:

Women’s Political Empowerment: to increase women’s leadership and influence in the decisions that affect their lives, including leadership trainings and educaiton, empowering and building the next generation of youth leaders.

Women’s Economic Empowerment: to increase women’s access to and control over resources and assets – including  land, water and viable employment – while also addressing the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women and girls, with particular emphasis on wholistic and environmentally sustainable programmes and approaches.

Applications will be accepted through online process only (opening from 24 October). The deadline to submit applications is 4 November 2011. For more information, visit this link.

DEP, Pennsylvania seeks Grant Applications for the Environmental Education Program

The Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania (DEP) is currently seeking applications for the environmental education grants that are intended to be released in 2012.

These environmental education grants are available for schools, colleges, universities, county conservation districts, non-profit organizations, municipalities and businesses, providing a maximum of $7,500 per applicant.

“These grants will help bring more information and education to the public,” said DEP Secretary Mike Krancer, adding “Stronger environmental education leads to a more-informed dialogue and better decisions.”

Grants are aimed at providing funding to aforesaid institutions so that they could create or develop projects for supporting a variety of environmental topics including: watershed management, water conservation, acid mine drainage, alternative energy, air quality, brownfields redevelopment and Chesapeake Bay restoration.

A total of 102 grants amounting to more than $538,000 in total were awarded last April to groups supporting environmental education programs across the state. More than $7 million in grants have been awarded by the DEP since the launch of program.

The program, established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, under which it has been mandated that five percent of all fines and penalties collected by DEP related to pollution annually must be used for environmental education.

Last date for submission of applications is December 16, 2011

For more information, visit this link.

Call for Proposals

Joint Collaboration Development Awards under UK-NSTDA Researcher Mobility Scheme

Thailand National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and The British High Commission in Singapore have made Call for Proposals to promote and strengthen the beginning of new collaborations between researchers of UK and Thailand. The researchers who are involved in the following fields are eligible:

• Natural products (discovery of new natural products from microbial sources, fungi and marine organisms)
• Infectious diseases (malaria and dengue)
• Renewable energy (biofuels)
• Food safety and security (food borne diseases, biosensors)
• Nanotechnology (nanomedicine)

The main purpose of these funds is to initiate and promote new collaborations between the researchers of UK and NSTDA. The funds will facilitate visits to researchers in the same fields in UK/NSTDA. It can also be utilized to develop and promote joint collaborations. However, the fund will not support existing collaborations or any research project.

Joint Collaboration Development Awards – UK-Thailand Researcher Mobility Scheme 2 is an attempt on the part of the British High Commission in Singapore and NSTDA, Thailand to propagate the UK-Thailand Partners in Science Program. This program was initiated by the British High Commission in Singapore in collaboration with NSTDA; the program helped to organize a series of workshops in Thailand.

The awards will be presented to scientists and engineers in the UK and scientists in NSTDA Thailand, in order to promote joint collaboration between them. The awards will cover the cost of travel and subsistence from Thailand to the UK and vice versa. Applicants may request for funds required to spend time in the UK/Thailand, visit laboratories, or to discuss specific projects with universities or other organizations. The awards will amount to a total of 125,000 THB (about £2,600) per visit. The funds will cover the cost of economy class airfares, hotel room, subsistence in the UK/Thailand (at rates specified), travel within the UK/Thailand and visa costs if necessary.

The last date to submit claim forms/invoices/receipts for reimbursement of costs approved under these awards to NSTDA is March 25, 2012.

NSTDA researchers and UK researchers from Universities, Polytechnics and Research Institutes are eligible to apply. The proposal should include an action plan providing details of the main activities, a visit timetable and potential future submissions to funding bodies. Each applicant who receives the award will have to write a short report of 2-3 pages, within one month of the visit. The report should clearly describe the result and outcome of the visit.

The last date for submitting the applications is October 31, 2011. The results will be declared in December 2011.

For further information, visit this link.

MEPI Funding Opportunity under U.S. Govt’s Local Grants Program

The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State on October 1, 2011 has issued an annual program statement for funding that is available through MEPI’s Local Grants program aimed at promoting reform and civic activism at the local and national levels in countries of the Middle East and North Africa, building the institutional capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and strengthening the civil society.

Funding Focus Areas

• Advocacy by civil society, NGOs, and professional associations
• Development of networks, partnerships, and coalitions
• Expansion of opportunities for youth (ages 15-24)
• Expansion of women’s participation in public life at the local, regional, and national levels
• Promotion of the rule of law, legal frameworks and processes, good governance, public awareness
• Development of media institutions
• Promotion of economic reform that expands economic opportunity especially for youth
• Expansion of educational opportunities

Objectives

• Building pluralistic societies in which diversity is reflected in social organizations, politics, business, media, and government, and where all citizens have equal standing, protected by guaranteed rights and by independent and effective judiciaries;
• Building participatory societies in which citizens play an active role in making decisions that affect their lives and in holding their governments accountable; and
• Building prosperous societies in which education, specialized skill training, and an environment conducive to business development inspire innovation and create a foundation for long-term economic growth and an internationally competitive private sector.

Project Activities

• Community-level activities that provide practical experience in democratic processes and encourage and strengthen volunteerism and advocacy;
• Public education and awareness-building activities, as well as training-of-trainers;
• Workshops, meetings, or training events of a practical and professional nature, which are an integral part of and contribute to the overall project; and/or
• Capacity-building for civil society organizations/nongovernmental organizations.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include local representatives of civil society, including: individuals, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sector organizations, and universities based in the eligible countries. Any organization with a headquarters office located outside the eligible countries will not be considered.

Eligible countries and territories include: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

Award Details
Estimated Number of Awards: 100
Estimated Ceiling (or Maximum) Award Amount: $150,000
Estimated Floor (or Minimum) Award Amount: $25,000
For more information, visit this link.