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 rights defenders, artivists and techies across the Philippines? 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 in 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 three 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 which will continue to facilitate 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 and with a maximum budget of 250,000 EUR. Of the total budget, 50,000 EUR is to be set aside for joint activities at grantee level, to follow up on the learning and new ideas generated during the linking and learning activities and exchanges.

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

• People with disabilities; 
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people;
• Women facing exploitation, abuse, and/or violence;
• The elderly/senior citizens and young people; and
• Indigenous people and 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 the Philippines. The organisation will further the support to Voice grantees in developing their own linking and learning trajectory. They will promote the participation of members of 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 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 take a look at the grantees within the Philippines here. It also highly recommended to read the 2020 Philippines Context Analysis to see what issues Voice will priorities over the next three years.

Who can apply?

Innovate and Learn Grants are open to:

• Locally registered non-profit Filipino organisations;
• Networks, consortium, and coalitions with a locally registered non-profit Filipino organisations  as the lead applicant
• Locally registered Filipino social enterprises

 Voice has a strong preference for applicants who are rightsholder-led or work closely with the groups named above.  An organisation (formal/informal) is rightsholder-led when it is governed and managed by members of the rightsholder-group(s). The principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us” guides their work. If the rightsholders do not play roles in the governance and management of the organisation, the proposal needs to describe how the rightsholder groups are fully involved in the conceptualisation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the project.

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.   
• An application where the grant awarded from Voice is more than 50% of the total annual income of the applicant organisation. (The way to calculate this is to divide the requested amount by a number of years the project will be implemented. The result will then be divided by the annual income. If the result of this calculation is over 50% you can either reduce the requested amount or team up as part of a consortium where you can add up the annual incomes.)
• Funding for commercial services, investment or other commercial activities. 

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

The current open Calls for Proposals can be found here.