After an overwhelming response to the first call for applications for ISIF funding, 11 projects have been shortlisted from the 148 applications received.
The Grants Evaluation Committee met in Brisbane, Australia on 6-7 October 2008 to evaluate the proposals based on a set of predefined criteria.
The submissions were received from a wide range of economies, and the GEC would like to thank those involved in the preparation of the proposals, particularly those from developing economies such as Bhutan, Mongolia, and Myanmar.
The projects shortlisted are:
- Development of emergency networks training and tools kit submitted
by the Internet Education and Research Laboratory (intERLab), Asian
Institute of Technology, Thailand.
- Capacity building of lady health workers in rural areas through the use of ICT and mobile based Tele-Healthcare, submitted by the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan.
- A low-cost digital forensic investigation infrastructure for a third world country, submitted by the University of Colombo School of Computing, Sri Lanka.
- Innovative broadband Internet access for rural areas of Vietnam using WiMAX technology via television broadcasting infrastructure, submitted by the Bac Ha International University, Vietnam.
- VoIP as a model applicable to developing countries, submitted by One Destination Center, Indonesia.
- Web-based transliteration and translation system between Urdu and Hindi Languages, submitted by Punjabi University, India.
- High speed backbone for the Nepal Research and Education Network, submitted by Nepal Research and Education Network, Nepal.
- Localised high-performance e-mail for telecentres and schools, submitted by the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
- Health emergency and disaster information system using mobile and virtual earth technology, submitted by SynapseHealth, The Philippines.
- Meshing Up Mahavilachchiya, submitted by the Horizon Lanka Foundation, Sri Lanka.
- AirJaldi Bandwidth Maximizer (BwM) - proving concepts, demonstrating potential and viability, submitted by AirJaldi Networks, India.
A group of representatives from all the shortlisted projects will be invited to a workshop in Hyderabad, India from 1 to 2 December 2008 for a further round of evaluations. Here, they will have the opportunity to develop collaborative networking strategies, incorporate feedback received by the GEC and finalize their proposals.
It is anticipated that the success of this round of funding will ensure a commitment to continue the ISIF grants program for 2009. A formal announcement for a new call for applications is likely during the second half of 2009.