Global Equality Fund to Protect Human Rights of LGBT Persons

Deadline: 10 January 2014

The US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor  (DRL) has issued a Request for Statements of Interest (SOI) for ‘The Global Equality Fund: Programs to Protect the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Persons.

Launched in December 2011, the Global Equality Fund aims to support the work of civil society organizations working to protect and advance the human rights of LGBT persons globally. Partners of the Global Equality Fund include the governments of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden as well as the Arcus Foundation, the John D. Evans Foundation, LLH: the Norwegian LGBT Organization, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund, Deloitte, and USAID.

This solicitation is the first step in a two-part process. After reviewing SOIs, selected organizations will be invited to expand their ideas into full proposals at a later date. The intention of requesting SOIs first is to provide organizations with time to focus on submitting creative and new ideas to address human rights challenges facing LGBT persons and their advocates.

The Global Equality Fund is part of DRL’s broader initiative to support at-risk and vulnerable populations, including women, people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, and religious minorities.

The Fund invites organizations to submit Statements of Interest (SOIs) outlining program concepts and organizational capacity to manage programs that will protect and advance the human rights of LGBT persons.

    Statements of interests could focus on areas including, but not limited to:
    Strengthening Legal Protection
    Protection from violence, including sexual violence and hate crime, and combating impunity
    Organizational Development and Capacity
    Combating societal discrimination and negative social attitudes

Organizations are welcome to either submit SOIs that include a range of objectives from those listed above or submit SOIs that focus exclusively on one objective area. As appropriate and relevant, SOIs are encouraged to include provisions on how they will develop institutional responses to security incidents and protection of staff and LGBT community members as activities are implemented.

SOIs from all geographic regions are welcome. When assessing the geographic and thematic scope of SOIs, organizations are strongly encouraged to consider where they have demonstrated expertise and existing relationships with local partners. SOIs that take advantage of existing opportunities for change in national contexts or respond to acute human rights violations or human rights backsliding are also encouraged.

Approximately $3 million in funds are available for programs of the Global Equality Fund, pending funding availability. To support direct and indirect costs required for implementation, DRL anticipates making award amounts of $100,000-$500,000.

For more information, visit this link or search grants.gov by Funding Opportunity #DRLA-DRLAQM-14-006

World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability in 33 Countries

Deadline: 6 January 2014

World Bank’s The Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) has announced the 2nd Call for Proposals for civil society organizations (CSOs) and CSO networks based and operating in any of 33 eligible countries Grant amounts will range from US$500,000 to US$1,000,000. Requests for funding below this range will also be considered.

Grants are intended to provide strategic and sustained support to CSO projects with the following objectives:

    Addressing critical governance and development problems through social accountability processes that involve citizen feedback and participatory methodologies geared to helping governments and public sector institutions solve these problems. Special emphasis is put on problems that directly affect extreme poor and marginalized populations.
    Strengthening civil society’s capacities for social accountability by investing in CSOs’ institutional strengthening and through mentoring of small, nascent CSOs by well-established, larger CSOs with a track record on social accountability.

Country-Tailored Calls for Proposals

Proposals must address the priority themes identified per country. Please review the table further below for details. Look for your country and open the PDF link to see the country-specific call for proposals.

How to apply

    The deadline for submitting grant applications is January 6th 2014 (23:59h GMT).
    Please note: all grant applications, without exception, must be submitted in English. The GPSA will not consider applications written in other languages.
    Read the general instructions on how to apply for a grant, eligibility requirements, selection criteria and process: please download the GPSA Grant Application Guidelines (pdf).
    Review your country’s priority theme(s) included in the country-tailored call for proposals.
    All applications must be submitted using the GPSA’s online e-application platform. Applications submitted through any other means will not be accepted. The GPSA E-Application Platform will open for submissions on December 2 and the link to access the platform will be posted on this webpage.

For more information, visit this link.

Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund Research Fellowships Program

Deadline- 28 February 2014

The Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) is seeking applications for ABCF Research Fellowship Programme offered to pursue MSc or PhD program at a national agricultural research organization. The fellowship is offered in the field biosciences, agriculture or related subject at a national agricultural research. The goal of this program is to develop capacity for agricultural biosciences research in Africa, to support research projects that ultimately contribute towards increasing food and nutritional security or food safety in Africa, and to facilitate access to the BecA-ILRI Hub by African researchers. Projects must be in the area of food and nutritional security or food safety in Africa.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    A national of a BecA-ILRI Hub target country: Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda. In exceptional  applicants from other African countries may be considered.
    A researcher at a national agricultural research organization or university in a BecA-ILRI Hub target country
    Currently engaged in agricultural research, or in a research area with relevance to agriculture
    Qualified MSc or PhD in biosciences, agriculture or related subject. In exceptional applicants with a bachelor’s degree may be considered
    Good working knowledge of written and spoken English

For more information, visit this link

Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) Fellowships Program

Deadline- 15 January 2014

Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) has announced M.A. in journalism Fellowships Program. The goal of this program is to develop the Asian perspective in their work, intensify their commitment to journalism’s ideals and be at the cutting-edge in a global technologically sophisticated environment.

Full grants cover tuition, books, travel (international and domestic) and living expenses for the on-campus sessions. Other forms of support are available to senior journalists, teachers and part-time working journalists.

Areas Covered-

    Media Ethics
    Contemporary Issues in Media Law
    Advanced Reporting and Writing

Eligibility-

Asian journalists with a strong commitment to journalism, leadership qualities and an excellent professional and academic record can apply for the fellowship.

For more information, visit this link

Postgraduate Course Feminism in Transnational Perspective

Deadline- 15 January 2014

Applications are being accepted for 8th Postgraduate Course “Feminisms In A Transnational Perspective” Course offered by Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis. The Working language of the course is English.

The course will provide not only a venue for re-considering actual academic, educational and political outcomes of feminist interventions in the field of humanities, as well as culture in general, but will also attempt to return to the long-standing, thorny issue of theory versus activism divide in a historical perspective.

Eligibility & Criteria-

IUC courses are conducted at postgraduate level. All interested postgraduate students may apply to participate, although the course targets young scholars and postgraduate students with a defined interest in women’s studies, transnational studies, philosophy, sociology, literary and cultural studies, postcolonialism, or anthropology. The course will be limited to 25 participants (15 students) in order to provide sufficient space for discussion, seminar work and student presentations. Participants must seek funding from their own institutions for the costs of travel, lodging and meals. Limited financial support is available for participants from Central and Eastern Europe.

For more information, visit this link

UN Women Call for Proposals: United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women 2013

Deadline: 22 January 2014

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has announced the 2013 Call for Proposals for NGOs to apply for the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. It is a leading global grant-making mechanism exclusively dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls in all its forms. It supports effective initiatives that demonstrate that violence against women and girls can be systematically addressed, reduced and, with persistence, eliminated.

The UN Trust Fund works in partnership with NGOs, governments and UN country teams to prevent violence against women and girls; expand the access of women and girl survivors of violence to services; and strengthen the implementation of laws, policies and action plans on violence against women and girls.

Programmes reaching  especially marginalized  and high‐risk populations  including the internally displaced, refugees, women living in  conflict, post‐conflict and transitional settings, and women  with  disabilities  will  receive  special  consideration.

Proposals should ideally reflect partnerships among civil society and government. Special attention will be paid to organizations with a  demonstrated record of working with  local women’s organizations, especially grassroots women’s organizations and networks. Proposals from more than one organization or entity as co‐applicants must clearly indicate which organization will take lead responsibility for project management and contractual obligations.

For large civil society organizations, governments and UN Country Teams, budget requests should be within the range of a minimum of US$ 300,000 to a maximum of US$ 1 million total for duration of two to three years.

For  small  civil  society  organizations,  especially  grassroots  women’s  organizations  and  youth‐led organizations, budget requests for a minimum of US$ 50,000 will also be considered.

