Affiliate Project Grants

Overview

Creative Commons is excited to announce the CC Affiliate Project Grants. CC has received a grant from Google to help strengthen and support the work of CC’s Global Affiliate Network over the next six months.

These grants are designed to seed affiliate projects that support and forward CC’s mission in your country or region and promote a broad understanding and adoption of open policies and related practices around the world. Proposals submitted by CC affiliates will be selected to receive between $1,000 - $18,000 USD towards their project(s).

Who May Apply

Grants are open only to CC affiliates and community members. Joint applications from official CC affiliate institutions and partner organizations are also welcome. Applicants who have worked extensively with CC and/or wish to establish an official CC jurisdiction project in their country are encouraged to apply as well.

There is no limit to the number of proposal submissions by an affiliate or team.

Funds

Proposed projects can request funding up to $18,000 USD, but we highly encourage smaller projects to also apply in order to allow for a greater quantity of projects. Funds will be distributed beginning in August (see Timeline below) and cannot be applied to expenses incurred prior to the date of funding. Funds can be used to supplement applicants’ existing funds.

Timeline

Only project activities occurring between August 2013 - March 2014 will be considered for grant funding.

• June 12, 2013 - CC Affiliate Project Grants submission opens
• July 8, 2013 midnight PST (GMT -7) - Deadline for all project submissions
• July 19, 2013 - Selected projects contacted, formalities commence
• August 1, 2013 - Projects announced publicly and grant funds distributed
• August 21-24, 2013 - Selected projects present at the Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• December, 2013 - Interim report due for selected projects
• March, 2014 - Selected projects wrap up; Final report due

Project Type

Applicants may seek funding for projects that positively impact Creative Commons' mission of helping to share knowledge and creativity with the world by developing, supporting, and stewarding legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.

Number of Projects

The aim is to fund at least one project per region. More grants will be awarded if funds allow. Affiliates are encouraged to work with partners if appropriate for their intended project.

There are also funds for one collaborative, region-wide outreach and education project. To be eligible for this grant, the applicant will need to involve more than one affiliate team in the region.

Example Projects

• Convene a workshop or series of workshops on best practices for developing and publishing Open Educational Resources
• Produce publications, factsheets, or videos explaining the use and downstream reuse of CC licenses in different domains
• Hold a CC-licensed music competition in your region and produce an LP with a compilation of tracks available online under a CC-license
• Publish metrics on a website, factsheet, or video that measures the impact of CC-licensed works in a particular field (e.g., education, science) or region (e.g., Africa)
• Document and publish novel business models that are enabled by CC licenses and technologies, including commercial ventures
• Host a CC film festival in your region and capture the activities on a website
• Publish an analysis of the benefits and challenges of incorporating CC licenses and technologies within governments, libraries, museums, or other cultural institutions
• Publish a book on the negative effects of license proliferation or case studies involving license incompatibilities
• Support a local affiliate team in implementing a CC-related technology challenge, such as adding license support to a specific CMS
• Conduct outreach projects such as a tour of open advocates within a region or a clinic on using free software creation tools to remix CC-licensed content

Projects Not Eligible

Project grants may not be used in support of the following:

• Lobbying (whether local, national, or regional legislative activities) or to support a candidate for public office
• Core / general operating funds for a CC affiliate team
• Projects outside of CC’s mission and vision, as determined by CC HQ
• Projects that do not involve affiliates
• Travel to events

Grantee/Recipient Requirements

Successful applicants will be required to sign a Grant Agreement as a condition of receiving funds, which will specify reporting, accounting, and other terms and conditions governing receipt and use of the funds. Among other things, all Grant Agreements will require that all original material produced within the scope of the grant program be published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported license or CC0, or if the material is software, an OSI-approved open source software license.

Grant recipients must also agree to report on and document the project and use of funds as described by Creative Commons in the Grant Agreement. Among other things, the reporting will include presenting at the Global Summit.

Application Process

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 8, 2013 (see Timeline). Applicants will be notified by July 20, 2013 of their status. All decisions by CC are final.

All applications must be submitted in English. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Fill out the Project Grant Application here.

Selection Process

Proposals will be judged by a committee of HQ staff on the following criteria, which decision shall be made by CC in its sole discretion:

• Relevance to CC mission
• Benefit to CC community
• Significance of proposed outcome
• Likely impact
• Feasibility
• Cost effectiveness

Contact

For any questions contact meryl@creativecommons.org. Proposals or supplemental materials sent via email will not be accepted.