UN Women’s Project Inspire seeking Life-changing Idea
UN Women Singapore and MasterCard have started a joint initiative called “PROJECT INSPIRE:5 Minutes to Change the World”to help you create a better world of opportunities for women and girls in Asia Pacific,Middle East and Africa.
The initiative is inviting submissions of life-changing ideas on how to make a difference. If you have an inspirational idea that can empower women,improve their livelihoods and change the world,then you can submit it here. If your idea gets selected,you can win US $25,000 to make it a reality.
The idea should be creative and should make a meaningful impact with the limited resources you have. It should be practical enough and must inspire others to do the same. It should be accessible,doable,measurable and sustainable. The idea should lead to the empowerment of disadvantaged women or girls through education,skills training,financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship.
Ideas should be submitted in form of a video running for a length of five minutes. Applicants sending the submissions should be 18-35 years old.
Besides the winner getting the $25,000 grant,there will be a special recognition to the Best Financial Literacy/ Livelihood proposal which will win a start-up grant of US$10,000. Finalists will get an opportunity to come to Singapore to present their inspiring idea to an expert judging panel. You will also attend a workshop on sustainable social entrepreneurship and presentation skills training.
Submissions are open from 8 March –30 June 2011.
Source: 5minutestochangetheworld
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Ramsar Small Grants Fund accepting proposals from NGOs
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is accepting proposals for its Small Grants Program aimed at assisting developing countries and those economies in transition to implement the Convention and to support the conservation and wise use of wetland resources,with a strong human and social dimension.
Funds may also be used to provide emergency management assistance for Ramsar Sites under threat and to provide ‘preparatory assistance’ to allow non-Contracting Parties to progress toward accession when such needs arise.
Projects may be proposed and implemented by any agency,NGO,or individual,but proposals MUST be endorsed and monitored by the Administrative Authority (the Ramsar implementing agency) in the Party’s government. Each year a rigorous evaluation procedure is carried out by the Ramsar Secretariat to assess the project proposals according to the strength of the project design,their relevance to the Convention’s objectives,and the capacity of the proponents to complete the project successfully.
Interestingly,the Ramsar Convention’s Secretariat has regional teams that provide advice to help applicants develop suitable proposals. If your organization requires this kind of assistance,you need to send the draft proposal to the Senior Regional Advisors by 30 April 2011.
The deadline for applications in their final form for the next round is 30 June.
Source: www.ramsar.org
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Request for Proposals:DRL announces Fundamental Freedoms Fund for International Organizations
Bureau of Democracy,Human Rights,and Labor (DRL) at the US State Department has announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Fundamental Freedoms Fund from organizations interested in implementing large,country-specific projects that will address new challenges as they unfold on the ground in countries that routinely and systematically infringe on the fundamental freedoms of association,assembly,expression,and religion,or that will leverage new opportunities as they arise
Activities of the Fundamental Freedoms Fund:
The activities to be administered under the Fundamental Freedoms Fund must promote the fundamental freedoms of association,assembly,expression,and religion in countries that routinely and systematically infringe on those freedoms. The grantee will be expected to efficiently and effectively implement,at times within a matter of weeks,a wide range of program activities,including,but not limited to,providing technical assistance to and building the capacity of civil society activists/organizations,media actors,and new and opposition political parties;developing public advocacy and civic education campaigns;documenting human rights abuses;and improving access to justice and legal aid. More specifically,these activities could include,but are not limited to,training and mentoring local and citizen journalists;increasing public awareness and understanding of religious freedom and tolerance;engaging women in political party activities;building coalitions among youth groups;bolstering the capacity of independent worker organizations;or expanding access for at-risk populations,including women and disabled and indigenous people,to justice or civic participation.
The scope of activities should cover all geographical regions except for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A separate DRL program will be administered for that region.
PRIMARY APPLICANT/ORGANIZATION CRITERIA
Lead Organizations submitting proposals must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S. non-profit organization meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c) (3) or a comparable organization headquartered internationally.
- Have demonstrated experience administering successful and preferably similar projects. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
- Be a registered user of www.grants.gov
- Have existing,or the capacity to develop,active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including industry and non-government organizations.
- Organizations must form a Consortium and submit a joint proposal. However,one organization must be designated as the Primary Applicant/Lead Organization.
