Is your organisation passionate about and adept at facilitating dynamic learning experiences with diverse groups of people? Do you have deep and extensive experience working with formal and informal groups, including unusual allies such as human right defenders, artivists and techies across Laos? Do you practice participatory, creative, and transformative approaches in linking together communities online and offline? Do you regularly identify opportunities for collaboration and research? Are you inclusive in your approaches/keen on ensuring no one is left behind?

If your organisation said YES to at least three of the questions above, then you are the organisation we are looking for!

You may also apply as a consortium to enhance your competitive competencies. 

What are we looking for? 

Linking and learning is at the heart of Voice. We aim to boost the collaboration, connectedness, sharing, listening, learning, creativity, innovation, and application of new knowledge amongst our grantees as well as with the wider community. We hope that this process produces evidence and innovative solutions to catalyse transformative changes for the most marginalised and discriminated groups.

The Voice Linking & Learning community has flourished over the last four years. Various connections have developed within and across countries, learning exchanges have transpired, and the journey of creating a more inclusive tapestry of intersecting initiatives continue.

We are seeking a dynamic learning organisation to continue facilitating the linking and learning between Voice grantees and other stakeholders, within and beyond the granted projects.  

We are accepting proposals spanning 24 to 33 months with and with a maximum budget of EUR 250,000. Of the total budget, EUR 50,000 needs to be set aside for joint activities at the grantee level, to follow up on the learning and new ideas generated during the linking and learning activities and exchanges.  

Organisations managed by one of the rightsholder groups listed below are strongly encouraged to apply. We are also open to applications from consortia of organisations.

These are the rightsholders Voice works with globally, and we are keen on having a Linking and Learning facilitator in Laos working with all five groups;

• People with disabilities; 
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people;
• Women facing exploitation, abuse, and/or violence;
• Vulnerable youth and elderly;
• Ethnic minorities;

The successful organisation will support Voice in the continuation of the implementation of its linking and learning component and building on the work already in place, in close collaboration with the Voice team in Laos. The organisation will further support Voice grantees in developing their own linking and learning trajectory. They will promote the participation of members from the Voice rightsholder groups, and facilitate building communities of practice around issues and challenges that concern them. They will coordinate an online platform and facilitate offline meetings that support inclusive collaboration, including community members in geographically remote areas. They will organise events and meetings, develop thought-provoking pieces, and produce creative works in order to amplify the grantees’ voices at the local, national, and regional level.

In order to better understand the kinds of grantees Voice has, we encourage you to take a look at the grantees in Laos and beyond. It also highly recommended to read the Laos context analysis update to see what issues Voice Laos will prioritise over the next three years.

Who can apply?

Innovate and Learn Grants are open to: 

• Locally registered non-profit organisations based in Laos;
• Networks, consortium, and coalitions with a locally registered non-profit organisation as the lead applicant
• Locally registered Lao social enterprises as long as it is clear that any profit is reinvested into the project

Voice has a strong preference for applicants who are either rightsholder-led or rightsholder-inclusive. An organisation (formal/informal) is rightsholder-led when it is governed and managed by members of the rightsholder-group(s). If the rightsholders do not play roles in the governance and management of the organization, the organisation needs to rightsholder-inclusive and describe how they have fully included rightsholder in the conceptualisation, implementation, monitoring, and/or evaluation of previous projects. The principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us” guides their work.

International organisations cannot be a lead applicant but can team up as a co-applicant in the case of consortium applications.

What we won’t fund: 

•  Organisations with an annual turnover of over €2 million.   
• Funding of commercial services, investment or other commercial activities. 
• Projects led by current strategic partners of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation are not eligible for this call. In particular, those organisations funded under the “Dialogue and Dissent 2016-2020” and/or “Power of Voices 2021-2024” Policy Frameworks.

This Call for Proposals is closed and no longer accepting applications. Come back here at a later stage to learn about the grantees that have been selected in this Call for Proposals.

The current open Calls for Proposals can be found here.