UBS Optimus Foundation seeks Funding Proposals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more information, visit this link.