FAQ

The Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) is a competitive grant-giving mechanism in the Asia Pacific, administered by the APNIC Foundation.   

Selected on the basis of independent assessments by a panel of community experts, ISIF Asia supports organisations and initiatives that innovate, design, and implement solutions that further Internet and digital development, and in turn facilitate human and economic development in APAC. 

To understand what is available, visit the Apply section of the website. 

Project applications from Asia Pacific-based organisations will be considered. Applications from public, private sector, academia (such as universities, or research and development institutions), non-profit, and social enterprises are welcome to apply to all grant categories.  

Organisations must be legally registered in the Asia Pacific and able to receive funding from an Australian charity. If your organisation is registered in an economy subject to USA or Australian sanctions, you will be required to provide details of a fiscal sponsor. 

Individuals are not eligible to apply.  

Applications must be aligned with ISIF Asia program objectives, eligibility criteria, and administrative guidelines.  

Applications must be submitted through our online grants’ portal only.  

Each year a ‘Call for Proposal’ is announced with the relevant details and deadlines. All organizations must pre-register, prior to being allowed to submit an application. This process can take up to two business days. 

Guidelines and additional information will be made available on the portal. Please read the information provided carefully to help you prepare.  

You can submit more than one application, but it will need to be substantively different. 

The grants portal can be located via https://apnicfoundation.fluxx.io/ 

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Applicants are required to respond to a specific set of questions and demonstrate their innovative approach to resolve a distinct problem that has the potential to further Internet development in the region.  

This is a copy of the application questions, for reference purposes only, as a general guide. Applicants can apply for an ISIF Asia grant only on our grants portal mentioned above. 

IPv6 Deployment Grant applications also require details of the planned deployment. 

Yes. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with like-minded organizations. When preparing the application, please include information about the implementing partners, a description of how the partnership is going to work, and the roles and responsibilities for the project.  

It is important to clarify that the leading organization must be based in the Asia Pacific region. Only the leading organization will sign the grant agreement with the APNIC Foundation and be entitled to receive and administer the allocated funds. 

Any conflicts or disputes between project partners should be manage by the leading organization and any changes in the status of the implementing partners must be communicated to the APNIC Foundation. 

A due diligence review might be required for all the organizations listed in the partnership and related documentation will be required. 

Applications under this program can be submitted across three grant types supporting projects in different stages of development:  

• Small grants: USD 30,000 
• Scale-up grants: USD 85,000 
• Impact grants: USD 150,000  

Projects can range from 6 months to 18 months in duration. The deliverables need to be planned and scheduled to fit within that timeline.  

Remember to consider any approvals and procurement lead times in your scheduling. 

Approvals may include legal and/or governmental approvals, national or local community agreements, or any internal approvals based on the terms and conditions of our Grant Agreement, so that your organization can accept funding from the APNIC Foundation, which is based in Australia.  

Calls for grant applications are open for a fixed period time. Clear deadlines are included on our application portal, our website, and through email announcements and social media channels. 

All applications must be submitted in their entirety using our grants portal.  

No additional information can be filed after that date (unless required by the APNIC Foundation). 

The APNIC Foundation ISIF Asia grants ONLY supports initiatives by organizations legally registered and based in the Asia Pacific region. Project activities must be implemented in least one economy as per the list below.  

The ISIF Asia selection committee will consider geographical diversity when making decisions for final funding allocation. 

Afghanistan 

American Samoa 

Australia 

Bangladesh 

Bhutan 

British Indian Ocean Territory 

Brunei 

Cambodia 

China 

Christmas Islands 

Cocos Keeling Islands 

Cook Islands 

Fiji 

French Polynesia 

French Southern Territories 

Guam 

Hong Kong 

India 

Indonesia 

Japan 

Kiribati 

Lao PDR 

Macao 

Malaysia 

Maldives 

Marshall Islands 

Micronesia (FSM)Mongolia 

Myanmar 

Nauru 

Nepal 

New Caledonia 

New Zealand 

Niue 

Norfolk Island 

North Korea 

Northern Mariana Islands 

Pakistan 

Palau 

Papua New Guinea 

Philippines 

Pitcairn 

Samoa 

Singapore 

Solomon Islands 

South Korea 

Sri Lanka 

Taiwan 

Thailand 

Timor Leste 

Tokelau 

Tonga 

Tuvalu 

Vanuatu 

Viet Nam 

Wallis and Futuna Islands 

The APNIC Foundation staff conduct a detailed review of the applications received, making sure each proposal is aligned with our mandate, is proposed to be implemented within our service region, and complete. 

