Have questions about the competition, the proposal or the budget form? Please consult the following Commonly Asked Questions!
Visit the AEIF Helpdesk for more resources such as sample proposals and budgets and guides to building your own. (You need to log in to view the Helpdesk.)
General AEIF Questions
How will projects be evaluated?
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Relevance of project to selected theme
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Innovation
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Feasibility of implementation
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Degree of alumni involvement
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Timeliness/relevance of activities
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Impact of project on defined project beneficiaries
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Relevant and reasonable budget
Will having more alumni on my team make my project more competitive?
How can I find other alumni to join my team?
Proposal Form Questions
What should I include in my project title?
My project addresses more than one theme; which should I choose?
Can my project be implemented in multiple countries?
What challenge or need should our project address?
What is an innovative project?
How do we describe our project’s potential impact?
Now that you know how you plan to go about implementing your project, tell us what you hope to achieve. What kinds of changes would you like to see as a result of your project’s activities? What measureable results do you anticipate after completion of this project?
Can you tell us more about the alumni project team leader and members?
- The team leader must be a non-U.S. citizen. U.S. citizens can be team members but they cannot serve as a “team leader” or submit a project.
- Implementation of project activities must be performed outside the United States.
- Multi-country alumni cooperation is encouraged where it serves the needs of a project, but is not required.
- Teams may have non-alumni members (such as local partners, friends, colleagues, volunteers, etc), but these team members will not be included in team’s total members for the purpose of this competition.
What are the roles and expectations of the alumni team?
- Project Implementer: Responsible for implementing a range of project activities, in coordination with the team members
- Administrative Coordinator: Responsible for providing administrative support for the project
- Finance/Accounting: Responsible for financial management, accounting, and bookkeeping including fulfilling any financial reporting requirements associated with USG grant funding requirements
- Media Outreach and Promotion: Responsible for a range of promotional activities and communication about the project, including social media promotion and liaising with the media
- Technical Support: Responsible for various technical aspects of the project (for example, providing audio/visual support or technical expertise)
- Advisor: Responsible for advising the team leader and team members on various aspects of project development and/or implementation
Who are beneficiaries?
Beneficiaries are the primary audience or target group for your project. People or institutions directly benefitting from or being impacted by your project are beneficiaries. You may have primary, secondary, and tertiary beneficiaries.
Who are local partners?
What is an implementation plan and timeline?
What is a communications plan?
What are project evaluation methods?
How will the impact of your project continue after implementation?
How do I access the AEIF proposal form?
Can I skip sections in the proposal form if I am not ready?
Can I return to my proposal later if I am not ready to submit?
What can I expect once I have submitted a proposal?
I'm having trouble with the application form? What do I do?
Budget Form Questions
How much funding can I request?
What costs are allowed in the budget? What costs are not allowed?
- Intra-regional or in-country transportation
- Trainer or speaker expenses
- Reasonable equipment and materials
- Meals or refreshments that are integral to the overall project goals (i.e. working lunch during a meeting)
- Communications and publicity materials such as manuals or project advertisements
- Airfare to or from the United States
- Sustained staff salaries, office space, and overhead/operational expenses
- Large items of durable equipment
- Excessive meals, refreshments, or entertainment
- Academic research
- Provision of direct social services to a population (e.g. Funding cannot be used to buy books or medicines to give to a community. However, funding can be used to purchase books that will be used in a training or awareness campaign.)
- Support or opposition of partisan political activity
Do I need to include a budget?
How do I develop a detailed budget?
- Correct: $50/person travel from X to Y * 10 people = $500 for travel expenses
- Incorrect: Travel expenses for $500
- Correct: $20/hour for trainer for 6 hours a day for 4 days = $480 trainer fee
- Incorrect: $480 for training fees
How do I add more line items?