- An OMB policy directive published in the Federal Register on Friday,June 27,2003,requires that all organizations applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements must provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for all Federal grants or cooperative agreements on or after October 1,2003.
Deadline for submitting the proposal is June 10,2011
Source: www.state.gov
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Call for concept notes:DFID funding opportunity under GPAF for small UK based not for profit organizations
Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF),an initiative by Department For International Funding (DFID),has announced the Innovation Window (call for concept notes) leading to a funding opportunity for eligible UK based non-profit organizations engaged in working towards making impact on the lives of poor people through various activities.
GPAF is a demand-led fund supporting projects focused on poverty reduction and pursuit of the MDGs through tangible changes to poor people’s lives including through:service delivery,empowerment and accountability and work on conflict,security and justice. Projects will be selected on the basis of demonstrable impact on poverty,clarity of outputs and outcomes,and value for money.
The GPAF programme objectives have been broadened to include some of the initiatives previously covered by the Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF),which is no longer open for applications. The GPAF will now support projects focused on poverty reduction and pursuit of the MDGs through tangible changes to poor people’s lives including through:service delivery,empowerment and accountability and work on conflict,security and justice.
Learning from the first GPAF Innovation round has led to a number of changes,to make this window more accessible to organisations with innovative approaches to poverty reduction. A concept note stage has been introduced to make it easier for applicant organisations to present their innovative ideas and to reduce the amount of time and effort required in preparing an application.
Eligibility
Small UK-based not for profit organisations with an average income of less than £500,000 p.a. for the past 3 years.
Funding awards
Following the first Innovation round,the first provisional funding awards are to the following projects:
- Improved livelihoods of women farmers in Northern Uganda through market-led development – Trust for Africa’s Orphans
- Supporting Primary Education for Pastoralist Girls in Tanzania – African Initiatives
- Developing an innovative three phase emergency ambulance network in Mbale region,Uganda – PONT (Partnership Overseas Networking Trust)
- Creating an alternative to the institutionalisation of vulnerable and disabled young children under 6 years old in Tajikistan – HealthProm
- Supporting sustainable livelihoods in India through women bee-keepers and honey production activities –India Development Group (U.K.) Ltd
Last date for submitting the application is June 23,2011
For further information and details,please visit this link.
Please note that only organizations based in the United Kingdom can apply to this opportunity.
Source: www.dfid.gov.uk
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USAID funding opportunity for local NGOs in conflict mitigation and reconciliation program
The Annual Program Statement (APS) for Conflict Mitigation and Reconciliation Programs and Activities of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) [Bureau for Democracy,Conflict,and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA),Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM)] has issued this call for applications to provide funding to local NGOs in eligible countries as well as from qualified US and non-US non-profit and for-profit organizations to carry out activities that mitigate conflict and promote reconciliation by bringing together individuals of different ethnic,religious or political backgrounds from areas of civil conflict and war.
Eligible countries for this funding opportunity are:
* Africa:Angola,Burundi,Democratic Republic of Congo,The Gambia,Guinea,Guinea Bissau,Kenya,Liberia,Mali,Rwanda,Senegal,Somalia,Tanzania,Uganda,Zambia,Zimbabwe,West Africa Regional
* Asia:Philippines,Thailand,Regional Development Mission for Asia
* Europe and Eurasia:Bosnia &Herzegovina,Kyrgyzstan,Nepal
* Latin America and the Caribbean:Peru,Guatemala,Middle East,Morocco,Yemen
USAID emphasizes upon a “people-to-people”approach while implementing conflict mitigation programs and encourages organizations to derive lessons learned and best practices for future people-to-people programming. Project proposals need to outline this approach and the strategies should be based upon best practices,building of capacities of local partners and integration of gender analysis. Projects that involve local participation,leading to sustainability of peacebuilding efforts are strong encouraged.
The proposed duration of the project can be between a minimum period of 12 months and a maximum period of 36 months. With total USAID allocation of US $15,500,000 for this program,applicants can propose project funding of US $100,000 to US $1,200,000. Local NGOs located in eligible countries can submit applications requesting funding amount of US $100,000 to US $500,000.
NGO contribution for the proposed project is not a requirement;however,applications that include additional in-kind and/or cash contributions from non-USG sources will be more competitive.
