Call for Danida Alumni Activity Grants 2021 round 2

Call for application for Danida Alumni Activity Grants

Danida Fellowship Centre is pleased to announce a new call for Danida Alumni Activity Grants, allowing Danida Alumni to apply for financial support to organize local activities either off- or online depending on the Covid-19 situation in your country.

The deadline for this call for proposals is Monday 4^th of October 2021 at 12:00 PM (noon) CEST. Applications will be accepted only if submitted via the online application form. Here you can find a short video guide on how to fill out the application form. 

Grant applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications within two weeks of the application deadline. Activities under this grant has to take place no later than January 31^st 2022.

Why Danida Alumni activity grants?

Sharing knowledge and transforming knowledge into action is essential for finding sustainable solutions to the global challenges facing us today. However, this does not happen by itself. It requires a concerted effort and change makers to transform knowledge into action.

As a member of the Danida Alumni Network, you are part of a unique global network of skilled professionals trained by Danish institutions of higher and further education that have the common goal of contributing to sustainable global development. Together with your fellow alumni, you have the skills and knowledge that can bring about change and make a positive impact in your communities and/or professional fields of expertise.

Through Danida Alumni Activity Grants, Danida Fellowship Centre aims to help facilitate conducive spaces for policy makers, practitioners and researchers within the Danida Alumni Network to share their knowledge and contribute towards more sustainable solutions to development challenges.  Who can apply and for what?

Danida Fellowship Centre offers activity grants to alumni, who are accepted as members of the global Danida Alumni Network. If there is an established local Danida/Denmark Alumni Network in your country of residence, then you should also be a registered member. You can find an overview of established local networks here.

You can apply for a grant with financial support of up to 9,000 DKK for an alumni activity or event with the aim of achieving the following three objectives:

1. Promoting knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration within or across sectors/disciplines
2. Promoting sustainable development by addressing one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals
3. Strengthening the local alumni network

The following optional objective can also be incorporated:

4. Promoting knowledge into action initiatives targeting and benefitting the general public.

It should be observed that all Danida activity grant activities must target 1, 2 and 3, whereas 4 is optional.  

The activities could be seminars, study visits, networking events as well as large-scale (professional) online events.

Please note that in assessing grant submissions, Danida Fellowship Centre’s Selection Committee prioritizes activities that support knowledge sharing with a view to applying or enhancing learnings from Denmark or Danida-funded studies/research. Note that with regards to grant objective 1 listed above, the committee is particularly keen to support the following types of activities: Train the trainer initiatives, professional knowledge sharing forums or workshops and activities that clearly strengthen the linkages between alumni and other relevant national and/or international experts in sustainable development related matters.

Inspiration

For inspiration on how to set up knowledge sharing online events, find the completion reports and videos from the webinars organised by alumni from Mexico and Indonesia, respectively, here.

There are also examples of Danida alumni activities helping transform knowledge into action either within or across sectors and disciplines.. For example in Ghana,  where young geophysicists bridge the gap between theory and practice and also the country’s first honey and bee festival provided a practical knowledge sharing platform for producers, beekeepers and researchers.

In the toolbox, you will find tips, guidelines and more ideas to use as inspiration for arranging activities and mobilising members in your country.

The conditions for receiving a Danida Alumni Activity Grant

Before you finalize and submit your application

• Coordinate with the board/coordinating team of your local alumni network: If you have an idea for an activity or event find out if there is a local alumni network in your country (find information here). If such a network exists, start by contacting the board of this network in order to coordinate your activity with the wider alumni programme in your country. Note that in the application form you will be asked to name the board member(s) with whom you have discussed your proposed activity.
• Co-create with fellow alumni: Find one or two other Danida alumni and develop the proposal together. We prioritize activities with at least two organizing alumni members.
• Incorporate the wider alumni network: Make a clear and realistic plan for engaging as many Danida/Denmark alumni as possible from the local area in your activity/event. The grant selection committee will prioritize those activities that clearly demonstrate how they will involve alumni beyond the organising committee and thereby also contribute to strengthening the local alumni network.

