Our project grants just got a fascinating new name! From now on let them be known as the “APC impact grants”! We think this name better reflects the context and targeting of this type of APC grants.
The 2021 call for grants for local implementation of APC’s strategic plan is now open for applications. The call is addressed to APC organisational members. This is a rolling call that will remain open from 11 June 2021 until 30 June 2022 (the year is 2022, this is not an oversight), or until the fund is fully allocated. The maximum allowed budget per project is USD 30,000 for individual proposals and USD 50,000 for joint proposals. All projects must be completed by July 2023 at the latest.
These grants are made possible through funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The total amount available is USD 1,095,000 to applicants in countries listed as Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipients by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
These grants are for initiatives that contribute to the implementation of APC’s strategic outcomes at the national level and are meant to strengthen ongoing work of APC members. In their proposals, members should demonstrate how their projects contribute to one or more of these strategic outcomes at the local level.
The APC 2020-2023 outcome areas are the following:
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Harness collective power of communities
Outcome 1: The collective power of communities within and beyond the APC network is harnessed through existing and new relationships built around transformative actions and our shared visions. -
Enable digital inclusion for the most vulnerable
Outcome 2: People affected by exclusion, discrimination and inequality are able to meaningfully use and shape the internet and digital technologies to meet their specific needs. -
Co-create a feminist internet
Outcome 3: Women and people of diverse sexualities and genders participate in, shape and co-create the internet and digital technologies that reflect and respond to their lived realities. -
Advocate for human rights online and offline
Outcome 4: People, especially those facing discrimination and oppression, have greater power and autonomy through digital technologies to exercise their full range of human rights online and offline. -
Promote governance of the internet as a global public good
Outcome 5: The internet is recognised and governed as a global public good in an inclusive, transparent, democratic and accountable manner. -
Mobilise collective action for environmental justice and sustainability
Outcome 6: APC’s collective action and activism contribute to environmental justice and preservation of the earth, and mitigate the negative environmental impacts of the internet, digital technologies and the digital economy.
Background and context
We are opening this year’s call at a time of a continuing pandemic that intensifies the need for online presence and poses new challenges to communities regarding access to information, communication, online safety and privacy. At the same time, the pandemic is being instrumentalised by authorities to restrict freedom of movement, assembly, association and expression, further leading to institutionalisation and normalisation of a state of surveillance with significant shifts in the collection, storage and use of personal data. Communities will therefore continue to rely heavily on safe and privacy-respecting internet connectivity and access for their interventions and activism.
Within this context it is important that all of our network members have the capacity to use and shape online technologies to meaningfully and safely access digital resources and spaces. This is a shared need among APC members.
In this context, for this year we are adding a focus area for capacity-building activities related to safe and privacy-respecting access to online resources and communication and building or sharing of digital infrastructure.
Important information about the call
The application process for this call has been updated to reflect the needs of APC organisational members, as these have been identified via our participatory processes. The most significant changes are the following:
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Responding to the need for a longer time period to implement the projects, we are increasing the projects’ duration to up to 24 months (all projects need to be finalised at latest by 30 June 2023).
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To make our grants more accessible for all members, we are changing our application process to a rolling call. This means that you can now apply for the APC impact grants at any time until 30 June 2022 (or until the available funds have been fully allocated).
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This rolling process facilitates joint application proposals, providing more time for APC members to plan for a joint proposal.
Members can submit proposals a) individually for up to USD 30,000 or b) jointly for up to USD 50,000.
Please note that all activities for the project grants must be completed by 30 June 2023.
Who can apply
The eligibility criteria for this cycle of APC impact grants are the following:
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Only APC organisational members listed as ODA recipients by the OECD Development Assistance Committee can apply as leaders of an APC impact grants proposal. Members that are not listed as ODA recipients can collaborate under a joint proposal, led by another APC member.
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APC organisational members can submit individual proposals for up to USD 30,000 per grant or joint proposals for up to USD 50,000.
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Joint proposals must be submitted together with other APC members eligible for APC grants support (collaboration with external partners only does not qualify as a joint proposal).
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A member cannot apply for or participate in more than one grant in less than 12 months and until completing the previous grant of the same type.
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All activities for the grants must be completed and all funds spent by 30 June 2023. No extensions will be possible.
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Only APC organisational members in good standing can avail of APC grants. This means that members must not owe APC any of the following: a) dues or other outstanding funds, b) contractual work paid for but not yet delivered, c) financial or narrative reports from project grant activities previously supported by APC, or travel supported by the APC Member Exchange and Travel Fund (METF). In the case of joint proposals, all members should be in good standing.
Proposal evaluation
The proposal evaluation process is a form of accompaniment, where a committee of evaluators will provide feedback and may propose changes that may be helpful in revising applications, if needed. A feedback report will be compiled and sent to all applicants. Submitted proposals are assigned for evaluation at the end of each calendar month. The evaluation process can take up to 20 working days. All applicants will be informed about the evaluation of their proposals through email. All successful proposals will be published on APC.org.
Assistance with submitting your application
In order to assist with the planning of your application we have prepared an application template for your use. To avoid accidentally losing your content, it is suggested as a best practice that you develop your proposal offline (using the above-mentioned template) and only copy the content to the subgranting platform once you are done. Make sure to keep your local copy as a backup.
Please also find here the template for your proposal’s budget.
We will further hold a Q&A online convening to answer questions about this call. You will be notified via email about the details of this convening. Feedback from this convening will be used to create an FAQ for the 2021 APC impact grants cycle.
How to apply
To submit your application you need to log in to the APC subgranting platform at https://subgrants.apc.org/user, using your APC member credentials. If you can’t access the platform please follow this guide to reset your password. If this does not work, please write to rox – at – apc.org.
You can apply at any time until 30 June 2022. Project duration should be between 12 and 24 months. Your project must be completed by 30 June 2023. No extension will be possible. This means that the later you apply, the less time you will have available to complete your project.
List of relevant resources
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2021 call for proposals for the APC impact grants for local implementation of APC’s strategic plan (this call)
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APC subgranting platform (log-in required)
For any question related to the process please contact: grants – at – apc – dot – org.
We look forward to receiving your proposals!