Applications Invited for Fondation Botnar's Fit for the Future Call

About the Organization:

Fondation Botnar is a Swiss-based foundation which champions the use of AI and digital technology to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in growing urban environments. To achieve this, we support research, catalyse diverse partners, and invest in emerging technologies and scalable solutions globally

Fit for the future call:

A call for innovative proposals that leverage data and frontier technologies for the health and wellbeing of young people.

Young people (those between the ages of 10-24) should be central actors in shaping the world they live in. They are some of the earliest adopters of new digital applications, and they believe there is an untapped potential of frontier technologies to address their health and wellbeing, increasing their resilience and transforming cities into healthy and safe environments where young people can thrive.

They act as a catalyst, connecting diverse partners and investing in bold, innovative, scalable and high-impact artificial intelligence (AI) and digital approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in growing urban environments around the world. They see ourselves as taking a catalytic role in funding projects that ensure young people can realise the fullest of their potential, both for themselves and the future of their communities.

Against this backdrop, they are inviting for truly pioneering implementation project proposals that leverage this combined potential of frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, innovative digital tools, and data-based platforms to advance the health and wellbeing of young people living in cities in low- and middle-income countries. The thematic areas for this call are:

• Data-driven preventative interventions that address the social, environmental and behavioral determinants of health and wellbeing, and
• Inclusive and participatory learning in the 21st century.

Thematic Areas:

Preventative and data-driven interventions that address the social, environmental, and behavioral determinants of health and wellbeing

• Preventative approaches and early stage interventions are often more cost effective and sustainable than only treatment-focused initiatives. Digital tools and platforms and the predictive power of data have the potential to play a crucial role in helping communities become more resilient and empowered, as well as to improve the quality and efficiency of decision-making and public service delivery. Therefore, we are inviting proposals for community-based and technology-enabled interventions in rapidly growing urban environments.

Inclusive and participatory learning in the 21st century

• The urban youth population will need new skills for their future wellbeing. If we don’t recognise this, we will be failing to invest in our future changemakers and community leaders. At Fondation Botnar, we aim to support young people in developing digital, personal and social skills, to maximise opportunities and instill an entrepreneurial approach to solving problems. Therefore, we are inviting proposals that leverage data-driven and AI-enabled approaches for inclusive and participatory learning.

They will not consider proposals related to infrastructure investments.

Eligibility:

• Geographical focus areas for this call are urban environments in Romania, Ghana, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, India (Rajasthan or Odisha), Vietnam, Colombia, Ecuador or Indonesia.
• Projects having multiple implementation sites should have at least 50% of the budget dedicated to implementation in one or more of the above countries or states. Projects targeting implementation in rapidly growing secondary cities will be preferred.
• It is also crucial that your work is in line with Fondation Botnar’s principles. Information about the principles can be found in the Fit for the future call document.

Additional Requirements:

• All applying projects developing technology and data-based solutions will be expected to have a good understanding of secure consent and data management principles and be in compliance with any local data protection laws and guidelines.
• Applicants will be asked to provide a brief comparative ecosystem analysis or a map of similar approaches to place the applying project in an appropriate relative context at a later stage in the application process.
• Smart reuse of existing solutions wherever possible or attempt to leverage learnings from other similar initiatives will be considered favorably. Designing a new digital application is discouraged where an existing solution exists and can be effectively adapted or re-used.
• Applicants are also encouraged to be mindful of the ecological footprint of the proposed intervention.

Eligible Organisations:

• The lead applicant should be registered as a not-for-profit organisation, a public institution or a reputed academic university or research institution in the country of implementation and should partner with technology, regulatory, government and other implementation partners, as required.
• They encourage for-profit startups, social enterprises and institutions, and NGOs not registered in the country of implementation to apply in a service provider, advisory, implementation research support and capacity enhancement role to the lead applicants.
• Applicants pooling required expertise in a consortium (for example a publicprivate partnership) are welcome to apply and will be preferred.

Funding volumes:

• Proposals are expected to have a minimum funding volume of CHF 200,000 and a duration of between two to five years. The total available amount available for this call is CHF 10 million.

Deadline for applications: 27 March 2020 12pm CET

For more information please check the Link