This call for applications is open up to 26 July 2011. However,USAID will review submitted projects in batches. The deadline for the accepting first batch of applications is 4 March 2011. For more information,visit grants.gov and search by funding opportunity number for “APS-OAA-11-000001.”
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Call for applications:2011 Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund fellowship program for researchers from BecA countries
The Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub in association with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and financial support from AusAID,with the purpose of building capacity in the African agricultural sciences community,seeks applications for fifteen fellowships through the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund in 2011.
The fellows will get an opportunity to access the world-class facilities and expertise at the BecA Hub at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),located in Nairobi,Kenya.
The BecA-CSIRO partnership supplements the continuing support of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA),which provides financial support to the BecA Hub to ensure that our facilities are accessible to the African scientific community. We gratefully acknowledge SFSA’s commitment to Africa’s agricultural development through its partnerships with the scientific community and projects with smallholders.
Funding will cover travel,accommodation,stipend,and research costs.
Applicants are sought from the 17 BecA countries (listed below) who have developed ideas for short-term projects (2-4 months) related to food and nutritional security or animal health,to use the advanced molecular biology and bioinformatics capacity available at the BecA Hub. While at the Hub,Fellows will have access to the facilities and receive support from scientists and capacity building technicians.
Applicant requirements:
* Working knowledge of English
* PhD or MSc in any agricultural bioscience area
* Currently affiliated with an African national agricultural research program or university
* From one of the BecA countries:Burundi,Cameroon,Central Africa Republic,Congo Brazzaville,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Equatorial Guinea,Eritrea,Ethiopia,Gabon,Kenya,Madagascar,Rwanda,Sao Tome and Principe,Somalia,Sudan,Tanzania,Uganda.
Last date for submitting applications is June 10,2011
Source: hub.africabiosciences.org
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OECD- CRP announces Conference Sponsorship Funding – 2012 for agriculture,forestry and fisheries scientists
OECD through its flagship Co-operative Research Program (CRP) is actively involved in promoting the exchange of ideas and scientific knowledge between the scientists in the fields of agriculture,food,forests and fisheries. Only citizens of participating member countries of OECD can apply.
Austria,Australia,Belgium,Canada,Czech Republic,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Hungary,Ireland,Italy,Japan,Korea,The Netherlands,New Zealand,Norway,Poland,Slovak Republic,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,United Kingdom,United States.
CRP has been regularly encouraging the scientists in the fields of agriculture,forestry or fisheries through funding the conferences so as make various stake holders in these sectors informed about all the related aspects and developments.
These conferences play an important role in policy decision making and research as policy makers,industrialists and researchers come on a single platform and share their ideas thereby informing each other about their experiences.
Conference Sponsorship funding –2012.
CRP has invited applications from research scientists working in the fields of agriculture,forestry or fisheries for funding towards a conference (or workshop,symposium,etc) to be organized in a member country of Program.
Though this Conference Sponsorship,CRP expects the policy makers,industry and academia of current and future research to be informed about the scientific developments and opportunities in these areas.
* Three research themes covered under this Conference Sponsorship funding:
* The Natural Resources Challenge
* Sustainability in Practice
* The Food Chain
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR SPONSORED CONFERENCES
* The promise of a relevant contribution to the achievement of the aims of the programme
* Relevance – the extent to which the proposal addresses the objectives of the work programme and its relevance to the theme objective
* The feasibility of achieving the goals set in the proposed work
* The scientific record of the applicant
* Scientific excellence – the need for defined and well focussed objectives and the promise provided for both innovation and for increasing the level of debate and understanding of the underlying issues
* Crossing disciplines – the plans for the engagement and interaction of a range of relevant scientific disciplines,and the extent to which the congress or workshop demonstrates a readiness to engage others beyond the research community in attempt to explore wider societal and policy-formation aspects
* Potential impact – the way in which the workshop and the dissemination of its results could contribute to public debate
* Organisation and planned participation – the need for the plans for the congress or workshop to illustrate how these will contribute to achieving the objectives of the program.
* Policy relevance – how and the degree to which the conference proposal will influence policy makers in the development of their national and international agro-food,fisheries or forestry policies
The last date for receiving the application for Conference Sponsorship 2012:15 September 2011.
Source: www.oecd.org