Applicants are expected to submit proposals online in the form of a brief Concept Note. Concept Notes can be submitted in the following languages only: English, French and Spanish.

The deadline for submission of the Concept Note is 22 January 2014, 11:59pm New York Time (EST).

For more information, visit this link.

ILO’s Fund for Evaluation in Employment Call for Proposals

Deadline: 10 December 2013

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Youth Employment Network (YEN) in collaboration with the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, and the ILO’s Small Enterprise Unit (SEED) has issued a call for proposals for the Fund for Evaluation in Employment: Building evidence on the labour market effects of enterprise interventions.

The Fund for Evaluation in Employment seeks to improve the effectiveness of employment creation interventions and programs by expanding the evidence on what works, why and how in the areas of enterprise and entrepreneurship development. Policymakers and development partners – including donors, international organizations and civil society – are looking for solutions to the employment challenge, with private sector and enterprise development being one of the main channels to more and better job creation.

This Fifth Call for Proposals seeks to improve the effectiveness of enterprise development interventions by expanding the evidence on what works, why and how in the areas of value chain and entrepreneurship development. The Fund addresses the two challenges mentioned above by providing adapted types of support, depending on which track the applicant and the proposed project belongs to.

Selected applicants will receive the following benefits:

TRACK 1: Applicants assessed as being at the “Ready for an IE” stage:

Financial Assistance:

    The Fund will provide seed funding to selected evaluations ranging from US$5,000 to US$180,000, which in most cases means projects will have to bring in co-funding to supplement the costs.
    The total amount of the Evaluation Fund is $360,000.
    3ie will provide co-funding through their policy window to carry out two full impact evaluations.

TRACK 2: Applicants assessed as being at the “IE pipeline” stage:

Financial Assistance:

    Expenses paid for one participant to attend the Evaluation Clinic
    Depending on availability of funding after the Clinic: seed funding to cover costs of technical assistance to strengthen an organization’s M&E system and/or to finalize a solid evaluation plan to conduct an IE

Technical Assistance:

    Intensive training on M&E methodologies and techniques during the Clinic
    Assignment of an evaluation expert who will be focused on the organization’s evaluation live case during the Clinic
    Exposure to the other Clinic participants’ experiences and lessons during the work on their live cases
    All selected applicants:
    Access to knowledge sharing portal and a youth entrepreneurship community of practice

For more information, visit this link.

Call for Letters of Inquiry for Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)

Deadline: 16 December 2013

BirdLife International, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society have issued a call for letters of inquiry for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to provide large grants of more than USD 20,000 for organizations in Yemen, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Malawi, Zambia.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International (CI), the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation

This is the fifth of several Calls for Proposals over the investment period of 2012-2017 and as such, is purposefully limited in scope.

Non-governmental organisations, community groups, private enterprises, universities and other civil society applicants may apply for funding. Applications from organizations that propose to build capacity of local civil society and community groups are particularly encouraged. Projects must be located within the sites and countries identified above and in the Ecosystem Profile. Organizations must have their own bank account and be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions.

If your LOI is successful, the CEPF Secretariat will invite you to prepare a full project proposal. The invitation to submit a full project proposal is usually sent within two months after the deadline. The guidelines for preparing a full project proposal will be provided when your LOI has been accepted. The timeframe for processing a large grant application from initial submission of the LOI to the award of the grant is usually 6-8 months.

For more information, visit this link.

United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) 2013: Learn How to Apply

Deadline: 31 December 2013

The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) 2013 Call for Project Proposals is now open for NGOs to apply. The Fund provides financial support to projects around the world for strengthening the voice of civil society, promoting human rights and encouraging the participation of all groups in the democratic processes. The main areas of funding are Community Development, Media, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Tools for Democratization, Women and Youth.

For NGOs to win funding, it is very important to submit a strong application especially because there is huge competition for seeking grants from UNDEF. As a worldwide opportunity, NGOs need to consider some important elements that matter in the application form. Keeping in view of the challenges faced by organizations in developing countries, we have developed a guide that can assist them in writing an effective proposal.

Disclaimer: This guide is intended to help NGOs apply to the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) grant program. This is an unofficial guide that does not guarantee funding or support to applicants. The guide is intended to provide NGOs with suggestions. Readers are advised to use the guide at their own discretion.

The following information is included in this guide:

    Before You Apply: Learning About the United Nations Democracy Fund:  About the Fund, Purpose of the Fund, Types of Projects Fundable, Funding Available, Where Does Funding Come From? Length of Projects, Application Dates, How to Apply, Where to Apply, Who Can Apply
    Steps to Completing the 2013 UNDEF Application Form: Applicant Information, Project Information, Project Description, Partners and Sponsors, Budget, Commitments,
    Submitting Your Application On-line.
    Best Practices for Creating a Successful Application



The very first step you need to take (even before you begin writing your proposal for funding) is to go the United Nations Democracy Fund website and read the information provided about this specific funding opportunity.

Reading information provided by the United Nations Democracy Fund will give you a complete understanding of the required proposal submission guidelines. It may also give you some ideas to help you develop and submit a successful proposal.

About the United Nations Democracy Fund

What is the UNDEF?  Started by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2005, the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDF) supports projects around the world that focus on the following:

    Strengthening the voice of civil society
    Promoting human rights
    Encouraging the participation of all group in democratic processes

Purpose:   The purpose of the United Nations Democracy Fund is to financially support projects that support and advance democracy. Projects must come under one or more of the following six main areas:

    Community development
    Media
    Rule of law and human rights
    Tools for democratization
    Women
    Youth

What Types of Projects Are Fundable?  The UNDF funds projects related to democracy and civil society empowerment, such as: the empowerment of women, citizen’s access to information, voter registration, civic education, and much more.

Examples of previously funded projects include:

    Constitutional Reform: Support to Constituent Assembly in Zambia
    Promoting Human Rights through Providing Access to Information for Marginalized Women in Zimbabwe.
    Raising Civic Awareness Among Youth: Participation & Community Service in Yemen

Additional examples of previously funded projects can be found by searching the UNDF Projects Database.

Funding Available:  Projects range from $50,000 to $400,000. The average project is $200,000.

Where does the funding come from?  All funding for UNDEF projects is from voluntary contributions.

Length of Projects:  Projects are for two years or less.

Application Dates:  Proposals can be submitted between 15 November 2013 through 31 December 2013.

How to Apply:  Proposals are only accepted on-line during the application date period. Proposals can be submitted in either English or French.

Where to Apply:  Proposals must be submitted on-line during the application date window at the UNDEF website available at this link.

Who Can Apply? The following types of organizations are eligible to apply for funding:

    Civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that promote democracy. This category traditionally receives most of the funding.
    Independent and constitutional bodies such as election commissions, ombudsman institutions, national human rights institutions, and other independent governance bodies.
    Global and regional inter-government bodies, associations, and organizations other than the United Nations.
    If you are not sure if your organization is eligible to apply for UNDEF funding, go to the website at this link to find additional information.



The online application form for 2013 UNDEF Funding is available at: http://new.undefapplication.org

Steps to Completing the 2013 UNDEF Application Form:

    UNDEF provides an example application form at this link.
    You can use this form to complete your application off-line; then go online to the online application form and submit your application.
    You need to have a computer with an Internet connection to submit your application form on the UNDEF online application form.
    You must register your organization on the UNDEF website by creating a profile before you can apply for UNDEF funding.
    Once you have registered your organization, an email message will be sent by the online system (also known as the OPPS system) with a login username and password. Use this username and password to log into the UNDEF website to complete your application form.
    You do not need to complete the online application form all at one time. If you do not want to submit your application right away, choose the “SAVE” option located at the end of the online application form.
    Once you are confident that your application is complete, click on the “SUBMIT” button. NOTE: Once you hit the “SUBMIT” button you CANNOT go back and edit your application again. So, hit the “SUBMIT” button when you are absolutely sure that your application is complete.

