Call for Applications for Innovative Solutions Grants Program in Kazakhstan

Deadline: 31-May-21

The Eurasia Foundation (EF) announces a call for applications for Innovative Solutions Grants, an open, competitive competition for grant funding under the Civil Society Support Program in Central Asia (CSSP).

CSSP is a five-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by EF. The goal of the program is to cultivate a vibrant and responsive civil society in Central Asia.

In order to expand civic engagement and cross-sectoral partnerships in addressing social challenges, CSSP will provide funding to civil society representatives from Kazakhstan to implement projects based in new ideas, strategies and/or technologies that contribute to the solution of socially significant problems through Innovative Solutions Grants (ISG).

Innovative Solutions Grants are designed for civil society representatives proposing new solutions to social problems and civic initiatives that can lead to demonstrable positive change.

Priority Areas

ISGs are flexible and will support project ideas in the following areas:

New approaches for creating dialogue and results through cross-sectoral partnerships
Leveraging new technologies to solve pressing social or community problems
Creative or experimental approaches to fundraising in the social sphere
Creating mechanisms for citizen engagement in solving community problems

Illustrative examples of projects for ISG funding include:

Campaigns using electronic petitions, social media and mobile apps to raise awareness of pressing social problems and propose solutions to address the needs and interests of the public;
Collaboration with government agencies to address the issue of personal data protection;
Public campaigns that unite civic activists, businesses and CSO experts to protect a shared public asset such as green spaces and playgrounds;
Negotiated deals with local businesses to provide discounts to vulnerable groups, volunteer working time and offer material support during pandemic lockdowns;
Crowdfunding campaigns to raise financial support for charitable causes.

Funding Information

Award activities may last for any period of time up to 12 months. Funding amounts for Innovative Solutions Grants will range from 2,000 to 10,000 USD.

Eligibility Criteria

Registered CSOs and initiative groups from Kazakhstan are eligible to apply.

Application Process

All interested applicants must submit an application through EF’s Grant Management Platform. Applications will be accepted in Kazakh or Russian.
Applications from CSOs must include the following information:
- Key demographic and contact information
- Description and justification of the project proposal (MS Word, Maximum 5 pages)
- Resumes of key implementers
- Description of applicant experience (MS Word, template downloaded from EF’s Grant Management Platform, maximum 1 page)
- (Optional) Video summary of project (Maximum duration 2 min.)
- Timeline of project activities or Gantt chart (MS Excel, template downloaded from EF’s Grant Management Platform)
- Detailed budget (MS Excel, template downloaded from EF’s Grant Management Platform)
CSO applicants will need to upload a scanned copy of the organization’s legal entity certificate of registration.
If selected, organizations will need to provide the following additional documentation:
- Scanned copy of the Charter (only for organizations in .pdf or .jpeg or .png)
- Scanned copy of Certification of Absence of Tax Debt
- Proof of a bank account
- Copy of the passport or ID of the key implementors of the project