DFAT’s Australia-India Council Grants 2019: Advancing Australia’s Foreign and Trade Policy Interests

Deadline: 28 March 2019

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is seeking applications for its Australia-India Council grants 2019 to advance Australia’s foreign and trade policy interests by building awareness and understanding between the peoples and institutions of Australia and India.

Objectives

The objectives of the Australia-India Council 2019 are to:

raise awareness of Australia in India, and of India in Australia, in a way that encourages further growth in relations between the two countries, including in the trade and investment relationship
promote exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian organisations in fields of relevance to the bilateral strategic partnership
deliver high quality programs that demonstrate Australia’s economic credentials and technical excellence to influential audiences in India
seek community involvement in, and private sector support for, the Council’s diplomacy efforts including by encouraging corporate investment in collaborations that advance Australia India relations
publicise the Council’s activities as a means of encouraging broad support for the Council’s role and the bilateral relationship.

Priority Areas

Develop new innovative mechanisms to enhance outcomes in one or more of the 10 economic sectors identified in the India Economic Strategy.
Develop new innovative social ventures that build on signature national or bilateral initiatives such as India’s unique identity Aadhaar scheme or Australia India Strategic Research Fund projects on health, agribusiness, water, energy and resources, and urban infrastructure.
Recognise and capitalise on the shared democratic, institutional and cultural traditions of Australia and India, for example, through our common parliamentary and legal systems, shared challenges in supporting gender equality and women in leadership, children, young people, Indigenous communities and diaspora.
Build connections between Australia and India through joint projects in an educational or community setting.

Grant Information

In 2019-20 between $600,000 and $700,000 in total is expected to be available for this grant opportunity, subject to appropriation. Grants will be provided to a number of small and medium projects (up to a maximum of $150,000 each) that demonstrate a clear capacity to maximise impact by fostering groundbreaking and catalytic collaborations.
Project costs relate to the scope of the grant activity, its complexity, proposed outcomes, and strategic advantage, and should be proportionate with administration and sensible risk management expectations.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible applicants must:

be one of the following entity types:
- an Australian entity with an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN), or Indigenous Corporation Number (ICN)
- a consortium with a lead organisation
- a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation
- an Australian local government body
- an Australian State/Territory government body
- a corporate Commonwealth entity
- an Australian statutory authority
- an Australian citizen or permanent resident
be willing to provide or develop child protection guidelines for applicants project if it involves people under the age of 18 years