APPLICANT INFORMATION

Section 1. APPLICANT INFORMATION. This section asks for basic information about your organization such as: Name of the organization, organization acronym, type of applicant, first time or prior applicant, prior experience of your organization, operational budget of your organization, prior experience of your organization with the UN (United Nations), and affiliation (list grants your organization has received).

Section 1. HEAD OF ORGANIZATION. This section requests that you provide the name of the head of your organization, their professional title, telephone number, email address, and website address.

Section 1: KEY CONTACT. Provide the name of the key contact person of your organization. (This can be the same name as the head of your organization.); title of the key contact, phone number and email address of the key contact person.

PROJECT INFORMATION. This section asks you to provide: the title of your project. The title of your project should be short and self-explanatory. For example:

“Empowering People Through Citizen’s Journalism Tirana/Albania Europe”

“Strengthening Transitional Justice Processes in Burundi”

“Spaces and Information for Citizens’ Engagement in Columbia”

“Educating Rural Women in Democratic Citizenship in Haiti”

If you need more ideas for your title, search the UNDEF Project Database where all previously funded projects are listed. You can read through the list of projects for ideas to create your own unique title.

You will be also asked to provide: the location of your project, the country of your project, (for local projects: the location in the country where the project will take place), (for regional projects: select a value on the Application Form from the Geographic Scale), a summary of the project (no more than 255 characters), the amount of funds you are requesting for the project, your organization’s own contribution to the project (cash or in kind), the main feature of the project, and previous initiatives or innovations.


UNDEF shares the following best practices to help you create a successful application:

1.) Presentation:  High quality applications result in higher proposal scores. High quality applications: have all information completed, do not exceed character limits, provide accurate information, avoid jargon or acronyms, provide correct website addresses, uses plain English or French, and uses succinct sentences avoiding repetition of content.

2.) Clarity:  Your application should be clear and concise. Someone who is not familiar with your organization or your project should be able to read your application and understand completely what you are trying to accomplish. The application should be laid out logically meaning that the reader should be able to follow your goals, activities, budget, and outcomes step-by-step.

3.) Scoring and Criteria:  UNDEF assesses all proposals against the following 10 criteria. Make sure that your proposal meets the following criteria:

    Does your organization have a strong track record of excellence?
    Does the proposal make sense in terms of conception and presentation?
    How does the proposed project promote the objectives of the UNDEF?
    How does the proposed project make use of the United Nations’ and the UNDEF’s comparative advantage?
    How does the proposal make a significant impact?
    Does the proposal represent good value for the funding requested?
    Does the proposal demonstrate strong prospects for successful implementation?
    Does the proposal have strong prospects for continuing after UNDEF funding ends?
    Does the project encourage inclusiveness?
    Does the project enhance gender equality?

4.) Innovation: How innovative is your project? Innovation refers to something new at the same time being effective. For example, including men in a women’s rights project could be considered innovative.

5.) Democracy:  UNDEF funds projects that promote democracy. Your proposal must show how funding will advance some form or cause of democracy. The more direct the link is between the proposed project and how democratic processes will be strengthened, the stronger the proposal.

6.) Budget:  The budget must relate to the outputs provided in the narrative part of the proposal. Note that UNDEF rarely funds proposals for purchasing vehicles. UNDEF also looks for an element of volunteering in the proposal. UNDEF understands that the budget figures are estimates and expects budget amounts to be rounded figures (in the thousands or hundreds is acceptable).

7.) Value:  Remember that the maximum grant amount for any one proposal is $400,000. Only a few projects have been awarded this amount in over 400 applications implemented to date. The average grant amount is $200,000. A realistic budget should result in a better score under the ‘value for the money’ criterion.

8.) Timing:  The time available to submit your proposal is 6 weeks. It is strongly recommended that applicants give themselves plenty of time to develop, review, and then submit their proposal. Do not wait until the last few days prior to the deadline date of 31 December. Bad Internet connections, electricity blackouts, or other explanations for why a proposal was late are unacceptable, so start early!

Ready to apply for UNDEF now. Just visit this link.

USAID and Government of Sweden inviting Proposals for ‘Securing Water for Food’ Funding Opportunity

Deadline: 17 January 2014

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Sweden have announced a new grant opportunity called ‘Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development Competition’ and NGOs around the world are invited to apply for it.

This funding competition has been designed to address barriers to enable the production of more food with less water and/or make more water available for food production, processing, and distribution. Through this competition, Securing Water for Food anticipates disbursing $15 million USD in award funding. Individual awards are expected to be between $100,000 USD and $3,000,000 USD depending on the type of funding requested. The period of performance for individual awards is up to three years; the actual period of performance for each award will be determined at the time of award.

The Grand Challenges for Development (GCD) Program of the USAID (organized in partnership with partners) seeks to source, select and accelerate science, technology and business model innovations that can lead to achieving large-scale development impact.

The objective of Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development is to enable the production of more food with less water and/or make more water available for food production, processing, and distribution in developing and emerging countries. It is jointly funded by USAID and the Government of Sweden.

Under this program, USAID is seeking innovations that will improve water availability and efficiency along the food value chain, thus boosting food security, alleviating poverty, and stimulating inclusive growth. Innovators can come from anywhere in the world, but implementation must take place in a developing or emerging country. Through Securing Water for Food, it is hoping to increase both the demand for and availability of innovative water technologies and approaches; increase adoption of those innovations at multiple levels (from small scale farms to large corporations); and improve the sustainability of innovations through robust partnerships and business-to-business relationships.

The goals of the ‘Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development Competition’ is to to source and accelerate innovations in the following areas that will enable the production of more food with less water and/or make more water available for food production, processing, and distribution.

Water Efficiency and Reuse – especially targeted at the food value chain. This will become a greater necessity as water availability is threatened by competition between industrial, agricultural, and energy uses. Improving water efficiency and reuse has tremendous potential water-saving benefits that may have multiplier effects at various levels of a country’s economy.

Water Capture and Storage. These systems are in high demand in many regions where rain occurs at limited times. With projected increases in rainfall variability due to climate change and increased demands for food production, capture and storage systems at various scales are needed to secure water supplies throughout the year and build resiliency to drought and floods.

Salinity and Salt Water Intrusion. In coastal areas, overpumping and rising sea levels are leading to saltwater intrusion, forcing farmers to use marginal quality water for irrigation. With more than 30% of the world’s population living in coastal areas and drawing food supply from fertile deltas, urgent solutions are required to reduce the impacts of salinity on the quality of aquifers and food production.

The focus areas of the Program are improved technologies for irrigation, real-time water quantity and quality monitoring, post-harvest water demand reduction, salinity reduction, agricultural innovations that have a clear and direct impact on water usage, and other water re-use/efficiency/storage activities within the food value chain. The competition will also support business and financial innovations that enable the increased dissemination and adoption of relevant science and technology solutions; for example, new distribution models or payment schemes. Innovations in areas that are not described here but that address one of the focus areas above are welcome.

Some of the cross-cutting issues that can be included are:

    The lack of cost-appropriate technologies for use in low-resource settings;
    Insufficient user-centered design in technology development;
    Poorly developed supply chains;
    Lack of distribution networks;
    High up-front investment costs;
    Lack of confidence that developing and emerging countries have the market mechanisms necessary for growth;
    Absence of proper financing tools;
    Limited access to information that would enable entrepreneurs to make informed investment, management, and marketing decisions; and
    Insufficient information and training to farmers and other end users regarding how to use available technologies/innovations.

As this funding opportunity is focused on innovations, this call for proposals is specifically interested to support the following:

Stage 1 – Market-driven product/business development: These innovations have been verified through a standalone pilot or a series of pilots and now need to be tested and adapted for adoption in new developing or emerging countries. These innovations may require technical validation and proof of adoption/uptake in a new market.

