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Internet Society Foundation announces Emergency Response Grant Programme with Focus on COVID-19 – United States

Deadline: 17 May 2020

The Internet Society Foundation has launched a new emergency response grant programme, targeting organizations working on projects that utilize the Internet to improve lives during or in response to an emergency situation.

With a 2020 focus on the COVID-19 coronavirus response, the Foundation will solicit grant applications from programmes that respond to the pandemic both during the immediate period of the crisis and in the aftermath.

Emergency Response Programme will provide funding to organizations working on projects that utilize the Internet to improve lives during or in response to an emergency situation. In 2020, the Foundation’s focus will be on projects that respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, both during the immediate period of the crisis but also looking ahead at responses to the inevitable “second wave” later this year/into 2021.

Objectives

  • Provide urgent support to produce lasting, positive outcomes in response to a regional or global emergency
  • Help ensure the success of existing Internet-based initiatives and/or help create new ones that encourage long-term resiliency

The Foundation is committed to working with organizations that take known Internet-based technical solutions and apply them to COVID-19 responses or are pivoting from their “regular” activities to create new projects or reworked technical solutions that respond to the pandemic.

Below are examples of projects that the Foundation may consider for funding and are provided for illustrative purposes. Other innovative ideas are encouraged:

  • Applications that accelerate and coordinate humanitarian response
  • Services that promote and enable distance learning for students
  • Research and documentation on:
    • Censorship of COVID-19 public health and safety information or
    • The increasing use of surveillance technology in the name of public health or safety
  • Circumvention solutions that provide access to blocked public health and safety information or directly respond to increased COVID-19-related censorship
  • Platforms that establish new pathways to alternative livelihoods
  • Indexes that demonstrate urban and/or rural pandemic preparedness

Grant Information

Grants of US$250,000 – US$500,000 will be awarded to organizations for projects lasting up to 12 months.

Eligibility Criteria

The Foundation is interested in funding organizations that:

  • Are committed to the using the Internet as a force for good
  • Implement global and/or regional projects with measurable and documented impact on individuals and local communities
  • In order to receive funding from the Internet Society Foundation, all applicants must meet the following basic requirements. Organizations must:
    • Be legally registered in their country
    • Have an official bank account in their name (based on their legal registration)
    • Be equivalent to a United States public charity (or a “501c3” organization)
      • Before awarding funds to any organization, the Foundation will verify this equivalency.
      • To better understand how this equivalency determination is made,

An Independent Review Panel (IRP) will determine the success of eligible applications based on the following:

  • The proposed project effectively responds to a clearly identified need.
  • The proposed project addresses not only the immediate crisis, but also provides resiliency after this more urgent need has been addressed.
  • The applicant demonstrates the necessary knowledge, experience and capacity required to rapidly and successfully implement this project.
  • The project team has identified relevant outcome indicators that demonstrate sufficient impact, relative to the funding level.

Selection Criteria

Organizations will be asked in the online application form to:

  • Demonstrate previous experience in managing grants of at least US$250,000 within a one-year period.  Experience in managing subawards to local groups is desirable as well.
  • Clearly articulate how the proposed project directly addresses the current urgent period of the crisis while also having direct positive impact during the inevitable “second wave” of the pandemic later this year and into 2021.
  • Demonstrate innovative ideas and creative thinking to address this emergency, such as repurposing proven technical solutions to make lasting effect.

Note: ISF will not consider applications that do not propose Internet-based interventions.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2LclSq4

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