SEARCA Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT) worth $15,000 in the theme Food Security

Deadline: 1 August 2014

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) invites individuals in Southeast Asian countries to conduct research and training in Food Security. The selected research/training project will be provided Seed Fund up to $15,000 to implement the project.

The results will be announced on or before 30 November 2014 and implementation of the project commence one month after the announcement.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant must be Southeast Asian national with graduate of at least a four-year degree.
• The applicant must have good moral character and should lack significant funding support.
• Proposed project must be innovative & accompanied by an appropriate plan to develop into a  large-scale research/training program greatly relevant to the agricultural and development needs of the region.
• Proposed project must have strong potential for generating significant long-term funding support.
• Proposed project must be completed within a one year period.

Note: Application must be submitted both via courier and electronic mail. The applicant should send an advance email copy of the proposal and send courier, addressing the manager, five hard copies of proposal stapled separately.

For more information, please visit Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT).

The Government of Canada launches Religious Freedom Fund Call for Proposals

Deadline: 24 July 2014

The Government of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) through its Office of Religious Freedom (ORF), is launching a Religious Freedom Fund call for proposals.

The call is intended to achieve one or several of the following outcomes:

• Increased capacity of religious communities to access the public space so they can benefit from religious freedom;
• Strengthened institutions’ and civil society’s response to specific violations of religious freedom in targeted countries and promote tolerance and pluralism; and/or,
• Increased effectiveness of organizations, including national and international stakeholders, to act against violations of freedom of religion.

The call will consider proposals whose aim is to promote and defend freedom of religion through one or several of the following:

• Enhanced interfaith dialogue between religious communities on issues related to religious freedom;
• Increased interfaith awareness among relevant audiences or groups to discuss and promote religious freedom;
• Enhanced institutional and civil society capacity to monitor the situation of religious freedom;
• Greater access by decision-makers and government officials to research addressing freedom of religion;
• Greater awareness by decision-makers and government officials of threats to freedom of religion;
• Increased capacity of organisations to provide training on legal and legislative aspects of religious freedom; and,
• Increased capacity of organizations that defend either people targeted because of their faith or human right defenders acting on behalf of such persons.

The geographic scope includes countries from Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia (including Central Asia).

Eligible Recipients

• local non-governmental, community, religious, academic or not-for-profit organizations based in foreign countries;
• international, intergovernmental, multilateral and regional organizations; and,
• Canadian non-governmental, community, religious, academic and not-for-profit organizations operating abroad.

For more information, visit this link.

Innovation Grants of up to £1 Million to Prevent Violence against Women & Girls

Deadline: 10 July 2014

The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) invites grant applications for the program ‘What it takes to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)?’ from in-country organizations and institutions in DFID priority countries. The primary aim of the program is to build knowledge on what works to prevent VAWG.

Around 10-14 national organizations or international non-profit organizations working in DFID priority countries will be provided innovation grants to support their innovative approaches to preventing violence against women and children. The award duration will be up to three years.

The grants will cover the development and implementation of the intervention, as well as the formative research, monitoring, evaluation, and capacity development of staff from the in-country lead organization and the final report.

Eligibility Criteria

• •Applicants should be from one of the following DFID priority countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India , Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, South Africa3, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
• Institutions/organizations with experience in reducing VAWG working in DFID priority countries are eligible to apply for the grant.
• The proposed project may cover more than one priority country.
• Applications should be interventions or combinations of interventions that have clear theory of change; address multiple risk factors, or work across settings; address the intervention/research priorities; have potential for scale up.
• The interventions (or combinations of interventions) must be proposed by consortia that include implementing organizations and researchers or policy makers.
• The interventions may work with socially excluded or marginalized groups or strengthen understanding of how social exclusion affects risk of violence and effectiveness of interventions.

For more information, please visit Call For Funding Applications.

The Foundation for Human Rights Calls CSOs in South Africa to Implement LGBTI Program

Deadline: 15 July 2014

The Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) invites civil society organizations in South Africa and the region working in the sector of human rights to partner in ‘Access to Justice and Promotion of Constitutional Rights (Strengthening Civil Society)’ (AJCPR) Program. The key aim of the AJCPR Program is to contribute to the promotion and fulfillment of the rights established under the Constitution to build a society in which all South Africans are empowered to live their lives in dignity.

African continent has granted official recognition to same-sex marriages through the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006. the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is recognized by asserting the right to equal protection and benefit of the law but legal rights do not always translate into attitudinal change and full acceptance. Thus, the AJPCR program aims to contribute to the promotion, protection and realization of rights established in the Constitution through three key objectives – improving access to justice, raising awareness of constitutional rights and strengthening democracy through partnerships with civil society.

Phases: The project is divided into three phases, to be undertaken consecutively-

1. Phase I: Scan of LGBTI Initiatives and Review of LGBTI Training and Awareness Materials and Programs. In this phase, research and report writing is conducted including database and literature review leading to the development of training materials and a set of training programs. Total duration is 5 weeks starting from 1 August to 5 September 2014. Budget is R40,000.
2. Phase II: Development of LGBTI Training Materials and Programs. Total duration is 12 weeks, starting 1 October and ending 23 December 2014. Budget is R195,000.
3. Phase III: Piloting and Finalization of LGBTI Training Materials and Programs. Total duration is 11 weeks, starting 15 January to 31 March 2015. Budget is R115,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications can be made for all three phases of work or for only one phase.
• Applicants must be a legal entity/organization whose core mandate is the promotion, protection and advancement of human rights, and must be registered with the Department of Social Development as a non-profit organization.
• Applicants must be able to demonstrate their ability to implement the project and to transfer knowledge at local level.
• Applicant must have specialist expertise in the following areas- human rights context in South Africa, LGBTI experiences (specifically rights violations) in South Africa, gender-based violence, knowledge of gaps in state and civil society service delivery to women and LGBTI populations, experience in desktop research, literature review and other relevant research methods, track record of timely delivery of appropriate materials/outcomes.
• Applicants for Phase II or for all three phases must have knowledge of and experience in developing training material on LGBTI and broader human rights.
• Applicants for Phase III or for all three phases must have knowledge of and experience in conducting LGBTI sensitivity and competence/skills-building training for state and non-state service providers.
• Applications must be made in English language.

For more information, please visit LGBTI Project and download relevant documents.