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Main characteristics
The FRIDA Program provides financial support (up to USD 20,000) in the form of grants, as well as technical follow-up for projects with a maximum duration of 12 months.
Eligibility
Interested applicants must meet the general requirements detailed in the guidelines and submit their project within the specified deadlines through the FRIDA platform.
In all cases, research projects, case studies, development of proofs of concept and/or prototypes, implementation projects, measurements, or other initiatives may be submitted, provided that they seek to achieve practical objectives, original specific results, contribute concrete solutions to technical challenges, and/or generate knowledge that may be useful to expand and promote the development of the topic addressed in the region.
Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the information contained in the guidelines, particularly the first- and second-order evaluation and selection criteria.
The application must be submitted by a proposing/responsible institution that is legally constituted and belongs to one of the following beneficiary groups: the technical community, the academic sector, the private sector or industry, government, or civil society.
Applicants must be based in and carry out their activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically in territories that are part of LACNIC’s service region. Likewise, proposals must address challenges and needs in those territories.
Institutions based outside LACNIC’s service region may participate as partners, provided that the project meets the remaining requirements and addresses challenges or needs in territories within LACNIC’s service region in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In all cases, applicants must be duly and legally constituted under their jurisdiction and have legal personality. If they do not have legal personality, they must seek to partner with an institution/organization that meets this condition and acts as the responsible entity at the administrative, legal, and financial levels. If selected, that institution will sign the corresponding agreement with LACNIC-FRIDA and assume the rights and obligations under it, and the corresponding funds will be transferred to that institution. In all cases, the partner entity must be related to the beneficiary’s area of activity and to the topic of the selected project.
Application process
Interested applicants must access the online application form, which will be available on the opening day of the call as of 17:00 (UTC-3) on the FRIDA application platform.
Users must register on the platform or reset their password if they already have a user account. They must then enter the information related to their project.
Grant implementation
Projects receiving grant funding must be implemented within a maximum period of 12 months counted from the signing of the contract with LACNIC (estimated for November-December of the year of the call). It is recommended that the project not begin before January of the following year.
Selected projects must submit certain documents requested by the FRIDA team and proceed with the signing of the grant agreement.
During the implementation cycle, grant recipients must submit three reports: an interim technical-financial report, a final technical-financial report, and a final report in publishable format. They will also hold follow-up meetings during the implementation period.
Funding
Currently, the FRIDA Program is funded exclusively with LACNIC funds.
In previous cycles, FRIDA received significant contributions from IDRC, Internet Society, Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), Martel GmbH, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, and Seed Alliance.
In the case of grant-funded projects and under certain conditions of non-compliance and/or non-implementation of the project by the beneficiaries, LACNIC-FRIDA may terminate the grant agreement and request the return of the funds.
Disbursement of funds
Funds are disbursed in 3 stages:
- First transfer: 40%. After the signing of the grant agreement and the initial meeting with the FRIDA team and the expert evaluator assigned to the project.
- Second transfer: 40%. Upon approved submission of the interim technical-financial report, together with the corresponding follow-up meeting with the FRIDA team and the expert evaluator assigned to the project.
- Third transfer: 20%. Upon approved submission of the final technical-financial report and the final publishable report, together with the corresponding follow-up meeting with the FRIDA team and the expert evaluator assigned to the project.