SGF Call for Applicants
From Harambee Wiki
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Email Invitation for the Call for Applicants
Applicants were invited by email to submit a concept note. The email messages are available in both English and French.
Background on Harambee
The Harambee Project, conceived by the Association for Progressive Communications, Bellanet and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and funded by Connectivity Africa hosted by IDRC and Hivos, is designed to support increased capacity among both the project’s initiators and a range of Africa-based networks and communities to coordinate and facilitate the interactions of their respective constituencies.
The rationale for this focus rests on several observations. First, it is recognized that a networked approach to confronting many of the complex challenges faced in development today is one that offers greater chances for effective impact. Second, such an approach is geared toward creating the conditions for participation by a broader variety of partners with differing perspectives and differing contributions to make. It is the combination of these diversities that promises robust and sustainable outcomes as well as a high degree of shared learning. Finally, it is through collaboration and networking that Africans have the greatest potential to effectively participate in their own development as it unfolds in a globalized environment.
The implementation of Harambee is coordinated by the Uganda-based Bellanet Africa and includes a variety of partners:
- Harambee Coordination Committee made up of representatives APC, Bellanet and UNECA
- Focus Network Coordinators from APC Africa Women (AAW), Academia Research Network (ARN), African Youth Information Network (AYIN), Constitution & Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), and Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
- Small grant recipient networks in Africa (TBD)
The Harambee Small Grants Facility: A Focus on Networks
Processes supporting collaboration and partnership are critical to enhancing the participation of Africans in their own development. There is both an immediate and strong need in Africa for capacity development in the design of processes that assist in the creation, use and sharing of knowledge, and in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support such participation. The Harambee project, and the Small Grants activity, has been conceived to address many of those needs.
Collaboration is expected from organisations and individuals working in development. The benefits and value-added of working collaboratively – many of which have been demonstrated for example, in the development of software by the open source community – have become clear. But how can networks leverage existing and new knowledge on processes and technologies in support of more effective collaboration? The Harambee project intends to build on existing research and experiences in designing and implementing processes and technologies in support of networks. It proposes the implementation of network strengthening activities, included but not limited to capacity building, and opportunities for knowledge sharing as well as the development of research and training materials.
The key area of focus of the Harambee project is that of strengthening the capacity of existing African networks through improved collaboration. While there are many examples of organic networks or communities – groups who may form naturally simply because they share a common goal – many are pushed into being. The latter are often expected to work collaboratively on planning, creating, solving problems and making decisions without having a solid understanding of the processes and technologies that can support their effectiveness or the considerations that need to be made to address group diversity and dynamics.
More effective collaboration, which implies groups, organizations, or networks that are better able to organise, plan, solve problems, and make decisions, can be achieved by: designing and implementing processes that can promote equal opportunities for participation, maximize learning, generate solutions and build consensus decision making; and, leveraging existing and new collaborative technologies which can support ongoing dialogue and interaction.
Under the Harambee project, the project proponents are announcing a small grants facility (SGF) to provide networks in Africa with funding for the development of greater collaborative capacity. The SGF will provide an amount of up to 5,000 USD per network as a non-renewable grant. Towards the end of 2006, applicants having submitted successful concept notes will be invited to take part in a workshop held to develop capacity in network coordination, to share learning from the implementation of pilot projects, to validate (and potentially modify) project strategies, and to provide input into the design of activities for future phases of the project.
*What do we mean by ICTs? The widely used acronym 'ICTs' encompasses a multitude of equipment, software and services, ranging from satellite communication systems, telephone booths in rural areas, digital radio programs, the Internet and electronic databases, to e-commerce services via the World Wide Web. ICTs can be interpreted broadly as technologies that facilitate communication and the processing and transmission of information by electronic means. This definition encompasses the full range of ICTs, from radio and television to telephones (fixed and mobile), computers and the Internet.
In development contexts, the interface with traditional communications systems and tools is also important, as are applications in areas like agriculture, business, governance, health, and education. In fact, in many cases, the “new” ICTs are tape recorders, radio, television, newspapers, or telephones.
Small Grants Facility Objectives
The aim of the Harambee small grants fund is to provide a mechanism to supply immediate funding for capacity development and innovation in sectors with existing networks pursuing ongoing activities. This competitive fund provides an opportunity for support to a number of sectoral based networks and communities (in, for example, health, education, agriculture, etc.) – and to those with the capability to facilitate knowledge sharing, communication and participation of those networks and communities in a variety of fora – and in so doing will help to enhance awareness of, and expertise in, processes and technologies in support of collaboration on the continent as a whole. This in turn will ensure African organisations will be better equipped to strongly participate in determining strategies adopted to confront their development challenges.
The following types of acitivites are examples of SGF projects that fit within the theme of strengthening existing networks and collaborations in Africa:
- Increasing network coordinators' and members' access to relevant training and support for knowledge - and ICT-related capacity development. This could include, for example, receiving training in the strategic use of ICTs and/or Knowledge Sharing techniques;
- Raising awareness within African networks of the potential for processes and technologies in support of collaboration to strengthen their collective capacity to effect change;
- Undertaking research that can serve as a valuable resource on a variety of techniques, conceptual frameworks, indicators, etc., relating to facilitation, knowledge sharing, communication and other collaboration-related issues such as gender considerations.
