GenARDIS : Grants for ICT, Gender & Rural Development

Dimitra, December 2004

Deadline: 25 February 2005

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU CTA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos) are inviting applications for the second round of the GenARDIS Small Grants programme. The 10 grants @ 5,000 Euros is to address Gender Issues in Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Countries. The Small Grants Fund is offered strictly to support innovative activities that contribute to the understanding of gender issues in ICTs and to the gender- sensitive application of ICTs in ACP agricultural and rural development. The ICT definition encompasses the full range from radio and television to telephones (fixed and mobile), computers and the Internet.

Proposals can be aimed at:

• understanding gender differences in the use of ICTs;
• promoting ICT use among rural women (sensitization);
• improving rural women's access to ICTs;
• improving the skills and capacities of rural women in using ICTs;
• increasing the attractiveness of ICTs for rural women by providing relevant content;
• mainstreaming gender concerns in ICT policy and projects; and
• using ICTs for gender advocacy purposes.

Submissions will be judged according to the following criteria:

Innovativeness;

Clearly outlines and addresses gender issues, i.e., the socially constructed relations between women and men in a particular society;

ICT-enabled;

Agricultural or agro-linked rural development context;

Proposal clearly states objectives, includes a methodology/implementation strategy, identifies outputs, partners/stakeholders and includes a timeline and budget; and

Realistic within budgetary and time constraints.

Successful applicants will be expected to write a comprehensive report on their project results, experiences and use of the funds and contribute to a workshop to be held in late 2005.

E-mail applications and questions should be sent to GenARDIS@cta.int.

Submissions by post should be sent to:
GenARDIS Small Grants Fund
c/o Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
Attn. Dr. Dorothy Okello
P.O. Box 4411
Kampala, Uganda
Fax: + 256 (0)41 234924