2018 ISIF Asia Grants and Awards marks 10th anniversary of the grants program

ISIF Asia opens its 2018 call for grants and awards in the tenth year of its operation in the Asia Pacific. In total, funding of USD 210,000 will be shared among winning grants and awards for innovative uses of Internet technologies that support social and economic development in the Asia Pacific.

Applications are open now until 15 May 2018.

Grants

Grants are provided to projects that support research on Internet operations, infrastructure, technologies and protocols within the Asia Pacific region. USD 194,000 will be available for funding across the following four grant categories.

Grant Funding Apply
Cybersecurity Grants:

For projects working on practical solutions supporting Internet resiliency and network security. More information.

2x USD 30,000 to scale up existing projects

1x USD 13,000 for a new project

Apply now
I4D for Community Networks Grants:

For projects developing affordable, locally owned and managed communication infrastructure, deploying creative low-cost solutions that use wireless technologies, GSM and/or fibre connections. More information.

1x USD 30,000 to scale up existing projects

1x USD 23,000 for a new project

Apply now
I4D for Gender Empowerment and Innovation Grants:

For projects working to achieve gender equality in the Internet industry. More information.

2x USD 30,000 to scale up existing projects

1x USD 23,000 for a new project

Apply now
Internet Operations Research Grant:

For projects supporting the development of an independent Internet research community whose work can improve the availability, reliability and security of the Internet in the Asia Pacific, and widen its coverage, applications and benefit to the community. More information.

2x USD 30,000 to scale up existing projects

1x USD 15,000 for a new project

Apply now

Awards

ISIF Asia awards recognize the positive contributions of project winners with a cash prize of USD 3,500 and a travel grant to attend the 2018 Internet Governance Forum (USD 16,000 in total), where the awards ceremony will take place.

Categories

  • I4D Award for Community Networks
  • I4D Award for Gender Empowerment and Innovation

More information

Visit the website for more information about key dates and how to apply.

Before you submit your Award nomination, please read the nomination requirements.

Before you submit your grant proposal, please read the ISIF Asia Frequently Asked Questions, Guidelines for Grant Applications, and Selection Criteria.

Khushi Baby: babies health data collection for improved decision making

The ISIF Asia 2016 Technical Innovation Scale-up Grant supported Khushi Baby, which offers a revolutionary patient-centric platform in India, designed to streamline comprehensive data collection and improve decision-making on the front lines of care.

The data collection methods in Indian rural areas are outdated, cumbersome, and lack patient specificity. Without reliable health records, clinical decision making on the part of community health workers is erroneous and inefficient at the point of care where connectivity is rarely available. Health officials are missing real-time, actionable maternal and child health data, preventing community-level monitoring of which babies are missing their vaccines and which mothers are at risk of birth complications.

Child wearing Khushi Baby health tracking necklace

In order to bridge the gap of maternal and child health, the project team invented a necklace, in which health workers can update patient history by tapping it to their mobile app. They have also designed a dashboard that provides health officials with specific, actionable, and timely analytics. More importantly, the system automatically calls mothers in the local language, reminding them to bring their children to the next vaccination camp and educating them on the importance of immunizations.

Khushi Baby finished its first deployment and randomised controlled trial in over 70 villages. They are now set to expand further in the Udaipur district to over 300 villages serviced by government ANMs in 2018. On 17th January 2018, Khushi Baby team were named as GenH Challenge Winners and received a USD 250,000 to support the continuation of the project. They hope to increase their footprint throughout Rajasthan by building a model consistent with National Health Mission standards for ANMs throughout India. Also, they look forward to translating the insights and engaging with collaborators in Africa and the Middle East where a reporting and engagement gap may be similarly failing maternal and child health care services.

The work done by Khushi Baby contributed to improve general health outcomes in rural Udaipur, especially beneficial to maternal and child health tracking. Read their published technical report to know how did they make it https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_Grants_Final_Report_KhushiBaby_vFinal.pdf

Let’s Read! app: language preservation in Thailand

Library view from web application
Library view of the Android reader app

Due to the absence of mother tongue reading resources, ethnic minority children in Thailand normally are learning to read in languages which have no connection to their home and community. This situation has been decreasing children’s interests and motivation of learning in rural Thailand, especially in the S’gaw Karen community, northern and western Thailand, with an estimated population of around 200,000.