Stage 2 – Scaling/Commercial Growth: These are established innovations that have already demonstrated a viable business model and are generating revenue. They require support for commercial growth, including adaptation of the innovation for larger scale production, market adoption, and distribution. It is expected that these innovations have already demonstrated technical feasibility and market acceptance and can provide evidence supporting these points.

Initially, only concept notes have to submitted and the shortlisted applicants will later be invited to submit full proposals.

Concept note should cover the following sections and address the questions given below each of the sections:

Innovation (Technical) Viability

a) What is your innovation? What is transformative or “game-changing” about it? Why is there an urgent need for your innovation? How does your innovation differ from existing products on the market?

b) What is/are the specific critical barrier(s) or problem(s) – related to water for food security – that your innovation addresses?

c) Has this innovation been piloted (yes/no)? Where? What were the results of the pilot?

d) What are the key, quantifiable metrics related to your innovation’s performance or expected performance (e.g. total increased installed storage capacity (cubic meters); liters of water saved or used per hectare of land)?

Application and Sustainability in Developing or Emerging Country(ies)

a) How might this innovation engage or benefit (directly or indirectly) the poor as innovators, employees, suppliers, distributors, and/or consumers?

b) Describe your expected end-users. Who are they and how might end users need to modify their existing practices or behaviors to use your product or service?

c) Describe the social, environmental, institutional, legal and regulatory challenges your innovation faces that may prevent its scale-up. How do you propose to overcome those barriers?

d) Who is/are your local partner(s)? Who are other potential partners (be specific about partners; e.g. provide names and type of organization, not just categories)?

Business/Financial Viability

a) Describe the demand for your innovation. In what country/region/market are you proposing to expand with Securing Water for Food funding? What is the total addressable market and potential market share for your innovation? What is the basis for your claim?

b) Describe the financial model. Provide a unit cost analysis. For technology innovations, how much does it cost to produce, store, and sell one unit of this innovation? For business model innovations, what must be spent to offer this specific service including the number of times the service is offered, the salaries of those employed to deliver the service, and any materials used to deliver the service? What is your price per unit? If applying for Stage 2, describe the sales and distribution model.

c) Describe key elements of your go-to-market strategy in the country(ies) in which you propose to work. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities?

d) What are your expected sources of matching funds and/or in-kind contributions?

Deadline: 17 January 2014

For more information, visit this link or search for this opportunity at Grants.gov (Funding Opportunity # SOL-OAA-14-000019).

Stars Foundation Grants Open for Health, Education, Protection and WASH

Deadline: 8 January 2014

The Stars Foundation in the UK has announced the opening of its annual funding for NGOs around the world. The 2014 Stars Impact Awards is an opportunity to for “outstanding organisations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in countries with the highest rates of under-five mortality.”

The Stars Impact Awards consists of $100,000 unrestricted funding along with a a bespoke package of consultancy, PR support, and media training for the grant-winning NGOs. In addition to supporting four organizations, these Awards will choose Runners Up to offer $50,000 of unrestricted funding and consultancy support.

The Foundation invites NGOS in select countries of Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific and also from Latin America and the Caribbean. A total of 24 Awards will be split across these three regions and the four categories of Health, Education, Protection and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene).

Applicants will be notified of the final outcome of the Impact Awards process by October 2014.

Eligibility Criteria:

    Is your organisation a locally registered non-profit-making organisation – a charity, non-governmental organisation, voluntary organisation or similar?
    Does your organisation work directly or indirectly with children in one or more of the areas of Health, Education, Protection or WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)?
    Is your organisation legally established and registered in one of these countries:
        Africa-Middle East: Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
        Asia-Pacific: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam.
        Latin America-Caribbean:  Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
    Does your organisation have its own annual independently audited annual accounts?
    Does your organisation have an annual income in its most recent set of independently audited annual accounts between US$200,000 and US$4,000,000 (or equivalent in local currency)?
    Does your organisation have its own constitution?
    Does your organisation have its own bank account?
    Does your organisation have its own dedicated Board of Trustees/Directors?
    Is your organisation open to staff and beneficiaries from different faiths?
    Does your organisation have independent decision-making power and complete autonomy over how it spends its money?

For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Open Society Fellowship for Individuals

The Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Open Society Fellowship provides grant support to  individuals pursuing innovative and unconventional approaches to fundamental open society challenges. The fellowship funds work that will enrich public understanding of those challenges and stimulate far-reaching and probing conversations within the Open Society Foundations and in the world.

A fellowship project might identify a problem that has not previously been recognized, develop new policy ideas to address familiar problems, or offer a new advocacy strategy. Project themes should cut across at least two areas of interest to the Open Society Foundations. Among these are human rights, government transparency, access to information and to justice, and the promotion of civil society and social inclusion.

Fellows are expected to take full advantage of the foundations’ expansive reach and work to bring new people and fresh ideas into the organization’s ambit. Successful projects should push the boundaries of current thinking and carry lessons that can be applied to a variety of settings. Fellows may produce a variety of work products, including publications such as books, reports, or blogs; innovative public-education projects; or the launch of new campaigns or organizations. They may also engage in activities such as hosting panel discussions, traveling to conferences, participating in policy debates, and aggressively promoting their ideas in public venues.

The Open Society Fellowship accepts proposals from anywhere in the world. Applicants should possess a deep understanding of their chosen subject and a track record of professional accomplishment. Past and current fellows have included journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners in a variety of fields.

There are rolling deadlines for this fellowship opportunity. For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa

The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA) plays a significant role not only in terms of grantmaking but also working towards advocacy by supporting pro-democracy organizations and individuals in the region and strengthening their capacity to hold their governments accountable. This includes efforts to defend and support rights activists and pro-democracy advocates who come under attack for their work.

OSIEA is both an implementing organization as well as a donor agency and also raises its voice to discuss politically sensitive issues.

It supports initiatives with a demonstrated capacity to positively transform society in innovative ways that embrace inclusiveness and diversity.

OSIEA supports projects in the following programmatic areas:

    Media and Access to Information
    Governance and Accountability
    Health and Rights
    Justice and Human Rights
    Regional Programs

For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Grant for ‘Transparency and New Technologies Initiative’

The Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Grant for ‘Transparency and New Technologies Initiative’ provides grant to NGOs for breaking new ground in enhancing and extending transparency and accountability work through the strategic application of new technologies and data-informed approaches.

Launched in 2009, the Transparency and New Technologies Initiative initially set out to give support both to “born digital” organizations testing experimental approaches and tools, and to existing transparency organizations looking to integrate technology strategically into their work, as well as seeking to build bridges between these two communities. This work employed four key strategies:

    Supporting global software projects
    Supporting standards projects
    Providing seed funding to digital leaders
    Supporting established transparency campaigners

In the early years of this Initiative, the bias has been towards supporting projects and approaches that drive the acquisition, contextualization, and presentation of information to increase transparency. While these activities remain important, they need to be pursued in the service of an accountability outcome, rather than for their own sake. Future grantmaking will therefore include more emphasis on two new areas:

    Encouraging the use of data in advocacy for greater accountability.
    Developing the evidence base on the impact of data and technology in the transparency and accountability sector.

For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Grant for ‘Open Access to Law Initiative’

The Open Society Foundations’ grant for ‘Open Access to Law Initiative’ is part of the Information Program that seeks to address the problem of public access to statutory and case law which remains restricted in many countries around the world, especially in the Sub-Saharan region.  The Information Program cooperates with an international network of Legal Information Institutes that work with governments, courts and law societies to collate law corpuses and make them freely available online.

The Information Program and Open Society Foundation’s Africa foundations are supporting the development of a larger initiative which is undertaking to make open access to law the norm throughout Africa. To achieve this, Legal Information Institutes are being established at the national level in Sub-Saharan Africa, while a regional body has been developed to provide support and training to the national Legal Information Institutes. OSF is partnering with UNDP, Freedom House and the Africa Technology and Transparency Initiative to support this initiative.

