ISIF Asia’s Infrastructure Grant Program

The Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) is seeking applications for its Infrastructure grant program. The program focuses on Internet Infrastructure which refers to efforts to increase Internet speed, reduce maintenance and operational costs, improve reliability and/or security from a technical and operational perspective, and in support of the Internet industry in the Asia Pacific region.

Areas

The funding will support efforts to improve Internet infrastructure on one or more of the following areas:

• Adoption and documentation of best practices in operational Internet security by network operators, enterprises and service providers
• Hardware and software development and deployment required to design, deploy and operate low-cost connectivity solutions that use wireless technologies, GSM and/or fibre connections for unserved and underserved communities
• Hardware and software development and/or deployment to support Internet network monitoring and management
• Hardware and software development and/or deployment to improve security and privacy online
• Hardware and software development and/or deployment to understand and address the environmental impact of Internet infrastructure (if your project is primarily about this focus area, you could apply for the Ian Peter Grants for Internet and the Environment)
• Hardware and software development and/or deployment to support peering and interconnection
• IPv6 adoption by enabling network, computing devices, business applications and services
• Provision of efficient, reliable power for Internet infrastructure, particularly in challenging situations such as off-grid, intermittently supplied, or disaster afflicted environments
• Disaster preparedness for Internet networks operations

Types of Grants

• Interested organizations will have three types of grants to apply depending on the scope, scale and reach of the proposed projects:
• Small Grants: USD 30,000 targeted for pilot projects, proof of concept ideas, or narrow/concrete interventions around the Infrastructure Program focus areas to be implemented over six, nine or twelve months in the Asia Pacific region.
• Scale-up Grants: USD 85,000 targeted for projects that have already a completed proof of concept or business case structured and have a clear growth strategy around the Infrastructure Program focus areas to be implemented over twelve to eighteen months in the Asia Pacific region. Organizations receiving this grant will have to include on their budget requests a minimum of USD 15,000 to improve their staff skills and other organizational development around the areas that the organization has identified they need support to be able to cope with growth.
• Impact Grants: USD 150,000 targeted for projects that have already achieved scale and stabilized after their first expansion period, that also have concrete plans to maximize the impact of their work around the Infrastructure Program focus areas. These plans should be implemented over twelve to eighteen months in the Asia Pacific region. Organizations receiving this grant will have to include on their budget requests a minimum of USD 25,000 to improve their staff skills and other organizational development around the areas that the organization has identified they need support to be able to cope with growth.
• Three small grants (USD 30,000) will be awarded to the strongest scoring applications from economies that have not been supported by ISIF Asia previously. These recipients will be selected out of the applications for small grants from any of the funding programs and respective focus areas.
• The grants are open to all industry types and stakeholder groups and prioritize support to proposals that maximize community benefit, in particular those seeking funding to deploy IPv6 in unserved or underserved communities, in rural or remote areas. The grants range between USD 30,000 and USD 250,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Project proposals from Asia Pacific-based organizations will be considered. Applications from public, private sector, academia (such as universities or research and development institutions), non-profit and social enterprises are welcome to all grant categories. The names, academic background and relevant experience of the people having relevant technical and administrative participation in the implementation of the project must be stated. Individuals are not eligible to apply.
• Applications must be aligned with ISIF Asia program objectives, eligibility criteria, and administrative guidelines. No self-nominations for the Awards are accepted. 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.

Source:https://isif.asia/infrastructure/