The Open Society Institute’s Arts and Culture Network Program (ACNP) announces the launch of a new Grant Applicant Mentoring Program to increase the number of high-quality, fundable projects in its region of activity. The program will offer two forms of assistance:

• For organizations or individual applicants seeking funding from ACNP grants programs: Short-term consultation provided free of charge by local NGOs or individuals under contract to ACNP for the purpose of developing maximally effective and well-designed project proposals.
• For ACNP grant recipients: Short-term or ongoing consultancy assistance at any time during the grant period whose focus can vary from providing technical assistance with project management and financial reporting to addressing issues of project content and design, or unanticipated contingencies.

Eligibility

The Arts and Culture Program seeks proposals from qualified organizations or individuals to provide the services described above in the following nations: Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey (in other nations within ACNP’s region of activity, the Mentoring Program will be administered by individuals or NGOs already under contract to ACNP).

ACNP seeks organizations or individuals with the following qualifications:

• Experience in grant-writing/grant administration in the realm of arts management or cultural policy.
• Experience in the practical and/or policy side of organizing public arts and culture activities.
• Excellent analytic and communication skills: ability to write clearly in English or Russian.
• Broad knowledge of local cultural operators, networks, and infrastructures, both in principal cities
  and countrywide.
• Ability to empathize with a diverse applicant pool and adapt mentoring strategies to varying needs of
  applicants.
• Strong commitment to the mission of the Arts and Culture Network Program.

It is anticipated that the Mentoring Program will also include an internship component, in which master's and doctoral students of ENCATC (European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centers) and AAAE (Association of Art Administration Educators) will receive a brief training course and then be placed in locations where their consulting services would be most useful during the weeks when applicants are preparing proposals. These placements will be coordinated with the selected mentor organizations, and will be funded by the Open Society Institute.

To Apply

Former grantees of the Arts and Culture Network Program are welcome to apply (organizations or individuals contracted to participate in the Mentoring Program may continue to submit funding proposals to ACNP or other OSI programs for unrelated projects, however such applications will be subject to OSI review for potential conflict of interest).

Candidates must be willing and available to participate in a brief training course in the first half of March 2008, and to provide mentoring service as needed throughout the contract period (12-24 months).

Applications should be submitted in English.

Note: All applications must be submitted via the Online Application System at www.soros.org/grants/oas. Please note that NO application submitted via email, fax or mail will be accepted.

Compensation

A proposed budget need not be submitted at this time. Compensation will be negotiated with successful applicants on a case-by-case basis.

Deadline

The application deadline is January 18, 2008 (Friday).

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Open Society Institute’s Arts and Culture Sub-Board. The results of the competition will be announced by February 29, 2008 (Friday). All applicants will be notified individually.

Contact Information

For clarification or further information, please contact one of the following representatives of the OSI Arts and Culture Network Program:

Rita Bakradze, Program Coordinator
Tel.: 00 3613273100, extension 2182
rbakradze@osi.hu

Andrea Csanadi, Senior Program Manager
Tel.: 00 3613273100, extension 2401
acsanadi@osi.hu