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Past Funding Opportunities

7 March 2023 - 20 June 2023

Call for Proposals | Climate & Forests and Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health and Rights

This RFP is now closed.

Lacuna Fund seeks proposals from organizations interested in developing datasets that will help us better understand the relationship between Climate & Forests and generate interventions that could mitigate the impacts of climate change; and, datasets that will improve Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health and Rights for populations in Africa. 

Read a full copy of the RFPs below for more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria: 

  • Climate & Forests HERE
  • Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health and Rights HERE

Applications are accepted through the application portals here:

Climate and Forests Timeline: 

Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health and Rights (SRMHR) Timeline: 

  • RFPs Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 7 March 2023 
  • Applicant Webinar: 23 March 2023
  • Question and Answer Deadline: 24 March 2023
  • Answers Posted: 5 April 2023 
  • Round 1 Proposals due: 19 April 2023, End of Day, anywhere on Earth 
  • Round 2 Proposals due: 20 June 2023, End of Day, anywhere on Earth 

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to these RFPs should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Climate & Forests RFP 2023 Question” or “Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health and Rights RFP 2023 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by the above deadlines will be de-identified and answered publicly by 5 April (SRMHR) and 21 April (Climate & Forests) on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted on this page.  

Dataset Hosting and Documentation Guidance: Lacuna Fund requires grantees to host datasets on a site that assigns a Digital Object Identified (DOI) and quantifies the number of landing page views and downloads for the dataset. We also ask grantees to include a metadata file and datasheet along with the funded dataset. This guidance provides additional details for applicants to reference in preparation of their proposals. 

Partnership and Mentorship Programs:
Lacuna Fund is pleased to partner with Deep Learning Indaba to offer mentorship opportunities for applicants. The Deep Learning Indaba is an organization whose mission is to Strengthen Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Africa and works towards the goal of Africans being not only observers and receivers of the ongoing advances in AI, but active shapers and owners of these technological advances.

On a one-time basis for this Lacuna Fund call, the Deep Learning Indaba will offer applicants from around the world a special opportunity to join the Deep Learning Indaba community and match those who are interested with a mentor who will review your draft proposal and discuss avenues for strengthening it. Interested parties may apply for a session with a mentor by visiting the Indaba Mentorship Programme – Deep Learning Indaba and selecting to participate “As a mentee”. When prompted, select for assistance “Writing a research proposal”. In the field “Please tell us more about your draft proposal”, please type LACUNA FUND, followed by a detailed description of your proposed dataset. Providing a detailed description will support with matching applicants to mentors that are aligned in your interest area. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply for a mentorship session after you have a detailed outline or draft proposal and at least 4 weeks before the proposal due date. We will do our best to identify a mentor for everyone who requests one, but we cannot guarantee that mentors will be available for all. Mentors will be assigned on a first come, first-served basis. All applicants are expected to read and abide by the mentorship programme’s code of ethics and conduct. 

28 April 2022 - 17 July 2022

Datasets for Climate Applications

This RFP is now closed.

Lacuna Fund seeks proposals from organizations interested in developing datasets for equitable climate outcomes in climate & energy and climate & health.

Read a full copy of the RFP’s for more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria: 

  • Climate & Health HERE
  • Climate and Energy HERE

Applications are accepted through the application portals here:

  • Climate & Health HERE
  • Climate and Energy HERE

Partnership and Mentorship Programs 

Lacuna Fund is partnering with Climate Change AI (CCAI) to provide a digital partnership platform where teams or individuals seeking to collaborate can connect and find potential partners. CCAI will also facilitate a mentorship program to connect potential applicants with experts working in relevant topic areas.   

Register for the partnership and mentorship platform! 

Timeline: 

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the RFP should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Climate & Energy RFP 2022 Question” or “Climate & Health RFP 2022 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by 20 May will be de-identified and answered publicly by 3 June on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted on this page. 

(3 June 2022)  Please see the Q&A here.

Please note that for this RFP, lead applicants must be headquartered in or have a substantial partnership in Africa, Latin America, or South or Southeast Asia.

19 October 2021 – 1 December 2021

Expressions of Interest: Training and Evaluation Datasets for African Languages

This EOI is now closed.

Expressions of Interest: Training and Evaluation Datasets for African Languages

Lacuna Fund seeks Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organizations interested in developing training and evaluation datasets for African languages.

A full copy of the EOI solicitation, including more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria, can be found here.

Applications are accepted through the application portal here.

** New for this round ** Mentorship and Collaboration Programs

In collaboration with Masakhane, Lacuna Fund invites interested applicants to register to be paired with a mentor to receive guidance and support in preparing an Expression of Interest for this call.

Express interest in receiving mentorship here!

Do you have experience preparing research proposals, and are you able to mentor a prospective applicant? Let us know here.

