The Kinship Conservation Institute (KCI) Fellowships

Project DURAS Competitive Grants Scheme

Project DURAS was conceived in order to support a bottom-up structure of research systems, offering space for stakeholders, particularly the non-traditional ones, i.e. non-government organization, farmers organization and agro-enterprises, to be involved in various stages of formulating and monitoring research programmes.

One of the main components of the project is the Competitive Grants Scheme (CGS) whose objectives are: (a) to encourage and promote innovation as well as to scale up innovative practices in Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) developed in the south; and (b) to enhance scientific capacity southern partners.

Application for the Competitive Grants is open to all stakeholders involved in agricultural research, provided that the Lead Proponent (LP) is from a university, national research centre or a civil society organization (CSO) from a ZSP (Priority Solidarity Zone) covered by the project.

Prize: Award sizes vary from a minimum of €20,000 to a maximum of €150,000 over a three-year period.

Next Award Scheme: 2006

Link to further information on Project Duras

The World Food Prize

The World Food Prize is awarded to those who have who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

The Prize recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply - food and agriculture science and technology, manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sciences.

The World Food Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people.  By honouring those who have worked successfully toward this goal, The Prize calls attention to what has been done to improve the world food supply and to what can be accomplished in the future.

Prize: US $250,000

Next Award Scheme: 2006

Link to further information on The World Food Prize

Business/Enterprise

The Worldaware Business Awards

The aim of the Worldaware Business Awards is to recognise the vital role which commercial activity plays in supporting economic and social progress in developing countries. The categories for the 2005 Awards were:

A: The Cambridge University Land Society Award for Sustainable Development for an organisation which actively fosters best practice demonstrating sustainable development in land management issues.

B: The UK Trade & Investment Award for Small Businesses in Africa for a company with not more than 150 employees for commercial activity that has contributed to viable economic development in an African community.

C: The Worldaware Award for development through Skills & training for an organisation for its contribution to sustainable development through the effective transfer of skills and knowledge.

D: The DTI Award for Capacity Building in the Developing World for co-operatives and producer groups in enabling small-scale commodity producers to benefit from international trade.

E: The Worldaware Award (open category) for any organisation/company for its work in the fields of innovation, sustainable practice, not-for-profit work, Corporate Social Responsibility and best practice

Prize: The categories (and prizes) for the 2006 awards are yet to be announced

Anticipated deadline for first submissions: September 2005

Link to further information on the Worldaware Awards

WRI New Ventures Investor Forum Prizes

New Ventures convenes the Investor Forums in Latin America and China to provide entrepreneurs with a venue to showcase their businesses to international and regional venture capitalists and individual investors and to facilitate the transfer of venture capital to sustainable enterprises. New Ventures entrepreneurs present their business plans to a distintuished panel of judges including top business executives and investors.

Prize: selected winners receive business mentoring services and assistance with investor meetings until capital is secured, or for a year after the Forum.

Link to further information on the Investor Forums

The World Bank’s Development Marketplace awards up to $3 million for innovative, local projects that provide unique solutions to environmental challenges. The Development Marketplace 2005, with the theme of “Innovations for Livelihoods in a Sustainable Environment”, reflected the Bank’s determination to support local ideas that improve the lives of poor people while minimizing environmental degradation.

The competition is open to civil society groups, social entrepreneurs, youth organizations, private foundations, academia, private-sector corporations and others.

The maximum award is US$150,000 per proposal.

Next award scheme: DM 2006

Anticipated deadline for submissions: January 2006

Link to further information on the Development Marketplace

The Business in Development Challenge is an international business plan competition, supporting innovative business ideas that combine profit with the improvement of living standards in developing countries.

Prize: Winners receive up to €20,000

Next award scheme: 2006

Anticipated deadline for submissions: January 2006

The World Challenge

The World Challenge, in association with Shell, is a
competition aimed at finding individuals or groups from around the
world who have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots
level. Any innovative projects or ideas working in practice to the benefit of the community, whether socially, environmentally or financially, can be nominated.

Prize: US$20,000 as well as media coverage in Newsweek and on BBC World.

Next award scheme: 2006

Link to further information on the World Challenge

AGFUND International Prize is an annual prize awarded by the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND).

It aims at encouraging continuity in implementing pioneering development projects and stimulating the efforts of those who are capable of contributing to developmental and humanitarian action in the developing countries.

The categories for the 2005 Prize were:

1. “Microcredit helping to achieve the millennium development goals”. (Open to projects implemented by UN, international or regional organizations)

2. ” The impact of microcredit to reduce poverty“. (Open to projects implemented by NGOs)

3. ” Reaching the poorest of the poor with microcredit”. (Open to projects initiated, sponsored and/or implemented by individuals)

Prize: the first category prize is US $150,000; the second category prize is US$100,000; the third category prize is US $50,000.

Next award scheme: 2006

Anticipated deadline for nominations: April 2006

Link to further information on the AGFUND International Prize

The Sustainability Leadership Award

The annual Sustainability Leadership Award honours personalities for extraordinary leadership or pioneering work in implementing the principles of sustainability within or in cooperation with the private sector.

The award is sponsored by SAM Group, Sustainable Performance Group and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Each year an independent jury selects two winners, a Leader, a well-known personality with proven achievements in implementing sustainability principles, and a Pioneer, whose innovative business approach promotes the topic of sustainability.

Prize: The total prize sum of CHF 50'000 is split between the Leader and the Pioneer award winners, with an additional prize element in kind and sponsored by SAM Group, Sustainable Performance Group and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Next award scheme: 2006.

