ICT R&D Grants Programmes
ISOC supports two major regional grants programmes: the Pan Asia Networking ICT Grants Programme and the Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in the Latin American and Caribbean (FRIDA).
These programmes are aimed at promoting the development of regional research capacities in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development. They will also support building up Internet-related regional technical capabilities.
Through a competition format, grants are made available to proposals that successfully address innovative networking solutions to specific development issues. Project Selection Committees in each region are responsible for evaluating and selecting the proposals that will be funded each year. Each committee is made up of a group of specialists with experience in research and an in-depth knowledge of the regional challenges and opportunities relating to local ICT development.
The Pan Asia Networking ICT Grants Programme is an initative of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Other major supporters have included the United Nations Development Programme's Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP), the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), and Microsoft. (Please note, there are no current application rounds, while IDRC completes a major evaluation of this programme.)
The FRIDA programme is also supported by IDRC along with the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC) and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).
ISOC's steering committee member for the FRIDA progamme is Sebastian Bellagamba, ISOC's Latin American and Caribbean Bureau Manager, while Karen Rose, ISOC Director of Education and Programs, is our representative to the Pan Asia Networking ICT Grants Program.
For more information about these programmes, see:
