CALL FOR PROPOSALS: ALUMNI-LED INITIATIVE ACTIVITIES (AIA) GRANT

Alumni Association of Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship (APS) is pleased to call for proposal for the grants under Alumni-led Initiative Activities (AIA) fund.

APS Alumni-led Initiative Activities (AIA) Fund was created in order to provide a platform for alumni to connect with one another and continue to develop their skills, while contributing to peacebuilding and human development. The programme is designed to be kick-starter mini-grants that foster the creation of innovative solutions for problems facing communities in Asia, connecting alumni with each other and with organisations in their professional networks, and with communities.

APS/ALP/DIPS alumni are given the opportunity to propose projects of up to 5,000 USD in collaboration with one another.  Project proposals will be reviewed by the APS Alumni Secretariat, in collaboration as necessary with University for Peace (UPEACE), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) and The Nippon Foundation (TNF).

Background

In November 2015, TNF, UPEACE and AdMU began discussing the creation of an initiative to engage alumni and create an active network among them. Subsequently, in 2016, a number of alumni innovated a new initiative, named ‘Movi Movi’, which was implemented as a pilot project during 2016-2017. The concept was to organize a series of face-to-face events for the alumni to enhance their exciting network, demonstrating their professional and academic competency in peacebuilding, utilising the key components of mobility, visibility, marketing and visual information sharing. Consequently, two initiatives were successfully implemented in the Philippines and Myanmar in the year of 2018 by APS alumni network members.

Following guidelines are developed for the application process:

Eligibility and Requirements

• Minimum of two APS alumni working together

• Diversity backgrounds of APS alumni (religions, gender, ethnic minority…)  are prioritized

• Available only to APS/ALP/DIPS alumni

• AIA contribution up to a maximum of USD 5,000

• The implementation period should be within 6 months.

Priority Thematic areas for this year funding

Gender issues, peace education, human rights education, peace negotiations, Social enterprises, Sustainable environment development themed projects will be preferred for this grant cycle. However, applications from other areas related to peacebuilding and development will also be accepted and considered in similar value in the assessment process.

Underlying Principles

Common Purpose: Alumni-led projects or events should be focused on areas related to peacebuilding. Every project should directly or indirectly involve alumni and be supportive of their career enhancement.

Accountability: We are accountable towards stakeholders. In order to promote optimal project effectiveness and efficient use of resources, stakeholders should be mobilised to openly express their rights, choices and concerns.

Transparency: We express who we are. We show how we raise and utilise funds. We maintain records regarding decisions that affect all stakeholders involved in

our work.

Nonpartisanism: We maintain free from political, religious and regional affiliations and utilise a non-violent approach.

Coordination: We ensure that support from partners is well-coordinated and used efficiently so that resources are not duplicated, wasted or misdirected.

Project Selection Process & Timeline

Project Selection Criteria (Assessment Framework with indicators)

Priority will be given to innovative, well-researched, results-oriented projects related to peacebuilding that provide benefit to local stakeholders and builds the capacity of alumni.

The indicator table below will be used to assess project proposals. The criteria scores will be totaled and those projects having the highest scores will be recommended for funding.

Project Management

Once project proposal(s) are selected, APS secretariat will sign an agreement with the selected alumni team(s). The selected Project Implementation Team(s) (PIT) will be completely responsible for conducting project activities. In some cases, government pre-approval might be required to implement the project, which alumni should be informed about before proposal submission.

Budget Proposal and Fund Disbursement

Project budgets should not exceed 5,000 USD, and may cover project-related costs, such as, but not limited to:

• Travel and accommodation of the PIT, implementing partners, beneficiaries and other project stakeholders;

• Activity-related costs (including room rental, refreshments, etc.);

• Materials;

• Specialist fees;

• Possible administration fee (ex: bank transfer charges, postal fee);

• Other, project-specific costs.

*Please note that this funding will not cover any salary, remuneration or benefits to the PIT.

After signing the project agreement, the APS Alumni Secretariat will arrange for 80% of the funds to be transferred. After completion of the project, The APS Secretariat will transfer the retained 20% of project funds upon submission of the project report. The following procedure will apply:

• Project amount will be deposited in the bank account indicated by the PIT.

• Alternatively, the APS Alumni Secretariat may also send funding via its country representatives (if any Secretariat member is located in the same country as the project implementation site)

• The final installment (20% of project budget) will be disbursed, in accordance with actual expenses, to the indicated bank account after the submission of the Final Project Financial and Narrative reports and documentation.

Learning, Sharing and Sustainability

Successful project proposals will ensure benefits are reflective of the local context, using various means to share gained experience and learning.

During and after the implementation of selected projects, there should be at least two news/stories related to these ones publishing in local or international publications (including TV, radio, online or blogs).

The Project Implementation team should submit at least one 500-word successful story and/or short video clip of their project to the APS Alumni Secretariat. Such news would be circulated through the alumni/UPEACE Facebook page, alumni newsletters, UPEACE/Ateneo de Manila newsletter or any other media.

Submission of Applications and Inquiries

Please submit your completed application forms (in MS word and Excel) by 16 October 2019. For submission, questions and clarifications-  apsalumnisecretariat@gmail.com

Download Application Form in MS Word format