Alumni Grant Program Guidelines

Note: The deadline for applications for the 2010 Alumni Grant Program has passed. Please check back again in spring 2010 for a new call for proposals.

This program offers grants to OSI Scholarship Programs alumni to further expand the knowledge gained during their fellowship and make a positive contribution to their home country. Alumni from the following programs are eligible for the grant program:

American University in Bulgaria (last entry year in 2005)
Cambridge and Oxford Hospitality Schemes
OSI Chevening Scholarships
CNOUS-OSI Program
DAAD-OSI Program
Environmental Law/Management Program (1996–1999)
Faculty Development Program
Georgian Program for Education Professionals
Global Supplementary Grant Program
Mongolian Professional Fellowship Program
Muskie/FSA Graduate Fellowship Program (in the fields administered by OSI, last entry year in 2004)
Palestinian Rule of Law Program
Social Work Fellowship Program
Soros Supplementary Grant Program
Supplementary Grant Program–Burma
Supplementary Grant Program–Former Yugoslavia
Undergraduate Exchange Program/Virtual University

Eligibility

Alumni must:

have successfully completed their scholarship program, as listed above, before January 1, 2010, including all associated internships, Home Country Projects, and fellowship visits;
be in compliance with the conditions of any OSI grant or fellowship;
currently reside in their home country or region (with the exceptions of SGP–Burma and SGP–Former Yugoslavia);
present a project related to or applicable in their home country or region.

Grant Proposals

All proposals must be related to the Open Society Institute's mission of supporting educational, social, political, and legal reform, and of encouraging alternative approaches to complex and controversial issues.

Collaborative projects between alumni, across borders, and with host universities are welcome. Scholarship Programs alumni must demonstrate a leading role in the project. Areas of project activities may include, but are not limited to:

initiatives that further social justice or community welfare;
activities that generate debate/dialogue on local social and/or political issues;
alumni networking and fostering the creation of constructive associations;
other projects judged by the selection committee to be in the spirit of the program goals.

Ineligible Activities

The program will not support:

academic or personal research projects;
individual travel grants for conferences, workshops, classes, etc.;
travel to or from countries not served by the Open Society Institute (such as western Europe or North America);
expenses taking place outside countries served by the Open Society Institute (such as western Europe or North America);
additional degrees, courses, or certificates for individual alumnus/a;
publishing journals, books, or a thesis (newsletters or websites are acceptable);
projects which replicate existing efforts within the country (i.e. local Soros foundation projects);
Educational Advising Centers, or resource centers, for study abroad;
purchasing of office equipment (such as computers, photocopiers, fax machines).

Financial Terms

Applicants may request up to $7,000 for individual projects; and up to $20,000 for collaborative projects (proposals by 2 or more alumni).

All proposals must include a line item explanation of the budget and clearly list contributions from other donors and/or explanations concerning acquisition of such funds or services (such as free space, volunteer office assistance, donated equipment)

Additional Information

The Alumni Grant Program is a merit-based competition open to all alumni who meet the eligibility requirements and follow the guidelines.

Applicants may submit only one proposal per competition.

The Open Society Institute will fund projects in 2010 only. Therefore, projects should begin no earlier than January 1, 2010.

Eligibility Queries & Detailed Guidelines

For questions about eligibility or for copies of the detailed guidelines, please contact Céline Keshishian, Program Manager, at ckeshishian@osf-eu.org.

Applications

All applications must be submitted via the Online Application System at www.soros.org/grants/oas.

Applications submitted via email, fax, or post will not be accepted.

Applicants are strongly advised to register with the Online Application System immediately so as to avoid technical problems on or before the application due date.

Deadline

The application deadline for the 2010 Alumni Grant Program was Friday, May 15, 2009.