Link to further information on the Sustainability Leadership Award

Annual Business Ethics Awards

This award seeks to recognise the sustainable business practices with an environmental focus, of US based companies with a significant national or international presence.

Award winners should meet many (thought not necessarily all) of the following criteria: be a leader in their field, out ahead of the pack, showing the way ethically; have programs or initiatives in social responsibility that demonstrate sincerity and ongoing vibrancy, and that reach deep into the company; be a U.S.-based company with a significant presence on the national or world scene, so their ethical behaviour sends a loud signal; be a stand-out in at least one area of social responsibility, though recipients need not be exemplary in all areas; have faced a recent challenge and overcome it with integrity, or taken other recent steps to show their commitment is currently active; be profitable in the most recent year, or show a strong history of healthy profitability.

Next award scheme: 2006

Link to further information and the Business Ethics Awards

Communications/ICT

The Development Gateway Award

The Development Gateway Award, formerly the Petersberg Prize, recognizes the most exemplary contribution in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) for development during the last 10 years. 

This award seeks to help advance the understanding of ICT's role in development and recognize leaders in the field. The award focus is ICT's impact on social and economic development.

It is awarded for a significant and successful contribution in the use of ICT for development - one that will have benefited a large number of people.

Prize: US$100,000

Next Award Scheme: 2006

Link to further information on the Development Gateway Award

The APC Africa Hafkin Communications Prize

Environment/Conservation

St Andrews Prize for the Environment

The St Andrews Prize, awarded by St Andrews University in Scotland, provides seed-funding to help promote the implementation of environmental ideas and solutions. Applicants, from anywhere in the world, must propose a practical solution to an environmental problem. The Prize provides a forum for practical environmental ideas that combine good science, economic reality and political acceptability.

Prize: Winners receive an award of US$30,000. Additional awards, each of US$5,000, are presented to the runners-up

Next Award: 2006

Anticipated deadline for first submission: October 2005

Link to further information on the St Andrews Prize

Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment

The Award seeks to recognise and enhance awareness of outstanding and sustainable achievements in improving the living environment according to the criteria established by the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the Dubai Declaration.

The Best Practice should demonstrate a positive and tangible impact on improving the living environment and should be based on partnerships among at least two stakeholder groups.

Prize: The ten Best Practices each receive US$30,000. US$100,000 is also available for management expenses including travel and accommodation for a delegation of up to two people for each award winning best practice.

Next award: 2006

Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award

Thor Heyerdahl and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association launched the Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award in June 1999.

To qualify for the Award, candidates must have distinguished themselves for the benefit of the marine environment, for example by carrying out or helping to carry out new environmental measures in the candidate's own operations that are not imposed on those operations by any government agency.In particular, proposals should include measures that combine the interest of the environment with improved profitability.

The Award is open to organisations and individuals world-wide. Public authorities are not eligible. All proposals are considered by an expert committee, which will make a recommendation to an international Awarding Committee.

Prize: up to US$100,000.

Next award scheme: 2006

Partnerships

Bremen Partnership Award

Partnerships focused on sustainable development, based in urban areas and carried out on an equal footing between at least one partner from the business side and one from local government can apply for this award. The award is part of a global campaign focusing on the development of vital partnerships between city governments and their major stakeholders. It aims to identify, select and reward those business-municipality partnerships which stand out on account of their excellence, innovation and performance in making cities more liveable and sustainable for their citizens.

The Bremen partnership award seeks for solutions based on two main principles; partnership between the public and the private sector, (other partners such as community groups or NGOs are possible and welcome), and a focus on urban sustainability according to the recommendations of Agenda 21 and the Habitat Agenda.

Prize: First prize €20,000, second prize €10,000, third prize €5,000

Opening date for nominations for the 2005 Award yet to be announced.

E -mail info@bremen-initiative.de for a login name and password.

Link to further information on the Bremen Award

The Equator Initiative

The Equator Initiative is designed to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the equatorial belt (23.5° latitude above and below the equator) by fostering, supporting and strengthening community partnerships. Individuals and groups are eligible to receive the Equator Initiative Award provided that they are submitting a specific initiative or project that meets the intent of the Equator Initiative and the selection criteria:

Impact: Initiatives that have reduced poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and/or through the equitable sharing of the benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources.

Partnerships: Initiatives that have adopted a partnership approach through linking activities with non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, the private sector, governments, research and/or academic institutions, and public or private foundations.

Sustainability: Initiatives that can demonstrate at least three years of successful and lasting changes in local socio-economic conditions and have positive impacts on biodiversity.

Innovation and transferability: Initiatives demonstrating new and adaptable approaches that overcome prevailing constraints and offer relevant knowledge, expertise and lessons learned.

Leadership and community empowerment: Initiatives demonstrating leadership that has inspired action and change consistent with the vision of the Equator Initiative, including policy and/or institutional change and local people's empowerment, especially that of marginalized groups.

Gender equality and social inclusion: Initiatives that incorporate diverse social and cultural needs and promote social equality and equity.

Prize: Winning partnerships are awarded with US$30,000

Next award: 2005/2006

Anticipated call for submissions: September 2005

Link to further information on the Equator Initiative Awards

The Local Initiatives Awards give international recognition to the outstanding environmental achievements of local governments working in cooperation with community partners.

The awards recognize environmental excellence in five awards categories:

Excellence in Governance for Sustainable Development

Excellence in Land Resources Management

Excellence in Freshwater Management

Excellence in Atmospheric Protection

Excellence in Waste Management

Prize: 5 winners receive a certificate of recognition and the publication of their case study in the ICLEI-Local Governments For Sustainability Case Study Series

Next Award scheme: 2006

Anticipated submissions deadline: November 2005

Link to further information on the Local Initiatives Awards