Timeline:
  • EOI Call Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 19 October 2021
  • Question and Answer Deadline: 2 November 2021
  • Answers Posted: 9 November 2021
  • Expressions of Interest Due: 1 December 2021

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the EOI should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Language RFP 2021 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by 2 November will be de-identified and answered publicly by 9 November on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted on this page.

(November 9, 2021) Please see the Q&A here.

Please note that for this EOI, lead applicants must be headquartered in or have a substantial partnership in sub-Saharan Africa.

16 June 2021 – 27 July 2021

Expressions of Interest: Machine Learning Datasets for Better Healthcare Outcome

This EOI is now closed.

Expressions of Interest: Machine Learning Datasets for Better Healthcare Outcome

The Lacuna Fund Secretariat has extended the due date for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to its call for proposals to unlock, create, aggregate, and/or improve labeled datasets that can support more equitable healthcare outcomes. EOIs are now due 27 July 2021 by end of day (6:00 pm) US Pacific Time.

Additionally, we have modified the question-and-answer period to provide extra time for additional questions related to the EOI. Please submit any additional questions by 16 July (end of day). Responses to those questions will be provided on 20 July (end of day). All questions related to the EOI should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Equity & Health 2021 Question” in the subject line.

Applications for open funding opportunities are only accepted through the applicant portal. The portal requires you to create an account to access and manage your application. More information on how to create an account and access the portal can be found on SurveyMonkey Apply’s website.

Lacuna Fund seeks Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organizations interested in responding to a call for proposals to unlock, create, aggregate, and/or improve labeled datasets that can support more equitable healthcare outcomes.

A full copy of the EOI solicitation, including more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria, is here.  

20 July – the Updated Question & Answer file is available here.

Applications are accepted through the application portal here.

Timeline:

  • RFP Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 16 June 2021
  • Question and Answer Deadline: 16 July 2021
  • Answers Posted: 7 July 2021 and 20 July 2021
  • Applications Due: 27 July 2021 (6pm PT / 2am WAT / 4am EAT)

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the EOI should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Equity & Health 2021 Question” in the subject line. Additional questions submitted by 16 July will be de-identified and answered publicly by 20 July on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted here.

23 September 2020 - 10 November 2020

Datasets for Language in Sub-Saharan Africa

This RFP is now closed.

Datasets for Language in Sub-Saharan Africa

If an RFP below does not match your substantive focus, please join our mailing list at the bottom of this page to receive updates as new RFPs are released.

Applications for open RFPs are only accepted through the applicant portal. The portal requires you to create an account to access and manage your application. More information on how to create an account and access the portal can be found on SurveyMonkey Apply’s website.

This request for proposals will fund language datasets for machine learning in sub-Saharan Africa.

A full copy of the RFP, including more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria, is here. 

See the budget template for reference here.  Sample budget coming soon.

Applications are accepted through the application portal here.

Timeline:

  • RFP Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 23 September 2020
  • Webinar: 2 October 2020
  • Question and Answer Deadline: 7 October 2020
  • Answers Posted: 14 October 2020
  • Applications Due: 10 November 2020 (Noon ET / 5pm WAT / 8pm EAT)

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the RFP should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Language RFP 2020 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by 7 October will be de-identified and answered publicly by 14 October on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted here.

(October 14, 2020) Please see the Q&A here.

Additional resources from the Data Science for Society – Lacuna Fund NLP RFP  Webinar on 2 October:

Please note that for this request for proposals, applicants should:

Be an organization headquartered in Africa or have a substantial partnership with organization(s) headquartered in Africa.

13 July 2020 – 3 September 2020

Labeled Datasets for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

This RFP is now closed.

This request for proposals will fund labeled agricultural datasets for machine learning in sub-Saharan Africa, whether referenced to earth observation (EO) data or related to other aspects of the crop and animal agricultural system.

A full copy of the RFP, including more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria, is here.

See a budget template for reference here.

Applications are accepted through the application portal here.

Timeline:

  • RFP Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 13 July 2020
  • Question and Answer Deadline: 27 July 2020
  • Answers Posted: 3 August 2020
  • Applications Due: 3 September 2020

Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the RFP should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Agriculture RFP 2020 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by 27 July will be de-identified and answered publicly by 3 August on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted here.

(August 3, 2020) Please see the Q&A here.

Note that this Q&A was updated on August 26, 2020 to indicate that letters of support from collaborating institutions will not be required at the proposal stage, but will be required in the due diligence stage for accepted proposals.

Additional resources from the AI4D Webinar on Lacuna Fund on 31 July:

Please note that for this request for proposals, applicants should:

  • Be an organization headquartered in Africa or have a substantial partnership with organization(s) headquartered in Africa.