Supported by ISIF Asia 2016 Grant, The Asia Foundation created a scalable model of technology and local community interventions that can be adapted to the local context of any number of other minority language groups throughout the region. Their web app, available at letsreadasia.org, and the Android reader app both went live to the public at the beginning of 2017, which allows individuals to both read the content and participate in the translation of stories. These tools have successfully increased the comfort of S’gaw Karen-speaking community with reading in their native language.

The project team has been working closely with local partners during the whole process, in order to fit the real needs of minority language communities. These experience enables The Asia Foundation to expand the project into other minority language context in the Asia-Pacific.

Read their technical report to learn more about their project https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_ScaleupGrants_TechReport_TheAsiaFoundation.pdf

10 projects to be supported for ISIF Asia’s 10th anniversary! Apply by 30 April

ISIF Asia is celebrating its 10th Anniversary during 2018, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than keep doing what we do best: support innovative approaches that show the power of the Internet for good. USD 210,000 available in funding to support 10 projects across the Asia Pacific! The application will be open from 25 February until 15 May.

Internet for Development Awards

I4D Award for Community Networks

More information |  APPLY

The Internet for Development Award for Community Networks will be awarded to projects/organizations working to achieve affordable, locally owned and managed communication infrastructure, deploying creative low-cost solutions that use wireless technologies, GSM and/or fibre connections.

I4D Award for Gender Empowerment & Innovation

The Internet for Development Award for Gender Empowerment & Innovation will be awarded to projects/organizations working to achieve gender equality and foster women’s leadership in the Internet industry.

More information |  APPLY

Internet Development Grants

USD 194,000 in funding will be available across the following four categories:

Cybersecurity Grants

For projects/organizations working on practical solutions supporting Internet resiliency and network security. Two grants will be allocated: one of USD 30,000 to scale-up an existing project and one small grant of USD 13,000 for a new project.

More information |  APPLY

Community Networks Grants

For projects/organizations developing affordable, locally owned and managed communication infrastructure, deploying creative low-cost solutions that use wireless technologies, GSM and/or fibre connections. Two grants will be allocated: one of USD 30,000 to scale-up an existing project and one small grant of USD 23,000 for a new project.

More Information |  APPLY

Gender Empowerment & Innovation Grants

For projects/organizations working to achieve gender equality on the Internet industry. Two grants will be allocated: one of USD 30,000 to scale-up an existing project and one small grant of USD 23,000 for a new project.

More Information |  APPLY

Internet Operations Research Grants

For projects/organizations supporting the development of an independent Internet research community whose work can improve the availability, reliability, and security of the Internet in the Asia Pacific region, and widen its coverage, applications and benefit to the community. Two grants will be allocated: one of USD 30,000 to scale-up an existing project and one small grant of USD 15,000 for a new project.

More Information APPLY

Join us on 25 February at APRICOT 2018 / APNIC 45 in Kathmandu, Nepal to know more about the program’s work and explore about its future programing. See session details at the conference program. 

UAV-Aided Resilient Communications for Post Disaster Applications

The ISIF Asia Technical Innovation grant for 2016, assisted Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC) in  The Philippines to develop a resilient communication system, using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to aggregate data from ground zero and relay it to a central command center where it can be further processed or acted upon by decision makers.

Ateneo

Data delivered by this system can contain situation reports, weather information, transport requests, and other vital information such as survivor profiles, medical history, and images of victims’ faces to support identification and reunification efforts from the humanitarian and relief organizations providing support after the disaster.

Through this architecture, the project team encouraged the development and further adoption of a new approach in utilizing UAV platforms for assisted search, rescue and reporting efforts.

The team has demonstrated during a flood drill at the town of Isabela during July last year that a system comprised of a combination of mobile phones, RF modules, and push-to-talk radio can significantly improve and augment communications capabilities. In contrast, traditional cellular network facilities would have failed in these disaster situations.

