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Project Requirements

Entrants must articulate a proposed solution that includes the following criteria:

  • Applicants must clearly articulate how the project addresses a pressing need of their local community.
  • Proposals must involve deployment of technology, customization of technology, and/or development of technology.
  • Projects should have active “local” IEEE volunteer involvement. That means that key IEEE members responsible for implementing the project are currently living in the country/countries where the project is to take place. Notably, there must be active participation by a local IEEE ComSoc chapter member(s) with a statement of involvement confirmed by the chapter chair.
  • The local community must be actively involved in determining what is needed/desired and how a project will be designed and executed. Projects must supply letter(s) of support from the community to demonstrate this.
  • Proposals must clearly articulate the impact of the project and how it will be measured, using the Project Assessment Matrix. Applicants are required to take the free online HAC/SIGHT course on IEEE ILN, “Project Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation” for clear instructions on how to complete the matrix and how to implement monitoring and evaluation best practices at all stages of a project.

Entrants must articulate a proposed solution that also includes the following criteria:

  • Articulate the needs of an unattended community and clearly state how and why they will benefit from the Internet implementation.
  • The project must also articulate the project risks and mitigation for each point, including but not limited to: schedule risk, resource risk, financial risks, etc.
  • The project team should propose a project plan for the
    • Implementation
    • Training
    • Engagement of the community
    • Expected performance measurements.
  • Additionally, the team should outline an adoption plan for the promotion, marketing and visibility of the project in conjunction with the supporting region and chapter.
  • A detailed budget for the project not to exceed US$12,000 using the provided template.
  • A description of how it is expected that the equipment will be maintained after the implementation.
  • The project proposal must meet the following technical criteria:
    • Have performance measurements plans to demonstrate that the implemented solution would be successful. For example, they could be:
      • The maximum throughput at each serving point independently.
      • The maximum throughput at each serving point at the same time.
      • Continuous measurement of the network usage for at least one week.
      • A measure of how effective the management system is to detect failures in the network.

Community Criteria

The community identified in the project must meet the following criteria:

  • There is a real need for Internet access (e.g. service providers do not offer it in that community, or it is prohibitively expensive for members of the community).
  • As the project proposal is focused on the Internet distribution and not on the link provisioning of the Internet connection, the individual or project team should demonstrate how the community will continue to have access when the current project is finished (e.g., involving other funding, public or private).

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

  • Benefit to the affected local community
  • Project scope well defined
  • Strength of team and capacity to attain goal
  • Involvement of relevant stakeholder network
  • Relevance to IEEE's mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, but specifically bringing internet to an underserved community
  • Overall potential for success

Read the Call for Proposals