Deadline: 31 May 2019
Applicants are invited to apply for “The Intercultural Innovation Award” 2019, which is a partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group that selects and supports the most innovative grassroots projects that encourage intercultural dialogue and work toward a more peaceful and socially inclusive world by building mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious identities, rejecting violent extremism and embracing diversity.
With the objective of “helping people to help themselves” both UNAOC and BMW Group mobilize their resources, time and networks to support the awardees. This new model of collaboration between the UN and the private sector creates a deeper impact, as both partners provide their respective expertise to ensure the sustainable growth of each project. The Intercultural Innovation Award will be bestowed upon ten organizations.
The main objective of the Intercultural Innovation Award is to identify and support innovative projects that are already being implemented and have the potential for expansion and replication. The award is given to the organization that is implementing the project with the overall objective of helping the organization to sustainably expand and adapt the project to other contexts. Projects presented within this call must have shown successful outcomes during at least its first year of implementation.
You should apply if:
– Your organization considers that promoting intercultural understanding and cooperation is key in today’s world;
– Your project has proven successful and you want to share it with the world; and
– You lack the connections and capacity to bring your project to the next level.
The award recipients will receive the following:
- Funding to help you expand and replicate your project
- One year of support and mentoring from UNAOC and BMW Group
- Detailed needs assessment and individualized plan to achieve your organization’s objectives
- Exclusive membership to Intercultural Leaders, a skills and knowledge-sharing platform
- Capacity building workshops in various international locations
- Networking opportunities and global recognition as an Intercultural Innovation Awardee
Awardees will receive funding to be used for project expansion and/or replication of their project. The total amount of the funding pool is USD 100,500 distributed as follows:
- 1st USD 40,000
- 2nd USD 20,000
- 3rd USD 15,000
- 4th USD 8,000
- 5th USD 5,000
- 6th–10th USD 2,500
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations that submit a project to the competition need to fulfill each and every one of the following criteria to be deemed eligible:
- Organizations must be registered as a not-for-profit organization, such as a non-governmental organization, charitable organization, research and educational institution, labor union, indigenous group, faith-based organization, professional association, foundation and local or municipal branches of government.
- Applying organizations must have been operational for a minimum of 2 years before April 2019; with funding base and project implementation (i.e. the organization must show registration as non-profit in their country of operation by April 2017 or earlier).
- Applying organizations must be managing a project focused on promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding. Examples include projects in the fields of combating xenophobia, education for global citizenship, interfaith dialogue, migration and integration, prevention of violent extremism, as well as initiatives addressing the needs of specific groups in promoting intercultural understanding (e.g. faith-based, youth, women, media, etc.)
- The applying organization must have the willingness to expand the range of action of the project with UNAOC, the BMW Group and other partners.
- Organizations that have previously received any UNAOC support are not eligible to apply to the Intercultural Innovation Award.
- Projects that have been submitted to previous editions of the Intercultural Innovation Award and were not selected are eligible and encouraged to apply again. However, applying organizations cannot have been winners of previous editions of the UNAOC Marketplace of Ideas or BMW Group Awards.
Selection Criteria
How are Intercultural Innovation Awardees selected?
Shortlisted projects will be evaluated against a comprehensive set of criteria. These criteria include three main categories:
The Project
- Relevance – is appropriate for the targeted audience and in the local context where implemented.
- Quality – undertakes an in-depth analysis of problems/issues and sets a consistent intervention strategy.
- Clarity – sets clear objectives and draws a logical connection between activities, outputs and outcomes.
- Innovation – pushes beyond boundaries and excels in the use of original and novel methods (social media, arts, pedagogical approach, innovative training, etc.)
- Measurability – impact of the intervention is assessable (i.e. number of beneficiaries, polls on attitude change, assessment of behavioral changes, clear policy changes, etc.)
- Sustainability – demonstrates ability to be sustainable in the mid-long term.
- Replicability – has the capacity to be replicated and scaled up in different settings. This is a key evaluation criterion.
The Organization
- Organizational structure – is capable of achieving the goals set in the project.
Intercultural commitment – has proven interest and commitment in intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation (e.g. past reports, reference letters, etc.).
Work plan and budget – has set a realistic budget to replicate or expand the project.
Transparency – has made genuine and demonstrated efforts to adopt a policy of transparency.
Equality – has adopted equality and diversity policies as reflected in staff members, membership and activities.
The Application
- Clarity – shows an effective communication of ideas and provides relevant examples.
- Conciseness – provides clear and concise responses to questions.
- Persuasiveness – includes insightful arguments and engaging narrative.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply online via the given website.
For more information, visit this link.