East East Program Partnership Across Borders

Southeast Asia: Beyond Borders

The Open Society Institute offers grant support through the Southeast Asia: Beyond Borders program to civil society institutions and non-governmental organizations in southeast Asia to promote long-term international partnership in building and strengthening conditions of open society across national borders. Initiatives must involve two or more countries.

The Southeast Asia: Beyond Borders program responds to needs from people in southeast Asia most intensively in contact with local conditions, and takes a long-term perspective in empowering people to work beyond borders toward common goals of open society.

Civil society institutions and non-governmental organizations may receive program support:

• to exchange experiences, best practices, lessons learned and models of development
• to collaborate in finding innovative solutions to trans-national challenges
• to build and/or strengthen local capacity, resources and expertise
• to analyze comparative trends in social, economic and political development
• to identify alternative approaches in overcoming stereotypes, prejudice, isolation, exclusion
• to strengthen coalitions/alliances in influencing public policies and public policy dialogue
• to catalyze expertise, innovation and advocacy to affect positive change

This program gives priority to initiatives which propose innovative approaches to challenges facing contemporary societies globally, including but not limited to

• empowerment, mobility and diversity of civil society
• disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society
• multicultural acceptance, diversity and interaction
• impact of economic and political change
• information divide/lack of access to information
• civic education, participation in and institutionalization of democratic processes

Communication is the essence of this program. We seek to support openness, dialogue and neutral space for diverse views. Initiatives supported by the program seek to discover and inspire new visions, energy and creativity to strengthen conditions of open society.

What is Open Society?

An open society is a society based on the recognition that nobody has a monopoly on the truth, that different people have different views and interests, and that there is a need for institutions to protect the rights of all people to allow them to live together in peace. Broadly speaking, an open society is characterized by a reliance on the rule of law, the existence of a democratically elected government, a diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions.

The Open Society Institute is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that develops and implements a range of programs in civil society, culture, education, media, public administration, public health, and human and women's rights, as well as social, legal and economic reform. The Open Society Institute is part of the Soros foundations network, an informal network of organizations established and supported by investor and philanthropist George Soros, and active in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Application Procedure

Phase I: Concept paper

The first stage of an application is a narrative concept paper (maximum 3 pages) which details a long-term vision and goals of trans-national work for which grant support is requested.

Concept papers will be evaluated by an independent advisory group overseen by the Southeast Asia Initiative/Burma Project and the East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders.

Concept papers are to be submitted in electronic format to Mary Frances Lindstrom, Program Director, East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders mflindstrom@osi-eu.org and Gabrielle Galanek, Program Coordinator, Southeast Asia Initiative/East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders, ggalanek@sorosny.org.

Concept papers are accepted on an on-going basis.

Phase II: Proposal application

The concept paper will be the basis on which a full application may be requested, i.e., upon positive evaluation of a concept paper, the program management will request a full application according to guidelines which will be sent when a full application is requested. The application will be the basis on which grant support will be evaluated.

Please do not hesitate to contact either Mary Frances Lindstrom or Gabrielle Galanek if you have questions about submitting a concept paper to the program, Southeast Asia: Beyond Borders.

Application Guidelines

Initiatives may include, but are not limited to, seminars, workshops, roundtables and working group/site visits.

Financial Support

This program should not be the only source of financial support for an initiative. Sources of financial support and/or in-kind contributions are to be stated in the application as noted.

Unused program money must be returned to the Open Society Institute.

This program does not support

• world congresses and/or annual conferences
• hard science or scientific conferences
• individual research projects
• book translation or publishing
• infrastructure maintenance and/or development
• business, commercial and/or for-profit activities

Please structure your application according to the following outline.

Applications should not exceed 20 typewritten pages.

In-country consultations with applicants may be requested.

Application

Proposal Title

Applicant(s)

• Name, address and contact details of applicant(s) and all partners
• Mission statement of applicant(s) and partner(s)
• Summary of previous activities of applicant(s) and partner(s) relevant to this proposal
• Responsibilities of applicant(s) and partner(s) in implementing this initiative

When?

Please describe each phase of this initiative. Please indicate for which phase(s) support is requested.

Where?

If this initiative is to take place in more than one location, please describe. If there isn't a specific geographical location of this initiative, please describe.

(i) Summary of this initiative

Please provide a one-page summary of this initiative.

(ii) Content of this initiative

Please answer each question in detail.

• What is the context/background of this initiative?
• What are the objectives of this initiative?
• What specifically do you want to accomplish in this initiative?
• What change(s) will be brought about by this initiative?
• What are the long-term goals of your work?
• What and how will this initiative contribute to your long-term work?
• Who is the target audience of this initiative?
• Who are the beneficiaries of this initiative?
• What is the follow up of this initiative?
• How will you know if you've met the objectives of this initiative?

What is/are the working language(s) of this initiative? Will translation be provided?

Budget

Please provide a line-item budget of this initiative in US dollars, an explanation of each line item and how these expenses are calculated.

Please provide complete information about other sources of financial support -- confirmed and/or for which you've applied - as well as in-kind contributions, including the applicant's contribution, to this initiative.

Signature

Date