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.