Fingo Powerbank releases a new call for experimentations by member organizations and their local partners in East Africa. The call is open only to Fingo’s member organizations and will close in late February. Check out the preliminary information below and join our launch event 13th of January to learn more.
The aim of the experiments is to test new technology solutions to boost the efforts of development NGOs. The experiments can focus on, for example, digital education, health services, mobile data gathering or artificial intelligence. All the experiments will take place in East Africa and are going to be conducted during 2021.
The budget per experiment can range from 3 000 to 10 000 euros while the total budget for the experimentations is 80 000 euros. In most cases, the experimentation can be an additional component to an existing project. NGOs are also encouraged to collaborate with companies in finding and developing new solutions.
“We have had great results and learnings with experiments this year. Our member organizations have, for instance, tested remote learning in refugee areas, built the ICT capacity of teachers and experimented with digital data gathering. We want to carry out more experiments next year and encourage all our member organizations to apply”, says Fingo Powerbank’s ICT4D Expert Peter Njuguna.
Through the open call, Fingo Powerbank will outsource several experiments for member organizations to conduct. The expected results from the use of these funds are sharable learnings and experiences that will also benefit other organizations and communities. You can see presentations and recordings from the first round of experimentations on Fingo Powerbank’s website.
Furthermore, the Principles for Digital Development need to be recognized in the experiments. Fingo Powerbank also emphasizes the integration of gender equality into the concept. However, the thematic areas are not restricted and therefore the experiments can include the themes present in the applying organization´s current work.
“New solutions can be of value to development organizations but require practical testing. Regardless of thriving, failing or something in between, experimentations are be considered successful if new understanding, learnings and insights are produced and shared. We aim to strengthen a culture of experimentation, learning and sharing within the NGO community”, says Fingo Powerbank’s Innovation and Development expert Mika Välitalo.
Fingo Powerbank will organize a launch and Q&A session on Wednesday the 13th of January to answer questions and to provide more information about the process. Sign up to the event.
Please find relevant documents and more information below. This is preliminary information and the final version of the relevant documents will be confirmed in the launch event.
Related documents:
Key dates
- 13th of January: Launch & QA Session
- Late January: Principles for Digital Development Training
- 27th January: Submit the draft offer
- 5th February: Feedback from Fingo
- 20th February: Submit final offer
- 26th February: Receive decision
- By 12th March: Forming and signing contracts
- September-November: Sharing lessons learned in a webinar
- December: Submitting the final report