Thanks to renewed financial support, ISIF Asia was able to allocate around AUD 300,000 in grants to 10 project teams in 9 Asia Pacific economies announced in 2013. These projects worked on innovative approaches to development. The renewed financial support, from IDRC, Sida, ISOC, Dot Asia, and APNIC, has enabled ISIF Asia to reactivate its grant funding capabilities. APNIC Director of Learning and Development Dr Philip Smith thanks the commitment of funding organizations in their support of ISIF Asia's goal to improve ICT growth in the region, particularly in developing economies. "The ISIF Asia program had limited resources during 2011 and 2012, and could only give awards to innovators in the region. It is really exciting to be able to provide more substantial support again."

Phet Sayo, IDRC Program Officer, highlighted the impact of small grants funding: "The small grants mechanism allows us to achieve many things. More than a decade of experience in seed funding for ICT for development initiatives has proved it is possible to spur on local innovations with inspiration from broader global ICT trends, and the impacts on society. At the IDRC, we are interested in building research fields, including ICT for development, and the emerging field of open development. Seed funding enables us to learn about the trends, ideas, and actors in the region."

ISIF Asia is a mechanism to give back to the local Internet community by investing in ICT research and development; to support research that can assist Internet growth in the Asia Pacific region; and to facilitate networking and information building throughout the Internet community. "Sida believes that new technology can serve as a tool to create innovative, effective solutions that can assist people living in poverty to improve their daily lives. The ISIF Asia grant winners of 2013 are clear examples of how this can be achieved," said Sida ICT4D Program Officer Ola Pettersson.

The 2013 ISIF Asia Grant recipients submitted project proposals aligned with the funding categories and eligibility criteria, offering innovative approaches to Internet development. Teams implemented their projects within a 8 to18-months period, and final technical reports are now available for download under a Creative Commons License.

    1. Binus International University (Indonesia)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Cloud-based application measuring and controlling electricity used for Indonesian houses
    2. iSolutions (Micronesia)
      COMPLETED: Summary | Final technical report: Pacific Islands schools, connectivity, education, and solar (PISCES)
    3. UM Healthcare Trust (Pakistan)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Real-time hepatitis reporting and surveillance system in low-resource settings using ICT and mobile phones
    4. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Dhaka (Bangladesh)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Driver distraction management using sensor data cloud | Technical manual | User manual
    5. Access Health International (Philippines)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Integrated maternal and child healthcare delivery and training for community health teams
    6. Yagiten Pvt. Ltd. (Nepal)
      COMPLETED: Summary | Final technical report: Developing mobile-based application to support pregnant women
    7. First Myanmar Korea Group Co. Ltd. (Myanmar)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure in Myanmar: Localization and Training of a Practical Guide | Book
    8. Point of View in partnership with Association for Progressive Communications (India)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Internet rights are women’s rights
    9. Foundation for Media Alternatives (Philippines)
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Promoting women’s rights and safety online: addressing electronic violence against women (eVAW)
    10. Transparency International Malaysia (Malaysia) 
      COMPLETED. Summary | Final technical report: Sinar Project

    Final technical reports of all ISIF Asia supported projects are available on the reports section of this website.