The project team’s activity has led them to believe that continued work in this field is sustainable, because they have recently met new partners that are interested in continued effort in this area.

The Final Technical Report is available for download https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_Grants_TechReport_AteneodeManilaUniversity_vFinal.pdf

Legalese – A Web Application Transact Seed-stage Financing Without Expensive Legal Fees

Entrepreneurs always require legal advice when they are trying to secure support from investors, but most-time (specially when they are starting a business) they do not have the expertise to assess legal documents such as fundraising paperwork.

Entrepreneurs in South and Southeast Asia who have found potential investors also struggle, as the online templates are primarily in English and most web-based solutions available today are mostly only available for US jurisdiction.

Legalese, supported by ISIF Asia 2016 Technical Innovation grant, created an application, which enables Asian entrepreneurs and investors to complete financing transactions without hiring lawyers for paperwork. This app is able to access a library of contract templates, generate a suitable set of agreements, and help to understand the implications of each proposed action. In a long term, the software development will begin to influence the delivery of law. Instead of relying on an experienced lawyer for advice, an end-user may consult the legal equivalent of StackExchange to hear opinions from a community of peers.

Legalese team
Legalese team

By building a fully-automated interface with smart defaults, embedded user education, and automated legal logic, Legalese aims to eventually be able to help these entrepreneurs at scale.

To discover more detailed project information, their final technical report is available to download at https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_Grants_TechReport_Legalese_vFinal.pdf

Building Realistic Simulator to Enhance Internet Satellite Links in the Pacific Islands

Remote locations such as many Pacific Islands face a significant challenge to access reliable and fast Internet connectivity. Shared narrowband Internet satellite links are a staple in many islands of the South Pacific. They often underperform due to the difficulties that the dominant Internet transport protocol TCP faces in estimating the available capacity across the link.

ISIF Asia 2016 Grant recipient, The University of Auckland, has built a simulator capable of replicating the demand profile and other conditions encountered on such links in order to be able to study potential solutions to the problem, such as network coding or performance enhancing proxies.

UoA satellite simulator
UoA satellite simulator

Thanks to the funds from the ISIF Asia grant, the project team developed tools to automate the experimentation process, including scripts that configure the link emulator, the “island clients” and the “world servers” (a combined total of over 100 machines), any encoders, decoders, and performance enhancing proxies.

Read their technical report to have more details of this research project at https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_Grants_TechReport_UoA_SimulationSatPAC.pdf

Equal Access to the Information Society in Myanmar

ISIF Asia 2016 Grant recipient, Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation (MBAPF) implemented a project to provide equal access to the information society in Myanmar.

Project team
Project team

The project team identified that the general population at Myanmar will benefit from increased access to digital, information literacy, and critical thinking skills. Therefore, efforts were undertaken by MBAPF to equip Myanmar’s citizenry, especially women, with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and other abilities to shape a democratic, trustworthy, and vibrant local information society.

Their work with the ISIF Asia grant during 2017, builds on the experience gained with their work with IREX on the Tech Age Girls program, which covered other economies besides Myanmar.

Since then, MBAFP has been developing the skills of young female leaders by providing them with specialized information technology training, leadership and job skills, and opportunities to engage in critical public discussion.

During the course of the ISIF Asia funded project, MBAFP worked with 20 libraries established across the country and 588 participants attended training sessions, running two programs: the Mobile Information Literacy (MIL) and Tech Aged Girls (TAG).

MIL shared the information literacy with trainees to learn how to find and evaluate the quality and credibility of online information, understand how to create and share online information effectively, and participate safely and securely.

TAG worked with a selected group of Myanmar young women without other access to technology training in IT and leadership skills, improved their job skills and helped them become role models for youth in their communities.

The technical report elaborates all the project implementation and outcomes https://application.isif.asia/theme/default/files/ISIFAsia_2016_SmallGrants_TechReport_MBAPF-TAG-MIL_Myanmar_vFinal.pdf

ISIF Asia really appreciates to their wonderful work, a remarkable example of what can be achieved where community impact is at the heart of what you do.