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The British council Gender and Development Small Projects Fund" / For more information, please see: http://www.britishcouncil.org/education/helinks/gender.htm or contact Collette Dean at: hel.enquiries@britishcouncil.org

The removal of gender discrimination and the promotion of gender equity remain central elements within the Higher Education Link scheme.

Description

Another aspect of the FICHE fund is the Gender and Development (GAD) small projects fund that support projects that specifically target gender issues. These projects focus on gender and development and are intended to either add a gender dimension to an existing Higher Education Link or to stimulate interest in a gender area in a particular country to form the basis for future HE links activity. These GAD projects can also be used to supplement existing main link activities, for example the wider dissemination of outputs that illustrate a gender dimension of a project.

Eligibility

Those seeking funds are encouraged to be innovative and original but also to have definite outputs that reflect DFID objectives of sustainable development, poverty alleviation and the promotion of gender equity. The GAD small projects fund is open to any institution or organisation that would be eligible to apply for a HE link and it is essential that there are at least two partners involved in any project, one in the UK and one overseas.

Examples of previous GAD projects include:-

Women in Communications - the use of media and radio in Chile
Formation of self-help groups among slum dwelling older women in India
A partnership in rural women's development - HIV/AIDS awareness in South Africa
Yemeni voices - a book on key development issues for Yemeni women

Funding

DFID releases approximately £100,000 of the main FICHE funding each year to fund these GAD small projects. There is no limit on how much can be allocated to an individual project but as there is only a small amount of funding available it is unusual for any one project to be allocated more than £10,000.

Management and Administration

The overall management of the GAD small projects fund is the responsibility of the HE links section at the British Council, Manchester. The Gender and Development Taskforce, which comprises of a broad range of gender specialists from UK Higher Education institutions and the British Council, on behalf of the HE Links Steering Committee monitors the use of this fund. The Taskforce approves and makes decision on how much money can be allocated to each of the GAD project applications. All project activity is the responsibility of the project partners and should be arranged in collaboration with the appropriate British Council office overseas.

Applying to the GAD small projects fund

Application forms and guidance notes are available from any of the overseas British Council offices participating in the main HE Links programme or by contacting the HE links team in Manchester. Applications should be submitted via the relevant overseas office to Manchester in mid February of each year for funding to be released at the beginning of the financial year in April.

Further details

Further details of the GAD small projects fund are available from any of the participating overseas offices or from Colette Dean, in the HE Links team in Manchester at hel.enquiries@britishcouncil.org.