If you are awarded a grant

• Inform the Danish embassy: You should inform the Danish embassy or consulate in your country in good time, possibly inviting a representative to attend the event.
• Invite all the alumni in your country: Activities/events may or may not be open to the general public and include external partners and stakeholders, but it is a precondition that all alumni in your region should be encouraged to participate and therefore also be informed and invited. In case of limited space for alumni participants, the principle of “first come, first served” should be applied.
• Publicize and communicate: It is the responsibility of the organizing team to ensure that the activity is widely publicized well ahead of the event to attract participants. Furthermore, an invitation must be posted on the Danida Alumni Facebook page and LinkedIn group page well in advance of the event. After the event, photos and videos, etc. must be shared on the same platforms. Note that in connection with all public communications concerning the event, it must be stated that the grant was provided by Danida Fellowship Centre and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. You find the official logo/banners here.
• Respect the grant timeline: Your activity should not be scheduled to start earlier than eight weeks after the application deadline to allow time for the grant applications to be processed and grants to be confirmed. The activity must be implemented within six months from the award of a possible grant. DFC must be informed if a delay is anticipated.
• Complete grant reporting: See below for the full details of DFC’s expectations for grant management and reporting.

Selection criteria and process

A Selection Committee at DFC will select the successful grant applications based on the following criteria: 

• How well the activity responds to the objectives of this call, listed at the top of this document.
• The extent to which there is a link between the proposed activity and the applicant(s)’s learnings from Denmark/their Danida-funded studies
• Value for money, including the extent to which there are plans for reaching out to a broad number of participants
• Co-funding from other financial contributors (including alumni)

As part of the selection process, DFC reserves the right to consider a diverse selection of activities, and wide-ranging subject matter aimed at varied target groups in as many different countries/regions as possible.

Eligible costs & budget requirements

The amount applied for in DKK must be indicated in the application form and the costs must be broken down and quoted in the relevant budget lines. The grant must only be used to cover eligible costs included in the budget submitted with the application.

The budget may include

• Hire of venue(s) or professional online platform  
• Refreshments (snacks and drinks)
• Supplies for the event (such as stationery, printing of training manuals or similar)
• Small payment to external (non-alumni) keynote speaker, lecturer, expert or similar
• Communications costs (such as graphic design, flyers, video, photography or similar)
• Logistical expenses (delivery costs for supplies, rental of additional equipment)
• Small fee for alumni management (maximum 500 DKK per person, and no more than 1500 DKK in total)

Important: Transport and accommodation costs. 10 % of the budget may be used for local transport. However, this does not include domestic flight tickets.

Co-funding of the activity by other sources is strongly encouraged.

If a grant is awarded, the main applicant must submit a disbursement request to DFC. The form will be provided by DFC.

Grant management, accounting and reporting

The applicant will be responsible for managing the grant and must ensure the following:

• The approved activity is carried out within the agreed timeframe
• The outputs are achieved
• The grant is used exclusively for the approved activity and expenses
• The present grant guidelines are followed
• The deadlines and requirements for reporting and submitting accounts are met

Important: DFC must be informed as soon as possible, should any unforeseen changes impact your activity and/or expenses, as these must be approved by DFC ahead of time.

Within one month of completing the activity, the following documentation has to be submitted electronically to DFC:

• Completion report/video (explaining how the activity has led to the anticipated outputs)
• Financial accounts, including scanned copies of vouchers/receipts specifying the use of funds, (unspent funds will have to be returned) 
• Final programme
• List of participants
• High quality photos and (if relevant) videos from the event (for DFC communications purposes)  

If the reporting and accounts are not submitted to DFC on time, it will be considered a violation of the grant conditions and the applicant may be requested to return the funds provided under the grant.

Please complete and submit the online application form. You will need to create a user profile the first time you log on to the application system. For more information on how to fill out the application form, kindly watch the short video guide.

If you have any questions, please contact the DAN team on alumni@dfcentre.dk.