The Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) is inviting organisations and individuals to submit proposals for projects focused on its key programme areas:

• The Economic Development and Justice programme - Support to date has emphasised education for entrepreneurship, the role of provincial and metropolitan governments as drivers of economic change, and research on the impact of growth coalitions between government, civil society, and business on influencing economic growth, with equity.
• Criminal Justice Initiative (CJI) - As both a grantmaking and operationalised programme, the goal of the CJI is to build accountability within the individual agencies of the criminal justice system (i.e., police, courts, prisons), with the intention of ensuring a broader humanity, efficiency, and accountability within the criminal justice process as a whole.
• Human Rights and Governance Programme - This programme seeks to promote the culture and values of an open and democratic society through the following objectives: 1) To promote a culture of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law; 2) To support and strengthen citizens’ access to justice; and 3) To encourage transparent, accountable, and participatory governance.
• Media Programme - This programme seeks to promote a vibrant and sustainable media environment that comprises multiple, free, and independent voices essential to a well-informed society. To this end, the programme focuses on: (1) the production of quality content; (2) good governance, sound management, and innovation for sustainable community print and radio; (3) the promotion of media freedoms, access to information, and advocacy; and (4) the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the media.

Click here for more information about the grant, including how to apply, and for access to applications forms in PDF and MS Word formats.

OSF-SA website on February 23 2010; and email from Fortune Sibanda to The Communication Initiative on February 24 2010.