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