osisa Capacity Building Programme Guidelines
Any organization or individual wanting to get funds or establish partnership with OSISA, should send an initial letter of inquiry that shows how its own initiative relates to the mission, strategies and guidelines of OSISA. This letter should present the executive summary of the proposal and should include the project's goals and objectives, the activities of the project, the rationale and methodology, expected outputs, and a budget summarizing resources needed for the whole project and what is being requested from OSISA.
Capacity Building Programme Guidelines on:
www.osisa.org
1. Vision
A region where individuals, groups, organizations and social movements have the skills, critical knowledge and resources to enable them develop positive values and strong institutions necessary for living in and sustaining open societies.
2. Mission
To contribute to the social capital necessary for the provision of a visionary leadership, through internships, fellowships, training and organizational development assistance.
3. Purpose of the programme
The purpose of the programme is to develop critical thinking skills, visionary leadership and strong institutions to face the many challenges of the 21st Century. The programme will seek to bridge the often-artificial divide between academia and research on one hand and practitioners on the other. It will seek to identify creative, visionary social innovators and leaders and give them support for their own growth as well as for the growth of their organizations.
4. Goal
To contribute to the development and retention of a critical mass of social innovators, visionary leaders and strong civil society organizations.
5. Guiding principles
OSISA (www.osisa.org) will endeavour to support projects:
· That are innovative and offer new, different or exciting ways of dealing with issues · Programmes that contribute to bridging the gap between academia/research and practitioners as a means of capacity building · That contribute to developing people's critical thinking · That provide organizational development support to projects that are innovative and have potential to offer a "ground breaking" way of dealing with an issue · That provide organizational development support to civil society organizations contributing to long-term sustainability.
· Formal skills training specific for the development and sustenance of civil society mobilization and advocacy work.
6. Key areas of support
OSISA will support projects that are operating at various levels. High priority will be placed on interventions that:
· Recognize and reward innovation · Mobilize resources beyond the traditional narrow approach of fund-raising from donors · Recognize and reward not just academic excellence but academic input into thinking and practice · Organizational development that has a clear, well-thought and proven methodology.
· Programmes that make creative use of Diaspora Africans.
In addition, OSISA will support programmes that satisfy the following criteria:
o Community participation throughout the project cycle o The meaningful participation of women in the entire project cycle and the production of gender disaggregated data (not just numbers, but quality participation and representation o The participation of young people in decision making throughout the entire project cycle according to their evolving capacities.
o The implementing organization has to fully subscribe to open society ideals not just for its beneficiaries, but also within its own organizational ranks such as gender equity and employee rights.
o Innovative programmes that maximize resources.
o Approaches that provide interesting learning lessons and are sustainable.
7. What OSISA will not fund
o Generalized capacity-building with no proven impact will not be supported
o Academic or research projects that have no clear or discernible linkages with practice
o Individual scholarship programmes
8. Method of applying to OSISA
Any organization or individual wanting to get funds or establish partnership with OSISA, should send an initial letter of inquiry that shows how its own initiative relates to the mission, strategies and guidelines of OSISA. This letter should present the executive summary of the proposal and should include the project's goals and objectives, the activities of the project, the rationale and methodology, expected outputs, and a budget summarizing resources needed for the whole project and what is being requested from OSISA. The inquiry letter should not be any longer than two pages. OSISA programme staff will review the initial inquiry and engage in further discussions with the applicant should the proposal show some promise. The applicant will then be asked to submit a full proposal.
Full proposals should contain:
• An explanation of the initiative, including what the problem or need is, and the environment in which it will be implemented;
• The intended impact;
• A description of the activities that will be undertaken;
• How the programme will be implemented and the relationship to stakeholders, government, and/or other funders or implementers;
• Project costs and financing sources;
• A timeframe for the project and measures taken to ensure sustainability; and
• Issues and risks in the project and how these will be addressed.
• An indication of the capacity of the organization to implement the project.
The following information must accompany the full proposal:
• A copy of the organization's constitution or governing rules;
• Description of organization's goals and objectives;
• List of organization's board members, executives, essential programme staff and membership;
• Most recent annual activities and financial report; • Most recent evaluation, if relevant;
• A detailed explanation of how the organization is addressing sustainability issues as well as a list of current sources of funding;
• Other donors who have been approached to the fund project submitted to OSISA. Provide name of relevant individual at donor agency and their contact information.
Guidelines for proposal writing are available on request.
Application documents should be forwarded to OSISA's office in Johannesburg. Applications are reviewed on an-ongoing basis with continuous interaction between OSISA and the applicant. Although preliminary assessment and interaction regarding a proposal is the responsibility of the Programme Officer, the overall decision lies with the OSISA board. For further information on OSISA's Capacity Building Programme contact:
The Executive Director Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa P O Box 678, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa.
Telephone: + 27 (11) 403 3414/5/6 Fax: +27 (11) 403 2708 Generic e-mail: [email protected]
OSISA Tel 27 11 403 3414 Fax 27 11 403 2708 cell 27 84 606 6066