Funding, News and Announcements

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has issued a call for preliminary proposals for a new initiative, “Partnerships for Her Voice, Her Choice”. This initiative is part of the $650-million funding over 3 years announced by Canada’s Minister for International Development, Marie-Claude Bibeau, in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as a means of combatting poverty by focusing on empowering women.

This call focuses on comprehensive sexual education; reproductive health services and investments in family planning and contraceptives; the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence, including child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation and cutting; and initiatives that support the right to choose safe and legal abortion, as well as access to post-abortion care, including in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Applicant organizations must present preliminary project proposals which:

• have a duration of least two years and not more than five years;
• present budgets ranging from $2 million to $20 million; at least 10 percent of the total eligible direct project costs over the life of the project must be contributed by the applicant organization in cash and/or in kind;
• take place in one or more low- or middle-income countries eligible for Official Development Assistance, and be driven by the needs of established partners in those countries. Note that preference will be given to proposals involving activities in sub-Saharan Africa and countries of the Ouagadougou Partnership.

Applications for preliminary proposals are being accepted at this time.  The most promising preliminary proposals will be invited to submit full proposals later this year.

Note that Global Affairs Canada will accept only one application from any given applicant organization, for this competition. 

Depending on the level of interest from Dalhousie personnel, an internal selection process may therefore need to be put into place well in advance of the competition deadline.  In consequence, any Dalhousie faculty members interested in this opportunity are asked to contact the International Research Manager (jennifer.morawiecki@dal.ca) as soon as possible, and not later than Monday 2 April, to register their interest and obtain more information and support in developing an application.