The IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB), formerly the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC), inspires and empowers IEEE volunteers around the world carrying out and supporting impactful humanitarian technology activities at the local level. The IEEE HTB mission is to support impactful and ethically informed volunteer-led initiatives, programs and projects, and mutually beneficial partnerships, as well as to inform policy formulation that harness technology and innovation to address societal challenges (including disaster recovery) in a responsive, effective, and sustainable way.

This year, HTB/SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) are offering a call for proposals to support IEEE member grassroots projects that utilize technology to address pressing needs of the members’ local communities. The call for proposals provides a powerful opportunity for IEEE members to utilize their technical expertise in their local communities to help IEEE achieve its mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

HTB/SIGHT recognize that there is a broad range of challenges in the local communities in which IEEE members live worldwide. The starting point for a project should always be the needs of the community as evidenced through dialogue and relationship with local community organizations and leaders. Projects must focus on people first, rather than starting with a particular technology that needs to find a use. That being said, there are areas of particular technical interest for HTB/SIGHT that can act as a guide when determining the technological solution to the community needs. These include:

  • Agricultural Technology
  • Climate Sustainability Technology
  • Information and Communications Technology (ICT), including rural communications and connecting the unconnected
  • Sustainable Power Technology 
  • Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) Technology
  • Other technologies to address pressing community needs

A special consideration for this call for proposals will be to support projects that apply existing proven technologies within IEEE designated fields to challenges faced by a localized community of persons with disabilities or local organizations that serve persons with disabilities. This can include customization of the technologies, but would not include the development of new medical-type prototypes or research projects. Applicants of these proposals must demonstrate collaboration with the beneficiaries in the identification of the need and proposed solution.

It is important to note that IEEE is not a disaster response organization, and is not set up to address immediate needs of humanitarian challenges. All projects related to disaster recovery should focus on addressing medium- and longer-term needs.

FUNDING DETAILS

HTB/SIGHT will make awards of between US$1,000 and US$10,000 per project. Projects that have previously been awarded funding by HTB/SIGHT may re-apply if they have successfully completed their project and fulfilled all reporting requirements.

Term of funding: Up to six months following the project start date. 

DEADLINE

  • Applications may be submitted starting 15 March 2023 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage applicants to submit their proposals as soon as they can.
  • Final deadline to submit: 17 April 2023 at 11:59pm EDT.

HOW TO APPLY