Deadline: 30 June 2020
The Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program Philippines (AAAEP-P) is funding development initiatives under the Australian Alumni COVID-19 Response Grants to respond to the emerging challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.
These grants will enable alumni to collaborate with peers, other individuals and organisations to undertake research that contributes to the public discourse and policy development around COVID-19. Grants will be awarded through an open, competitive process.
The AAAEP-P is an initiative of the Australian Government to support the Philippines in its development goals and to create positive relationships that advance mutual interests. In addition to supporting ongoing alumni engagement through the Australian Global Alumni network, the Program offers a mix of long-term scholarships, short courses, and other forms of training for current and emerging leaders and influencers.
Objectives
- The Australian Alumni COVID-19 Response Grants Scheme aims to assist alumni to undertake projects that contribute to building resilience and recovery efforts in communities impacted by COVID-19. It gives them a platform to leverage their competencies gained from their Australian education or training in implementing the projects.
The Program’s Development Grants Scheme aims to:
- provide alumni with opportunities to enhance and use their knowledge and skills;
- develop, maintain and strengthen professional linkages and partnerships between alumni and the Australian Government, Australian businesses, public and private organisations and educational institutions;
- connect alumni to each other across disciplines and professions, organisations and institutions, and geographic areas in order to share good practice and create opportunities for collaboration;
- showcase Australia’s excellence as a global provider of high-quality education and research;
- support COVID-19 response initiatives that promote gender equality, women’s empowerment and social inclusion
- support COVID-19 activities that protect the most vulnerable sectors of society, including women and girls, persons with disabilities, children, displaced populations, the elderly, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.
Priority Themes
The Australian Alumni Covid-19 Response Grants Scheme (Development) will award the grant to successful proposals that are aligned to the following priority themes:
- Policy Development
- Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRR)
- Public Health
- Inclusive Development (Gender Equity, Disability and Social Inclusion – GEDSI)
- Supply Chain Management
- Public-Private Partnerships in DRR.
The Australian Government has a strong commitment to support initiatives that protect the most vulnerable sectors of society, including women and girls, persons with disabilities, children, displaced populations, the elderly, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups and strongly encourages applications from alumni supporting these sectors.
Funding Information
- The Australian Alumni Covid-19 Response Grants Scheme will provide financial support up to PHP500,000.
- The maximum duration for implementing a grant is 12 months or until 30 June 2021.
Eligible Activities
The scheme will support short-term projects that meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Highlight and promote the proponents’ Australian education or training
- Strengthen professional links of the alumni with the Philippines and/or Australian institutions or individuals
- Share the proponents’ training, knowledge and skills with local communities or organisations
- Have joint public and private sector development activities and advocacies
- Projects should be innovative and sustainable.
- Respond to an immediate or long-term resilience and recovery efforts that will provide substantial benefits and create a significant impact to the organisation and/or community.
- Conform to current restrictions on COVID-19 and consider innovative and/or technologyrelated means of implementation.
- Promote gender equality, women’s empowerment and social inclusion and protect the most vulnerable sectors of society, including women and girls, persons with disabilities, children, displaced populations, the elderly, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups
- Be implemented in the Philippines.
Projects should focus on any of the three core action areas: health security, stability and economic recovery and may be delivered through:
- Community Development activities. These activities will contribute to the development of a specific community or organization e.g. development projects, knowledge and technology transfer activities, workshops and public awareness campaigns.
- Knowledge sharing activities. These are activities which facilitate knowledge and skills transfers, e.g joint capacity building activities with Australian education institutions in the delivery of training, seminars and workshops.
Eligible Proponents
- The development grant scheme is open to all Filipino nationals who have graduated from a recognised Australian tertiary education, including those that self-funded their study in Australia. It is also open to alumni who have graduated from short-term study or fellowship programs from recognised Australian institutions, and alumni of AAAEP-P programs including short courses, nonformal learning opportunities and in-country scholarship program (ICSP). Alumni can apply as an individual, group or on behalf of an alumni association.
- Current grant recipients have the option to pivot existing projects or submit a new proposal to help respond to Covid-19 recovery and response efforts. This project enhancement and/or new proposal should align to these new grant conditions and will be subject to evaluation and assessment.
For more information, visit https://www.australiaawardsphilippines.org/alumni/ags