The Open Access to Law Initiative has a full program of work for 2013. The Open Access to Law Initiative will consider applications from new partners in line with above stated priorities.

To apply, initially only a one-page concept note containing a brief description of the project goals and planned activities; information about the applicant organization and project partners; and an idea of how much your project will cost.

For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Grant for ‘Governance of Genetic Information Initiative’

The ‘Governance of Genetic Information Initiative’ grant program of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) seeks “to protect the basic rights of individuals and vulnerable populations affected by the proliferation of genetic monitoring technologies.”

Interventions by the Governance of Genetic Information Initiative will focus on the development of a human rights–compliant standard for the use of DNA by law enforcement.

In 2013, the initiative will support expert NGOs to provide technical assistance to civil society and governments in the South as they set out to develop national laws regulating the use of DNA by law enforcement, as well as supporting capacity-building of civil society in developing and transition countries to engage with these issues.

OSF would continue to support a coalition of NGOs to advocate for the adoption of an international human rights standard for forensic DNA databases.

This grant program is open to accepting proposals from new partners. However, all new partners are required to submit a one-page concept note containing a brief description of the project goals and planned activities; information about the applicant organization and project partners; and an idea of how much your project will cost.

For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Grant for ‘Freedom of Communication in the Digital Environment Initiative’

The Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Grant for ‘Freedom of Communication in the Digital Environment Initiative’ aims o advance policies that protect free expression, privacy and due process in the new communications environment. In 2013, the thematic priorities for this Initiative include:

    Privatization of law enforcement: Agreements between private parties (for example between ISPs and copyright holders) are increasingly encroaching upon free speech and privacy online. These private entities are not generally subject to the same constitutional restrictions as traditional governments and do not have the same obligations of disclosure, transparency, and public accountability. The initiative will support engagement with companies for better transparency but also include support to document, analyze and litigate these private agreements and practices where they violate human rights norms.
    Protection of privacy in an age of ubiquitous surveillance: Computational advancements, business models built on data capture, and direct government access to data held by companies providing communications and “cloud” services are conspiring to move day-to-day internet use toward an environment of routine and pervasive surveillance. Interventions by the initiative include support for efforts to document the trade of surveillance technologies by Western companies to repressive regimes and support for a campaign advocating for an export control regime over these technologies.

Although the nature of this funding grant is global, OSF can also support projects targeting Europe and influential governments in the Global South. But OSF does not fund advocacy targeting US domestic policies.

Under this grant program, new partners are invited to submit a one-page concept note outlining their project idea in line with the above stated priorities. For more information, visit this ink.

The MATCH International announces Women’s Fund: Call for Proposals 2013

Deadline: 6 December 2013

The MATCH International has announced the 2013 Call for Proposals for its International Women’s Fund.  This Fund is the first international fund from Canada focusing on social innovation around the world. MATCH bridges feminist grassroots human rights movements and the world of social innovation. It believes women are at the forefront of innovating social change globally funds women’s rights organizations around the world to make lasting changes in the lives of women and girls.

MATCH provides direct funding and support for women’s rights organizations and scale-up funding for women social innovators; it generates and leverages opportunity to accelerate and scale social innovations that promote equality and human rights; it identifies and promotes value of social innovation from a gendered perspective and convenes and collaborates to advance systems change.

MATCH International’s Women’s Fund welcomes proposals on social innovation promoting women’s rights under two streams:

    Holding Ground Stream that offers grants to provide flexible core support to organizations working to ‘hold the line’ by providing critical services/programs in response to increasingly violent backlash against women’s equality globally and support capacity building and/or strengthen organizational sustainability.
    Breaking Ground Stream to provide grants for a tested innovation that is grounded in systems change (i.e. with intent to shift the framing an issue, shift in behavior, shift in engagement, or shift in policy); innovation and/or demand for program expansion; collaboration and partnerships across sectors (e.g. with government and/or private sector partners); new infrastructure demands and activities for growth and transition to scale; business planning and capacity building needs.

Minimum grant amount will be $10,000 and will not exceed $20,000 CAD.

Organizations from the Global South are encouraged to apply for this Fund. The essential criteria to apply for the grants are that the organizations:

    Are governed, directed, and led by women.
    The primary focus is advancing women’s equality and human rights.
    Have a demonstrated track record and community support.

The deadline for applying to the MATCH International Women’s Fund is: FRIDAY December 6th 2013. For more information, visit this link.

Open Society Foundations’ Grant for Mental Health

The Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Public Health Program has grants for projects that stimulate the reform of national health, social welfare, education, and employment policies. Referred to as the Mental Health Initiative, this grant provides technical assistance and training in substantive areas to its grantees. Many grantees provide high-quality, community-based services which demonstrate that people with intellectual disabilities can live in their communities when they receive appropriate support.

The initiative’s funding strategy is geared toward the sustainable development of quality community-based alternatives to institutionalization for people with intellectual disabilities or mental health problems and toward the development of government policies that promote the social inclusion of people with disabilities. Accordingly, the initiative provides funding to organizations that focus on community-living, deinstitutionalization, and prevention of institutionalization.

The Mental Health Initiative supports projects that include community-based housing, early intervention, inclusive education, and supported employment for people with intellectual disabilities. The initiative also provides support for organizations working on policy-based advocacy at local or national levels with the aim of promoting community living for people with intellectual disabilities.

The Mental Health Initiative provides funding to nongovernmental organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, or to organizations based in other countries that focus their activities in this region.

The Mental Health Initiative has an open pre-application process. If your organization’s work falls clearly within the funding guidelines above and you would like to be considered for an invitation to submit a full proposal, please write a one-page letter of intent which contains the following information:

    The organization’s purpose and goals
    The project for which funding is requested
    The amount of funding requested
    The organization’s total income in the last financial year
    Some biographical details of the organization’s leadership

For more information, visit this link.

IUCN accepting Pre-Proposals for Small Grants for the Purchase of Nature

Deadline: 1 May 2014

IUCN (National Committee of the Netherlands) provides Small Grants for the Purchase of Nature (SPN) to local NGOs Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific to work towards protection of threatened nature, create safe reserves and connect wildlife habitats for endangered species.

The idea behind this grant opportunity is that if capable NGOs start purchasing land areas with the financial support from SPN to prevent rapid destruction of forests and nature, it will lead to better conservation. Although governments are making efforts to create protected lands and forests, the time taken by them to make such policy decisions is very long.

The SPN programme works only with carefully selected local conservation NGOs, with a proven capacity in management of natural resources. These NGOs will eventually own and manage the purchased areas. The SPN programme DOES NOT own any lands, it only provides the funds for the purchase. Buying land and placing the management, and/or ownership, in the hands of an NGO can be a delicate and sometimes complicated matter. For people living around the purchased area, access rights can change, as well as the right to use the resources available in the area. Therefore besides having a proven capacity in natural resource management, NGOs must also have the capacity to cooperate with local stakeholders, and know how to manage the area in a participatory manner.

The funds are eligible for local conservation NGOs working in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Although the geographical range of SPN is very broad, the bulk of the projects funded are located in Latin America. Legislation in most countries of this continent makes it relatively easy (compared to many countries in Africa and tropical Asia) for NGOs to purchase and manage land, and arrange for the title deeds to be registered in their name.

High funding priority will be given to;

    Land purchase in or adjacent to areas with a high biodiversity value, like AZE – sites or IBAs;
    Areas with ecosystems and/or species listed Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List;
    Land purchase involving ecosystems under-represented in the public protected areas system (for example dry forests in Mexico, Ecuador);
    Areas with a strategic importance for the protection of the hinterland (buffer zones) or connect important areas (corridors).

For more information, visit this link.

European Commission Call for Proposals: Health and Rights

Deadline: 10 December 2013

The European Commission has issued a worldwide call for proposals under the ‘Investing in People’ programme which pursues a broad approach to development and poverty reduction, with the general aim of improving human and social development levels in partner countries in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals.

