OPTions Initiative | Request for Proposals

The deadline to submit a proposal is April 14, 2020 at 3:00 pm (ET)

$250,000 grants are available through the OPTions Initiative! The OPTions Initiative aims to save and improve women’s and girls’ lives through increased access to safe and legal abortion in low- and middle-income countries, and through the development and testing of next generation methods of abortion. Innovators from all fields are encouraged to apply and ideas at all stages are welcome. Proposed innovations should be bold, innovative, and ‘outside-the-box’. The innovations are expected to focus on the following two key areas:

• New approaches to increasing early access to existing abortion products and services
• Next generation methods of pregnancy termination

Successful proposals will be awarded seed grants of up to $250,000 CAD over 18 to 24 months to develop and test the proposed innovation. Assuming a sufficient number of proposals of merit are received, Grand Challenges Canada aims to award approximately 20 seed grants this round.

Eligible applicants

Institutions that are legally incorporated including non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and for-profit companies. The following types of institutions are particularly encouraged to apply and will be viewed favorably in the review process

• Institutions external to the existing sexual and reproductive health and rights network
• Institutions that add value and bring new perspectives to the safe abortion space
• Institutions that are positioned to introduce novel ways of addressing the problem
• Social enterprises and feminist organizations

Innovators worldwide are eligible to apply to the “next generation methods of pregnancy termination” focus area of the RFP. Applicants to the “increasing access to existing methods of abortion” focus area must be based in a low- or middle-income country

• Download Request for Proposals – English
• Download Frequently Asked Questions – English
• Download Request for Proposal - Arabic
• Download Demande de propositions – Français
• Download Foire aux questions – Français

Join us on 13 January 2020 at 5:00 PM (Egypt time) 10:00 am ET by registering at the below registration form.

Agenda

1. OPTions Initiative RFP overview (15 minutes)
2. Application process (10 minutes)
3. Proposal development support (15 minutes)
4. Q&A (20 minutes)

Program Associate with Grand Challenges Canada

Annie works at multiple investments stages including seed ($100K-$250K CAD) and transition-to-scale (up to $1M CAD) levels. Annie is the Program Associate on GCC’s OPTions Initiative, leads investment negotiations, and conducts due diligence on commercial and non-commercial investments for the transition-to-scale portfolio with a specific focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Annie has a background in international development and economics, field experience in East Africa, and a passion for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls globally.