Local communities across the Asia Pacific
region stand to benefit from work backed by an important new funding
program. The Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF) has announced
funding for 11 projects in eight countries, all awarded grants for
their innovative approaches to extending Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) infrastructure to meet genuine challenges in the
region.
These projects showcase diverse uses of ICT technology,
such as mobile-based tele-healthcare, forensic investigation
infrastructure, and localized high-performance email for telecentres,
and even the establishment of a national high-speed backbone.
ISIF
is a small-grants program, launched in 2008, aimed at stimulating
creative solutions to ICT development needs in the Asia Pacific region.
It provides targeted, accountable project funding, which plays a vital
role in getting practical, grass roots and community-driven solutions
off the ground.
ISIF is a partnership between the Canadian
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Internet Society
(ISOC), and the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), with
generous support from the DotAsia Organization. The first round of
funding occurred in late 2008 with the successful projects each
receiving up to USD 30,000 to be used in 2009.
Following strict
criteria, the Grants Evaluation Committee selected 11 successful
projects and requested representatives from each to attend a proposal
development workshop in Hyderabad, India. At the workshop they had the
opportunity to modify their proposals based on feedback received from
the ISIF partners and other workshop participants. They also explored
simple networking strategies to help them establish effective
collaboration among the projects. The resulting projects showcase
innovation across a wide spectrum. They not only illustrate important
research results, but equally, they help build research capacity within
organizations.
As Michael Ginguld from Airjaldi Networks, India
explains, “The evaluation process provided the environment needed not
only to discuss the proposals submitted, share knowledge and
perspectives about innovation in ICTs, but also to develop mutual trust
and respect among the applicants and the ISIF representatives”.
ISOC
Director of Education and Programmes, Karen Rose believes the 2009 ISIF
projects have genuine potential to extend Internet access and improve
the quality of life in economies across the region. “Enduring and
sustainable progress in Internet development requires activities at the
local level that engage people in their home regions. ISIF supports
local organizations solving local issues. We see this as key path for
Internet innovation and growth in the Asia Pacific region,” said Ms
Rose.
ISIF’s first call for applications received an
overwhelming response, with 148 applications coming in from 22
different Asia Pacific economies, including Bhutan, Mongolia, and Papua
New Guinea.
APNIC Director General, Paul Wilson, attributes
the excellent response the ISIF program received to the collaborative
efforts of partners and stakeholders from throughout the Asia Pacific
Internet community. “I am very thankful to all members of this
community for their proactive promotion and support of this program.
The success is an example of how the Internet community can collaborate
effectively to promote growth and development in economies where
markets or regulation struggle to support innovation,” said Mr Wilson.
Richard
Fuchs, chair of the ISIF Grants Committee and Regional Director at
IDRC, Southeast and East Asia announced the program will fund more
projects next year. “Due to the success of the 2008/09 round of
funding, ISIF partners and sponsors are pleased to confirm their
support for a new round of funding for a 2009/10 ISIF Grant Program. We
look forward to working with more organizations in the region to
continue innovation into the future,” said Mr Fuchs.
As Gaurab
Upadhaya from Nepal Research and Education Network (NREN), Nepal
explains, “The ISIF grant gave us the kick-start funds necessary to get
past the initial hurdles. It also let us design and develop the network
with a big picture plan, rather than in a piecemeal fashion.”
In
the next round, ISIF will support up to 10 projects with grants up to
AUD 40,0000. The projects will be selected during 2009 to receive
funding and implement their project in 2010. All the details of the new
‘Call for Applications’ are available at www.isif.asia. Applications
should be prepare from April to July using the formats available and
must be submitted through the online application form by 31 July 2009.
The
ISIF program partners also call on other organizations through the
region to consider providing financial support to expand the ISIF
program. To support future ISIF activities, please contact Sylvia
Cadena, Project Officer.
2009 ISIF Grant Recipients
1.
Development of emergency networks training and tools kitThe Internet Education and Research Laboratory (intERLab), Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.
2.
Capacity building for female health workers in rural areas through the use of ICT and mobile based tele-healthcareThe School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan.
3.
A low-cost digital forensic investigation infrastructure for a third world country The University of Colombo School of Computing, Sri Lanka.
4.
Broadband Internet access for rural areas of Vietnam using WiMAX technology via television broadcasting infrastructure
The Bac Ha International University, Vietnam.
5.
VoIP as a model applicable to developing countriesOne Destination Center, Indonesia.
6.
Web-based transliteration and translation system between Urdu and Hindi languages Punjabi University, India.
7.
High-speed backbone for Nepal Research and Education Network Nepal Research and Education Network, Nepal.
8.
Localised high-performance e-mail for telecentres and schoolsThe Department of Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
9.
Health, emergency and disaster information using mobile and virtual earth technologySynapseHealth, The Philippines.
10.
Meshing Up Mahavilachchiya Horizon Lanka Foundation, Sri Lanka.
11.
AirJaldi bandwidth maximizer – proving concepts, demonstrating potential and viabilityAirJaldi Networks, India.
Information Society Innovation Fund
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