This call for proposalas is for ‘Promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights – universal access to reproductive health’ with the overall objective of contributing to poverty reduction and to improving the wellbeing of populations in developing countries through better reproductive health and informed family planning choices. The specific objective is to contribute to improved universal access to reproductive health, MDG 5.B, in developing countries which have the worst indicators.

Priority will be given to measures that clearly identify and target the most vulnerable people with the least access to reproductive health; and collaborate closely with the public sector in the country where the action takes place, including them as a partner,6 and support the implementation of public policy and capacity building designed to give better access to Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH).

Proposals which demonstrate the following aspects will be considered favourably:

    promote comprehensive measures to increase tailored access to reproductive health at local, national or — where relevant — regional level;
    add value and seek synergy with existing SRH measures and with other major health projects and initiatives in the country;
    demonstrate alignment with national or subnational health policies, strategies and plans and include strategies on how to ensure country ownership and credible sustainability;
    align with relevant national and international policies, such as the programme of action of the ICPD and its daughter agreements and support regional agreements in the domain, such as the Maputo Plan of Action and the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) in Africa. Furthermore, alignment with best practices and UN guidelines in the field of sexual and reproductive health will be valued;
    strengthen local civil society organisations and local authorities (technical cooperation, capacity building, redistribution of grants).

This is a restricted call for proposals and only concept note has to be submitted initially. All applicants have to be registered at PADOR before applying for this opportunity.

Organizations based in developing countries can apply besides those from the European Union. For projects proposed in exclusively in the least developed countries, applicants from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and United States may also apply.
For more information, visit this link.

Japanese Association of University Women (JAUW) International Fellowship Program

Deadline-  31 March 2014

Japanese Association of University Women (JAUW) has announced international fellowships for women applicants in Japan. The goal of this program is to offer financial help to applicants to further pursue their ongoing study/research. All the Application documents must be typed in English.

Documents required-

    3 copies of Application Form
    3 copies of Application Form
    3 letters of Recommendation
    a letter of acceptance/confirmation/invitation
    a medical certificate of health
    6 a 3.5 cm X 4.5 cm photo of applicant

Benefits-

    Up to two fellowships will be awarded under this Program.
    The amount of grant will range from ¥700,000 to ¥1,000,000 per grantee. The duration of applicants stay in Japan and various other factors will be taken into consideration in deciding the total amount of grant.
    This grant is for 5 to 6 months between September 2014 and March 2015, depending on their proposal.
    One third of the total amount will be paid at the time of their arrival in Japan. The rest will normally be paid within 40 days after the initial payment. However, the latter amount (i.e. two thirds of the total) may be payable in two or three installments, depending on circumstances surrounding the grantee in Japan.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    Applicants are a woman of any nationality other than Japanese, living outside Japan at the time of application.
    Applicants have received a Master’s degree or its equivalent, and presently work outside academia, or they are a student/researcher higher than MA/its equivalent level
    Applicants to explain in their proposal why they have to come to stay in Japan to pursue their ongoing study or research.
    Applicants have to state clearly in their proposal how and in what aspect they will contribute to their home country through their study/research in Japan.
For more information, visit this link

Call for Applications : PHD/Post-Doctorate Fellowship

Deadline- 4 February 2014

French Institute of South Africa is seeking applications for PhD/Postdoctoral Fellowships Program in the field of archaeology, history and memory, democratic transformations and urban dynamics, resources.

Successful applicants will receive the scientific and logistic support of IFAS and will become involved in the scientific life of the Institute by regularly taking part in the ongoing activities (conferences, seminars, conferences, publications, etc.). The relocation allowance comes to €1 200 net per month and, in addition, includes one Paris/Johannesburg/Paris trip which will be refunded on the basis of the price of an economic class air ticket, and medical cover.

Documents Required-

    A short introduction letter from the applicant
    A CV
    The application form filled in electronically
    A detailed description of the research project not exceeding 10 pages and containing the scientific project, a research agenda and institutional partnerships
    Two reference letters from academics addressed to IFAS Director, Adrien Delmas

Eligibility & Criteria-

Nationality will not be a condition for application. Applicants will be selected on the basis of scientific criteria only, although the integration potential of the project into the academic landscape of Southern Africa will be taken into consideration. Priority will be given to applicants whose research is in line with the research programmes of the Institute.

For more information, visit this link

Yale World Fellows Program 2014: Opportunity for NGO Leaders

Deadline: 4 December 2013

The Yale World Fellows Program at the Yale University, USA is a leadership development program and NGO leaders from all countries (except the United States) can benefit from courses, research, institutions, professors at the University. Rising leaders from across disciplines and borders for an intense and unpredictable mash-up of ideas, world views and experiences are invited to apply.

Selected leaders take part in a specially designed academic curriculum that advances their critical-thinking and leadership skills and become teachers and mentors by deepening the understanding of the entire Yale community about the complexity and diversity of the world.

Candidates should have the experience, dynamism and energy to spend an intensive four months at Yale learning, discussing, and sharing their expertise with Yale faculty, students, and the broader community.

To be eligible to apply, applicants must:

    be in the mid-career stage Fellows are at least five, and typically not more than twenty, years into their careers, with demonstrated work accomplishments, and a clear indication of future contributions and excellence.  The average age of a World Fellow is 39, though there is no minimum or maximum age limit.
    be fluent in English An excellent command of the English language is essential.
    be a citizen of a country other than the United States  While dual citizens are eligible, preference is given to candidates whose work is focused outside the US.

Selection criteria include:

    An established record of extraordinary achievement and integrity;
    Commitment to engagement in crucial issues and to making a difference at the national or international level;
    Promise of a future career of leadership and notable impact;
    Special capacity for critical, creative, entrepreneurial, and strategic thinking;
    Likelihood to benefit from participation in the Program and to contribute to global understanding at Yale;
    Commitment to a rigorous program of activities, to full-time residence at Yale for the entire duration of the program, and to mentoring students and speaking frequently on campus
For more information, visit this link.

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Literary Cultures of Muslim South Asia

Deadline- 15 January 2014

Stanford University is seeking applications for Postdoctoral Fellowship in Literary Cultures of Muslim South Asia. This program is being supported by the Center for South Asia, and the Division of International, Comparative and Area Studies.

The postdoctoral fellow will teach two courses related to his/her interests, pursue his/her own research, and participate in the activities of Stanford University programs and departments. The fellow is expected to be in residence at Stanford during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Eligibility & Criteria-

Candidates must specialize in literary or cultural studies connected to a major language of South Asian Muslim literary production. The position is open to scholars in any historical period. Disciplinary training may be in Area Studies (South Asia, Middle East, or Near East), Anthropology, Comparative Literature, History, or Religious Studies. All applicants must have completed the Ph.D. by the time of appointment on September 1, 2014. Candidates who hold continuing, assistant-professor-level teaching positions are eligible to apply. The recipient may not be more than three years beyond the receipt of doctoral degree by the time of the appointment.
For more information, visit this link

UNGEI’s Good Practice Fund for Girls’ Education and Gender Equality

Deadline: 30 November 2013

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) has announced a call for proposals for the Fund for Documentation of Good Practice in Girls’ Education and Gender Equality. The Fund seeks to provide an opportunity for good practices to be systematically documented and shared within and between countries and regions, especially those which are “lesser known” among development practitioners; demonstrate the diverse ways that organizations/actors are addressing girls’ education and gender equality; and enhance our understanding of what works, and encourage adaptation of good practices across countries and organizations.

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) is a multi-stakeholder partnership committed to improving the quality and availability of girls’ education and contributing to the empowerment of girls through transformative education. UNGEI, as a designated flagship of Education for All (EFA), strives to support governments and the international community to deliver on the gender-related EFA goals and education related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on achieving universal primary education and gender parity in primary and secondary education. With the 2015 deadline to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fast approaching, UNGEI firmly believes that the immediate education priority should be a focus on all girls learning and achieving.

The objective of the Fund is to identify and document good practices that have achieved outcomes for girls’ education and gender equality or hold the promise to achieve the same. In particular, this includes interventions that are not extensively documented already or are being implemented in a very different context and have the potential to provide new lessons.

The fund is meant to promote learning and exchange and hence is expected to include all regions and countries, with particular focus on the global South.

Eligibility Criteria:

    Organizations (not individuals), including education ministries at the national and sub-national level, schools, and national civil society organizations implementing programmes are eligible to apply as main applicants for the Fund.
    Organizations that are eligible to apply may use the funds to identify individual consultants to develop the case study on the good practice.
    Research Institutes and universities, national and international, are also eligible to apply, provided there is an understanding with the implementing organization on the documentation.

The deadline for the submission of the application is 30th November 2013.
For more information, visit this link.

Global Fund for Women Grant Opportunity is now open!

Deadline: 15 December 2013

The Global Fund for Women provides funding for women’s groups to advance the human rights of women and girls around the world. It gives grants ranging from $500 to $30,000 for operating and program expenses.

The Global Fund for Women supports Groups of women working together.

Organizations that demonstrate a clear commitment to women’s equality and women’s human rights; organizations that are governed and directed by women; and organizations based outside of the United States.

The Global Fund for Women recently moved from accepting proposals on a rolling basis to accepting proposals twice a year with defined cycles. The current grant cycle is open from September 15 onwards and closes on December 15.

There are three types of grants of the Global Fund for Women: Innovation, Strengthening, and Sustaining Grants.

Innovation Grants

Women’s movements are stronger when they are diverse and dynamic. Innovation grants fund new/emerging approaches, issues, and voices. With these grants Global Fund aims to raise visibility and leverage resources for women’s movements and to connect emerging groups to a wider network of women’s organizations. They address women’s rights agendas in rural and excluded areas/communities, sustain new approaches, and nurture young feminists involved in building the women’s movement. These grants can also support creative approaches to challenging issues and pilot projects that require some calculated risk.

Strengthening Grants

Women’s movements are stronger when women’s organizations have the capacity and resources to be effective and strategic. Strengthening grants fund infrastructure, enhance grantee’s programmatic impact, and strengthen capacity and connections. These medium-sized grants aim to support the professionalism of women’s groups. Strengthening Grants offer reliable support to groups who have a track record of cumulative change and have infused voices and issues into mainstream agendas.

Sustaining Grants

Women’s movements are most successful when women’s organizations are well networked, led and supported and have the funds to seize opportunities when they arise. Therefore Sustaining Grants are larger, fund strong national, regional, and global women’s rights organizations. Only those who are invited can apply for them.
For more information, visit this link.

Promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights – Universal Access to Reproductive Health

Deadline- 10 December 2013

Proposals are accepted for sexual and reproductive health and rights – universal access to reproductive health program under Europe Aid. The goal of this program is to contribute to poverty reduction and to improving the well being of populations in developing countries through better reproductive health and informed family planning choices.

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is € 28 000 000. The initial planned duration of an action may not be less than 36 months nor more than 60 months.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    be legal persons
    be non-profit-making
    be a non-governmental organisation or a local authority
    have at least five years’ experience of working in the field relevant to this call for proposals
    be established in a Member State of the European Union or in a developing country where the action is taking place and
    be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary
For more information, visit this link

Call for Applications: Advanced Training Programme for a Young Journalist

Deadline- 15 November 2013

The Central European Initiative (CEI) is pleased to invite applications for Advanced Training Programme for a Young Journalist to be seconded by a News Agency. The goal of this program is to establish an Advanced Training Programme for a Young Journalist from a news agency of a CEI Member State to be seconded to the CEI Secretariat. The selected candidate will cooperate with the CEI staff and ANSA staff in Trieste for the initial phase of operation of the ANSA New Europe Portal and its development.

Fellowship of €1.500,00 per month (non taxable) for the duration of seven months will be offered.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    Employed at a News Agency of a CEI Member State: priority will be given to candidates from non EU countries
    Up to 35 years of age
    Excellent knowledge of English and good knowledge of Italian, both spoken and written
    Proficiency in using Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel
For more information, visit this link

Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in Buddhist Studies

Deadline- 5 November 2013

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation is desired to invite applications for Fellowships Program in the  Buddhist Studies. The fellowship period may be used for fieldwork, archival research, analysis of findings, or for writing after research is complete.

Fellowship offers- Stipend of $30,000

Eligibility

    Pursuit of the Ph.D. degree at an accredited, degree-granting college or university.
    Completion by the application deadline of all requirements for the Ph.D. degree except research and writing of the dissertation.
    The application must be written in English by the applicant.
    There are no residence or citizenship requirements.
    Intrinsic significance of the topic and its potential contribution to Buddhist studies.
    Coherence and cogency of presentation.
    Feasibility of the plan of work.
    Potential of the applicant for an academic career in Buddhist studies.
For more information, visit this link

PEP Call for Proposals for Policy Analysis on Growth and Employment

Deadline: 10 December 2013

PEP (Partnership for Economic Policy) with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom (or UK Aid) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada has announced a new call for proposals to build and promote research capabilities in developing countries.

In accordance with PEP’s core mission, this initiative includes an important “capacity building” component, and targets teams of researchers* based in developing countries. Selected teams will benefit from the unique and manifold “PEP support program” in the conduct of high quality research projects.

Applicant teams are generally composed of at least one senior researcher, leading several junior researchers, and must:

    be gender-balanced (at least 50% female researchers)
    be comprised exclusively of individuals born and living in a developing country. Priority is given to low income countries (LICs), fragile and/or conflict states, but proposals are welcome from all developing countries
    present sufficient academic and/or professional background in economics research/policy analysis

However, for each PAGE call for proposals, a different list of specific priority issues – yet always under the broad theme of inclusive growth and employment – are identified as especially relevant to address specific knowledge gaps and policy needs in terms of evidence base. These issues are identified by the PAGE policy group – high-level development policy experts from different regions of the world – in collaboration with PEP lead researchers – international experts in the field of development economics.

See below for the list of priority issues for projects to be supported through the second (2013) PAGE funding round:

    Safety net complementarities
    Providing social protection to the informal sector
    Youth employment and entrepreneurship
    Employment intensity of non-agricultural growth
    Discrimination in credit access for female entrepreneurs
    China’s growth: challenges and opportunities for developing country labor markets
For more information, visit this link.

Call for Entries – A Photographers Workshop

Deadline- 1 November 2013

Entries are accepted for Photography workshop on “Layers of Green” organized by  Contemporary Image Collective and the Goethe-Institute. This workshop will be conducted in Cairo from Nov. 27-30. The goal of this program is to take part in a conversation on which artistic strategies are used in 20th century and contemporary photography to explore and reflect realities.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    Applications are welcome from both emerging and established photographers as well as from photography students at the university level.
    Applicants should have a good command of English (but an interpreter will be present throughout the workshop).
    Candidates must commit to participating in the entire program.
    Applicant’s age should not exceed 35 years.
    The program is open to applicants residing in Egypt only.
For more information, visit this link 

Support to Social Enterprises and Business Advisory Services

Deadline- 29 January 2014

Proposals are accepted for Support to Social Enterprises and Business Advisory Services under Europe Aid. The goal of this program is to contribute to the employment and social inclusion of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

Objectives-

To support entrepreneurship of vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, youth, those with limited education, those in poor conditions, long-term unemployed, minorities and women), through establishment of social incubation services and social enterprises.