- Building expertise in the design and implementation of collaborative processes, including facilitation or conflict resolution/mediation processes;
- To increase the profile as well as knowledge and networking base of Harambee and Harambee partners
Eligibility and Preferences
- The recipient insitution must be a recognized legal entity that is capable of entering into contractual arrangements and assuming legal and financial obligations.
- Proposals that demonstrate relevance to the overall theme of the competition:
- significant knowledge sharing and/or ICT component
- significant collaboration component within the network
- orientation towards building capacity of the network to be more effective at achieving its main goals.
- Proposals which clearly outline the scope of work including the respective roles and responsibilities of various partners within the proposed activity.
- Proposals that demonstrate intent and process for sharing learning of the undertaken activities.
- The selection committee with promote regional diversity of grants awarded.
- Preference will be given to networks with an institutional base in Africa.
SGF Application and Review Process
Applicants are required to submit a brief Concept Note (1-2 pages) to "harambee-sgf AT dgroups.org" (note: replace 'AT' with '@'). File size should not 1Mb.
Concept Notes should include the following information:
- Name of Applicant Organisation and/or Network
- Contact Information (Address, Phone, Email)
- Title of the proposed activity
- Description of the problem/issue the proposed activity will address
- Outline of the proposed activity including a description of how a one-time small grant of up to $5000USD would be used.
- Describe who is expected to benefit as a result of this project. Explain the intended impact of the project.
- Indicate the expected duration of the activity
Concept notes will be appraised, based on the criteria set out below, by reviewers selected from an international team of individuals having expertise in network strengthening and selected applicants will be invited to submit a proposal (approximately 5-6 pages in length) outlining the activity idea in more detail.
Submitted proposals will be reviewed using the same process and criteria. Applicants who reach this stage may be asked to provide additional information to support their application or to clarify aspects of the project proposal.
Concept Notes and Proposals can be written in English or French and in the following formats:
- OpenOffice
- MSWord
- RTF (rich text format)
Please direct any inquiries to "harambee-sgf AT dgroups.org" (note: replace 'AT' with '@').
Timelines
| Activity | Timeline | Updated Timeline (as of Dec 13) |
| Call for Proposals | September 22, 2006 | September 22, 2006 |
| Acceptance of Concept Notes | September 22 - October 13, 2006 | September 22 - October 13, 2006 |
| Review of Concept Notes | October 13 - October 27, 2006 | October 13 - November 10, 2006 |
| Collation of Reviewed Concept Notes | -- | November 10 - 19, 2006 |
| Announcement of Approved Concept Notes | November 1, 2006 | November 20, 2006 |
| Submission Draft Proposals | November 1 - November 24, 2006 | By December 29, 2006 |
| Learning and Exchange Workshop | December 2006 or January 2007 | January 12 - 16, 2007 |
| Submission of Final Proposals | November 1 - November 24, 2006 | January 23, 2007 |
| Review of Proposals | November 24 - December 15, 2006 | January 25, 2007 - February 12, 2007 |
| Collation of Reviewed Proposals | -- | February 12 - 14, 2007 |
| Announcement of Grant Awards | December 22, 2006 | February 15, 2007 |
| Implementation of Activities | January - June 2007 | February - August 2007 |
Status of applications, other than confirmation of its receipt, will not be available prior to their related announcements.
Criteria for Evaluating Submitted Applications
The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications:
- Quality and suitability of the proposed activity with respect to SGF objectives. (30%)
- Proposal clearly states objectives, includes a methodology/implementation strategy, identifies outputs, partners/stakeholders and includes a realistic timeline and budget. (25%)
- Demonstrated potential for shared learning within the network and/or among broader networks. (20%)
- Planned output(s) in the form of a 1-2 learning document, short video, journal article etc. highlighting results of the activity (20%)
- Suitability of applicant organisation and/or network in relation to the eligibility requirements. (5%)
Grant Size and Duration
Grants to be awarded will range in value from $1,000 USD UP TO A MAXIMUM OF $5,000 USD. Applications that exceed $5,000 USD will be not be taken into consideration. We anticipate awarding 5-10 grants, depending on quality of proposals received and the cumulative cost of each proposal. Grants will have a maximum duration of 6 months from the date of the award.
Funds granted to winning proposals will be paid to the applying institution. Final budgets awarded for each project will be determined by Bellanet Africa based on the review process and, if necessary, negotiation with the applicant institution.
Online Proposal Appraisal (OPA)
As part of the Harambee project, funds were allocated to installing an instance of OPA - an Online Proposal Appraisal application that is intended to facilitate the administration of Small Grant Facilities. The first version of OPA was written in ColdFusion by Bellanet and was intended as a web-based, multi-lingual proposal management system suitable for the end-to-end administration of proposals ie. from requests, submissions, appraisals, selections, budgeting through to reporting.
Following the release of OPA and its source code under the General Public Licence, OPA was re-written by Omoli Inc. in the Java programming language. An instance of this version of OPA has been installed on a Bellanet server but required fairly intensive debugging that it wasn't up and running in time for the launch of the Small Grant Facility. It will, however, be used in the second phase of the SGF as a means for successful concept note applicants to submit their proposals and have them assessed by the review committee.
A temporary space has been created in this wiki to host OPA Help pages.
