Background
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), which has been in existence for over 100 years, is the world’s largest body of professional astronomers. Every three years it holds a General Assembly, bringing together astronomers from around the world. In 2024, this meeting will take place for the first time on the African continent. Cape Town has been selected as the host city for the meeting, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) will be the official host organisation, with strong support from the Department of Science and Innovation, the African Astronomical Society, the Academy of Science of South Africa, and around 50 other organisations from across the African continent. When the bid to host the event was made to the IAU, it was presented as an African bid. It was envisaged that the whole continent would benefit, through developments in the field of astronomy and beyond. The team behind the organising of the event then coordinated a continent-wide engagement process to come up with a consolidated “Vision 2024” that captures the aspirations of the astronomy community on the continent, with regard to opportunities created by the 2024 IAU General Assembly. This call aims to support proposals from anyone anywhere in the world to address actions identified in “Vision 2024” (full details of Vision 2024 available here).
Eligibility
- The proposed project should address an action described in Vision 2024.
- Any project resources or materials produced should be released to the public under an appropriate license (e.g. Creative Commons) allowing free use and adaptation.
- Proposers should be able to provide a verified bank account through which funds can be paid if the project is selected for funding.
- All projects should adhere to the ISC’s Principle of Universality of Science and the IAU’s Code of Conduct.
- All project team members listed in the proposal should have discussed the proposal and committed to executing the project.
- The proposers should obtain all necessary permissions and authorizations, as required by their national and local laws, to carry out their work, such as, for example, written parental consent when working with minors, permission to use copyrighted material, permission for gatherings during COVID times, etc.
- Proposals should ideally be submitted via the online Application Form before the deadline. However, if you are unable to submit the proposal online for any reason, you may contact us at least a week before the deadline to arrange for an alternative submission method. This includes anyone with visual or other impairments who may require assistance.
- Proposals should ideally be submitted in English since the selection process will be conducted in English. However, if you require assistance in translating your application or wish to submit in another language, please contact us immediately and at least 2 weeks before the deadline so we may try to make suitable arrangements.
Funding
The GA2024 Organising Committee will provide funding usually up to a maximum of ZAR20,000 per proposal. Requests for larger amounts may only be considered in special circumstances depending on the demand, the motivation for such larger amounts, and the funding available. There will be no restrictions on what the funding could be spent on but all proposed budget items must be suitably justified in the proposal. The selection panel may choose to fund only part of a project’s proposed budget.
Proposals
Proposals are invited from individuals or organizations willing to contribute to actions listed in Vision 2024. Please view the different aspects of Vision 2024, related actions and potential stakeholders on the vision web pages, where you can browse through it online or download the full Vision 2024 document.
Please submit a proposal even if you are not requesting any funding as this will help coordination in terms of who is doing what for Vision 2024.
All applications should be submitted via this online form:
Selection Criteria
A selection panel, consisting of members of the GA2024 Organising Committee and other independent panelists, will score proposals based on the following section criteria:
- Capability of team to carry out project
(scored out of 10) - Potential to contribute to Vision 2024
(based on actions targeted and corresponding plan, scored out of 10) - Feasibility of project to complete on time and within the budget proposed
(based on implementation plan, timelines and budget, scored out of 10) - Cost effectiveness
(based on budget and deliverables, scored out of 10)
Timeline
Proposals should be submitted via the online application form by 19th April 2022. Feedback will be provided by 15th May 2022.
Grant agreements are expected to be negotiated during June 2022, with seed funding expected to be paid by July 2022.
Reporting Guidelines
What information do we need?
- Summary of the project that we can place on the website and use in various communication channels and mediums, both online and offline.
- Project team: composition of the team including the background, experience, role, and contact information (with due consent) of each team member.
- Partnerships: Name, short description, and role of organizations and individuals with whom the project partnered
- Location details.
- Target audience, which includes, but not limited to, the total number of people reached, age/educational profiles (toddlers and very young children, school students, university students, adults), professional profiles (teachers, academics, government/policy makers), socio-economic profiles, and the number of people in each category.
- Activities/Interventions: For each activity or intervention, details of what (brief description of activity), where (venue), when (number of hours), who (attended).
- Deliverables: list of deliverables produced by the project and how does it compare to the expected deliverables outlined in the proposal.
- Outcomes: what changes were realised by the project and how do they compare to the expected outcomes outlined in the proposal. Realistically, no project is expected to successfully achieve all of its planned outcomes. Rather, such a comparison can be highly beneficial to improve future project plans.
- Deviations from the original project implementation – changes in project plan, timeline, duration, location, audience etc.
- Challenges faced during the project and how you were able to resolve them
- Self evaluation: Recommendations for improving the quality/implementation/impact of the project based on the lessons learned.
- Feedback and Evaluation: Projects are highly encouraged to obtain feedback from the participants of activities.
- Suggestions/Recommendations to the GA2024 NOC for expanding the project both locally or across Africa.
- Sustainability: Plans to continue the project beyond Vision2024 funding, if applicable.
- Financial data: A breakdown of the expenses and an explanation of any deviations from the proposed budget. This data should cover the finances of the whole project during the period (not just for the amount provided by the Vision2024 grant). This will help us understand the project finance in its full context.
- Resources: Link to the resources produced specifically for this project that we can share with others e.g. presentations, lectures, videos, posters, worksheets, questionnaires, manuals etc.
- Communications and PR: Details of website, social media and other online presence such as blogs, videos, press releases, news articles, documentaries or research articles.
- Photos and videos from the project that can be used for PR
Why we need this information?
- Accountability and due-diligence: It helps the GA2024 NOC to understand where and how the money was utilized and report back to our funders.
- Impact analysis: We can use the reported information to determine the contribution we all are making towards the Vision 2024 goals. The more comprehensive the data, the more accurate our analyses.
- Resource sharing: It may be beneficial for others to use your project resources in their own projects. That has a mutiplying effect on impact.
- Partnerships and funding: Highlighting the Vision 2024 projects may help us attract additional funding, or new partnerships that share our vision.
