Call for proposals
Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute
January, 2005

General comments

The Central Eurasia Project (CEP) strives to make available more and better information about human rights and the social and economic health of the South Caucasus and Central Asia both within the region and internationally in order to shape policies that contribute to building open societies. The Central Eurasia Project uses grantmaking to international and indigenous NGOs to help build local capacity, bring international expertise to bear on the region, and promote cooperation between local activists and international civic movements in the fields of human rights and transparent governance. The ultimate goal of such activity is to strengthen civic leaders in the region and construct support networks for them within international structures and movements.

The Central Eurasia Project requests proposals to provide program and general operating support grants to organizations focused on advancing open societies in the region. Central Eurasia is understood to encompass the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Turkey and Mongolia. Proposals to support projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Middle East should be directed to OSI’s Middle East Initiatives (http://www.soros.org/initiatives/cep/focus_areas/mena). Proposals on Turkmenistan should be submitted directly to the CEP’s Turkmenistan Project, (http://www.eurasianet.org/turkmenistan.project).

Priorities for grantmaking in 2005 include the following areas:

• Enabling local and international activists to address human rights and other abuses associated with the region’s cotton economy;
• Improving the effectiveness of human rights work in the region, developing innovative approaches to protecting human rights, and fostering accountability for human rights violations;
• Combating and addressing the consequences of torture;
• Aiding labor migrants from and within the region, and promoting policies that protect the rights interests of labor migrants.

Eligibility requirements

All applications must be made on behalf of organizations or groups, which may include, but are not limited to, informal coalitions, non-governmental organizations, humanitarian aid or other charitable organizations, and educational institutes. United States applicants must be tax-exempt within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Organizations may be based in the region or outside. In reviewing requests, priority will be given to joint proposals from international and local organizations.

Organizations based in Central Eurasia that are planning to conduct activities in their own country should first contact their national Open Society Foundation about funding opportunities. The Central Eurasia Project will automatically refer all single-country proposals submitted by local groups in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkey to the applicable local Soros Foundation. Please go to http://www.soros.org/initiatives/regions/central-eurasia for contact information.

Please note that the Central Eurasia Project usually does not accept applications for individual grants, such as fellowships, scholarships, or travel grants. Scholars and activists interested in submitting individual research proposals should contact the address below for research proposal guidelines.

Procedures

The proposal format and detailed information about restrictions on grant funds are available at http://www.soros.org/initiatives/cep/focus_areas/human_rights.

Grants applications will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year and will be considered for funding two times during 2005 according to the following schedule. Applicants will be notified of a decision a week to ten days after the consideration date.

Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to Anu Kangaspunta-Garfield at the Central Eurasia Project at the address listed below.

Final Applications Due	Consideration Date
March 04, 2005	May 06, 2005
August 05, 2005	October 07, 2005

Anu Kangaspunta-Garfield
Central Eurasia Project
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
akangaspunta@sorosny.org