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is € 1 million. The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 12 months nor exceed 24 months.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    be legal persons
    be non-profit-making
    be specific types of organisations such as: non-governmental organisations, national and local authorities, international (inter-governmental) organisations as defined by Article 43 of the Implementing Rules to the EC Financial Regulation
    be established in  a Member State of the European Union or or from a country covered by article 19 of IPA regulation . This obligation does not apply to international organisations
    be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary
For more information, visit this link

WFP Cooperating Partners’ Innovation Fund

Deadline- 15 November 2013

World Food Programme (WFP) is seeking applications for Cooperating Partners’ Innovation Fund which aims to promote collaboration with NGOs in the design and development of new tools and approaches for food assistance. The objective of this program is to provides early stage funding for Partners developing promising tools or approaches for the design and delivery of efficient, effective, scalable food assistance.

The focus of this Fund in 2013 is the ‘Cash and Voucher’ programming as a key opportunity for collaboration.

Grant offered-

WFP will administer flexible grant funding to openly competed proposals. There is approximately $1 million available in total for all awards combined. Proposals will be passed through external, independent review. Within the available resources, there is no pre-determined maximum or minimum award.

Eligibility & Criteria

Eligible applicants include national and international NGOs with valid registration in the country from where the application is initiated and, if different, with documented authorization to work in the country or countries where the proposed innovation will be developed. If selected applicants are not already WFP Cooperating Partners, WFP will undertake standard due diligence to ensure suitability of a partnership relationship prior to issuing an award.
For more information, visit this link

BAN Toxics! Request for Proposals for Project on Chemicals Management

Deadline: 26 October 2013

BAN Toxics! (BT) – an independent non-profit, environmental organization that is devoted to preventing toxic trade in wastes, goods, and technology, and upholding the rights of developing countries to environmental justice, with particular focus on the Southeast Asian region – has announced a Request for Proposals.

Pursuant to BT’s objective of promoting environmental justice in particular its focus on leaving a toxics-free world for the next generation, the current BT programme on chemicals management is looking to develop the groundwork for an approach in achieving the sound management of chemicals to protect human health and the environment through a legally-binding, global chemicals convention.

Pursuant to this objective, BT sees the need to: expand its expertise and forge a partnership with qualified entities to strengthen BT’s knowledge of the global political landscape; improve its understanding of the limitations of existing agreements on chemicals and waste; and add to its experience in developing and negotiating these international instruments.

The following key activities will be undertaken by BT and its chosen partner in forging ahead in developing an approach for chemicals management through a legally-binding, global chemicals convention:

    Consultation with key stakeholders to build consensus on the need for a comprehensive and adequate global regime for chemical safety.
    Assessment of on-going policy processes and precedents from other contexts for potential application to a global regime for chemical safety.
    Advocacy for a comprehensive global regime for chemical safety.

In accomplishing the above tasks, BT is looking for a non-profit partner located anywhere around the world.
For more information, visit this link.

SUN Movement Multi-Partner Trust Fund: A New Call for Proposals

Deadline: 11 November 2013

The SUN (Scaling up Nutrition) Movement Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) was established in 2012 with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Irish Aid to ensure that catalytic grants reach governments, UN agencies, civil society groups and other SUN partners.  It is not designed to be a vertical nutrition fund for large scale investments in food and nutrition security, nor to replace existing funding pathways at country level.  Rather, it is a fund to be used for catalytic actions to enable, initiate or develop SUN Movement activity at country or regional level and provide appropriate global-level support, when other funding is not available.

The SUN MPTF operates through three financing windows designed to support:

    critical in-country actions in relation to national commitments and priorities for SUN;
    mobilization of in-country and global civil society so as to contribute to realizing these commitments and demonstrating results; and
    adequate finance for strategic efforts that contribute to the more effective working of the SUN Movement as a whole.

The current call for proposals is issued for Window 2 of the SUN MPTF –supporting civil society organizations in 42 countries as they contribute to realizing SUN objectives and commitments at country and regional level.

As civil society groups get organized into SUN CSO platforms, they activate multiple actions that lead to the following:

    Coordinated Civil Society Alliances in SUN countries (CSAs) are established
    In-country CSAs advocate effectively
    In country CSAs participate in national platforms for SUN
    CSAs contribute to better accountability in SUN countries
    The collective of CSAs are a functioning learning network

This call is open for an overall amount up to US$ three (3) million. To the effect of this call, proposals cannot exceed the overall amount of US$ 300.000 (three-hundreds thousands US dollars) each over a period of up 24 months maximum.

All proposals will have to be submitted by 17:00 CET on 11 November 2013.

Grand Challenges Canada: Seed Grants and Transition-to-Scale Grants for its Global Mental Health Program

Deadline: 9 January 2014

The Grand Challenges Canada has announced a Request for Proposals to provide two types of funding: seed grants and transition-to-scale grants under its Global Mental Health initiative.

Grand Challenges Canada seeks bold ideas with real-world impact to improve treatments and expand access to care for mental disorders that have the potential to be sustainable at scale. These ideas should be innovative, transformational, affordable, and cost-effective to address the large treatment gap for accessible, evidence-based, high-quality mental health care.

Specifically, to improve treatments and expand access to care, applicants must propose innovative solutions to one (or more) of the following specific challenges identified from the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health initiative within this priority area:

    Integrate screening and core packages of services into routine primary health care
    Reduce the cost and improve the supply of effective medications
    Provide effective and affordable community-based care and rehabilitation
    Improve children’s access to evidence-based care by trained health providers
    Develop effective treatments for use by non-specialists, including lay health workers with minimal training
    Incorporate functional impairment and disability into assessment
    Develop mobile and IT technologies (such as telemedicine) to increase access to evidence-based care

Seed grants support the development and validation of innovative ideas to improve treatments and expand access to care for mental disorders, offering up to $250,000 CAD each over a maximum of two (2) years.

Transition-to-scale grants support the refinement, testing, and implementation of innovative solutions that have already achieved proof of concept to bring them toward scale, offering up to $1 million CAD in matched funding over a maximum of three (3) years.

Grand Challenges Canada’s ultimate goal is to save and improve lives in low- and middle-income countries. As a result, funded projects are expected to demonstrate real-world impact on health outcomes in the developing world.
For more information, visit this link.

Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development (Mozambique)

Deadline- 25 November 2013

EuropeAid is accepting proposals for Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development Program in Mozambique. The goal of this program is to  strengthen civil society in partner countries as a pre-condition for a more equitable, open and democratic society.

Objectives-

    Support the enhancement of livelihoods of people dependent on the informal economy, particularly in rural areas.
    Support the social inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups.

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is €5.000.000,00 (2013 budget). The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 24 months nor exceed 60 months.

Eligibility & Criteria-

    be legal persons
    be non-profit-making
    be Non-State Actors (NSA) constituted in accordance with the legislation in force in Mozambique or one of the Member States of the European Union
    be established in  a Member State of the European Union or in Mozambique
    be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary
For more information, visit this link

General News Reporting Course – Thomson Reuters Foundation

Deadline- 27 October 2013

Thomson Reuters Foundation has announced course on General News Reporting which will be conducted in  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from  Nov. 18 – 22, 2013. The mission of this program is to help journalists to recognize their good habits and provide them the time and space to work on their weak points, within a mentored framework. The core activity concerns the actual writing and reporting of news, as practiced by Reuters and other global agencies. Practical exercises form the core of the programme, with an emphasis on improving basic reporting and writing skills including accuracy, impartiality, speed, clarity and structure.

Benefits-

Thomson Reuters Foundation offers bursaries for journalists from the developing world/countries in political transition working for organisations with no resources for training. Restricted bursaries available to journalists based outside Addis Ababa would include travel expenses and budget accommodation. This arrangement is subject to variation.

Eligibility & Criteria-

Applicants must be currently working as a journalist or regular contributor to broadcast media organisations in Addis Ababa. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a commitment to a career in journalism in their country, must have at least two years’ professional experience and have a good level in spoken and written English. If they have been on a Thomson Reuters Foundation training programme within the last two years they will not be eligible to apply.

For more information, visit this link