Guidelines to funding request in 2015

The FIRE programme Secretariat recommends careful reading of the following guidelines and tips for a successful submission. If you have questions about your application, feel free to contact the FIRE programme Secretariat at any time. You might find the answer to some of your questions in the FAQ section of this site.

During 2015, the FIRE programme will accept applications for grants and awards.

  • Grants will be provided to project proposals to be implemented in a period of 6 to 12 months between a range from USD 7 500 up to USD10 000 that are aligned with the funding categories and eligibility criteria. Project proposals should provide clear and concrete information about the proposed initiative so the Grants Evaluation Committee can properly assess it.
  • Awards will be provided to projects that are on the last stages of implementation or that have finalized activities already that are aligned with the funding categories and eligibility criteria. Awards will be up to USD 3 000

FUNDING CATEGORIES 2015

  • Innovation on access provision: Fostering ICT growth in Africa requires that the delivery mechanism is available, reliable and scalable. Despite significant efforts in the region, infrastructure development continues to be a challenge, most importantly in rural areas that may be in need of low cost, low power and low maintenance solutions that expanded fixed and mobile access through new forms of technical and organizational arrangements as well as improved the quality of access based on issues of accessibility, disability and linguistic diversity.
  • E-Development: The development, deployment and enhancement of content, applications and solutions to support timely and relevant information dissemination on a large scale using a range of network infrastructures through a variety of devices.
  • Freedom of expression: Initiatives related to freedom of expression, freedom of association, privacy, security, consumer’s rights, new forms of intellectual property in the digital environment, and a wider range of issues related to Internet and human rights.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Each application will be assessed according to the following criteria:

  • Project proposals and nominations submitted by public or private sector organisations, university, research and development institutions and non-governmental organisations will be considered. Individuals are not eligible for grants or awards.
  • The FIRE programme will ONLY support initiatives managed by organisations based in the African region, as described in the list of economies served by AFRINIC. The funds allocated will have to be invested within the African region.
  • Project proposals and nominations must provide evidence of a demonstrated capacity by the applying organisation to manage the funds, conduct project activities and document outcomes effectively, within the specified budget and time limits. Provide clear and concrete information about your organisation, the team involved and their capabilities.
  • Project proposals and nominations must be aligned to the funding categories within FIRE programme scope. Clearly state the objectives of your proposal, and how they are in concordance with the FIRE programme objectives.
  • Project proposals exceeding that maximum grant amount and timeline must specify where the additional funds will be obtained to bring the project to completion. Clearly state the activities to be undertaking in your proposal, detailing the time and resources required.
  • Provide a complete budget of how the FIRE programme grant will be spent. The FIRE programme may decide to partially fund a proposal. Administrative overheads will not be funded. All expenses should be organised according to the following categories to be eligible for funding:
  • Project proposals and nominations must provide evidence of a demonstrated capacity by the applying organisation to manage the funds, conduct project activities and document outcomes effectively, within the specified budget and time limits. Provide clear and concrete information about your organisation, the team involved and their capabilities.
    • Equipment: All devices needed for the project deployment
    • Personnel: Salaries of project team if they work 50% of the time or more
    • Professional services: Consultants, technical support, programming, documentation, etc. Project team that works less than 50% of the time
    • Research expenses: Training workshops for project beneficiaries, materials, publications, local travel
    • International travel: International travel expenses such as accommodation, airfares, visa applications, per diem, etc. Participation in conferences, presentation, field trips
    • Training: Training courses for project team (fees and travel expenses – local or international)
    • Support services: Web hosting, transcripts, translations, logistics, workshops facilitation, etc.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • All required information must be provided through the online application form. Be as clear and concrete as possible when filling in the application form. Include only images and/or diagrams to facilitate the evaluation process.
  • Applications received by email will not be processed. No additional information can be filed after the closing date. The FIRE programme will contact you if any clarification is needed. Please do not submit complete curriculum vitae/résumé, unless the FIRE programme requires it.
  • Once an application has been submitted, the nominated email contacts will receive an automatic confirmation message. If you do not receive a confirmation message please review your spam filters, and contact us at fireprogram@afrinic.net before attempting to submit your proposal again.
  • All applications received are reviewed by the FIRE programme and then evaluated by the Expert Committee members according to a detailed and exhaustive evaluation process.
  • If you have problems accessing the online application form or other information please contact us at fireprogram@afrinic.net. All required information must be included within the application. The Experts Committee will examine no additional information received by other means.
  • The FIRE programme can request applicants to provide more details or modify any part of the proposal (including the requested budget) at any time during the evaluation process. The proposal will not be considered for funding if the request has not been within the specified timeline. The applicant might choose to provide arguments to keep the proposal as originally submitted for final review by the Experts Committee.
  • Availability of co-funding by other agencies or organisations is not a requisite. Any complementary funding must have to be declared in the budget section of the application form.
  • The FIRE programme has defined the terms and conditions for the release of grants and awards. Copies of the official grant agreement and documentation license are available for your review and consideration before submitting your proposal.
  • When submitting an application, the applicants acknowledge that any grant funding and, indeed, the application and evaluation process, is entirely at the discretion of the funding partners and they may choose to determine the process at any time up to the time of actual payment.
  • When submitting an application, the applicants are granting permission to the FIRE programme and funding partners to use materials, submitted or developed during the application process, in publications or materials to promote FIRE program. These materials can be project descriptions, photographs taken during the application process or at funded events, etc.

SELECTION PROCESS

The FIRE programme reviews the proposal’s alignment with its objectives, eligibility criteria and initially approves applications. Proposals shortlisted go for full review by an expert committee to comment and rank the applications based on the eligibility criteria. Finally, the expert committee members vote for the ones they have selected from the shortlisted applicants, and funding will be approved based on the finalised proposals submitted. In addition to selecting a winner per category, there shall be a “Community Choice Award” category for the best social media campaign (the project with the highest number of votes from the community).


Freedom of expression