An independent Selection Committee, consisting of experts with diverse expertise and experience, reviews the applications in an iterative manner. A set of weighted criteria is used by the Selection Committee to advance applications. See below for details. The review process by the ISIF Selection Committee takes about two months. 

The scoring is conducted through our online platform that calculates an average score based on the points given by the Selection Committee members, multiplied by the weight designated for each criterion. Committee members are required to provide comments to support their scores. 

The Selection Committee consists of over thirty members.  

The Selection Committee’s assessment informs final determinations for selection of applications by the APNIC Foundation. The Foundation may also take diversity considerations into account before proceeding, including the geographic distribution of ISIF Asia’s overall funding.  

A grant agreement will be signed between the leading organisation of a grant proposal and the APNIC Foundation. It will include the schedule of disbursements and the terms and conditions for the release of grant funds. Grant agreements will be made available on the grants portal. 

The legal representative is the person with delegated authority to enter into a contractual arrangement with APNIC Foundation. They will be required to sign the document. This will be actioned on the grants portal via DocuSign. 

The document is not valid without a corresponding authorized APNIC Foundation signature. The APNIC Foundation will sign after the recipient organization has completed their signatures.  

These legal documents cannot be tailored to accommodate individual requests. All grant recipients operate under the same terms and conditions. The template for grant agreement terms and conditions is available here. 

The APNIC Foundation is committed to provide funding in a timely manner, however payment terms can take up to 30 days from approvals. 

Bank information details will only be requested from organisations that have progressed to the final stage of selection. This is part of the due diligence process. On completion of the process, a Banking Information Form will need to be signed. 

Payments are made in US dollars. Some banking institutions may not transact in USD, or there are factors outside the control of the APNIC Foundations that may delay the funds being received by the recipient. You will need to contact the APNIC Foundation at [email protected].  

Project proposals and deliverables should be scheduled in accordance with the grant payment schedule to ensure sufficient coverage of expenses. This process can take between 4-6 weeks, inclusive of the APNIC Foundation’s 30-day payment terms. 

The payment schedule is as follows: 

• 50% of the grant will be disbursed on submission of all project plans and detailed budgets post-acceptance  

• 40% of the grant will be disbursed on the submission and approval of mid-term financial and technical progress reports by the APNIC Foundation, and  

• 10% of the grant will be disbursed on project completion, submission, and approval of final reports by the APNIC Foundation. 

After the project has closed, the recipients must submit a technical report and a financial report to the APNIC Foundation.  

The final grant disbursement is only disbursed once all project expenses have been accounted for, and the APNIC Foundation approves both the technical and financial reports submitted by the grantee.  

This process can take between 4-6 weeks inclusive of the APNIC Foundation’s 30-day payment terms. 

Grant recipients are required to formally report against the project’s progress. This includes a narrative technical report and a financial report. Grant recipients are also expected to provide the APNIC Foundation with metrics requested by our MEL team. Additional reports might be requested by the APNIC Foundation at any time during the project cycle. 

The reports are required to be submitted using our grants portal. The APNIC Foundation will provide assistance with the use of the portal. 

There are two key stages: 

• Interim reporting 

• Final reporting 

Interim reporting (both technical and financial reports) is required at the half-way point of the project, or when the grant recipient has expensed at least 80% of the first grant disbursement. You are expected to enter your expenses in USD. 

The technical narrative must be descriptive and detailed, and report on how the project deliverables progressed. We ask that you submit your technical and financial reports together. Reports are subject to approval by the APNIC Foundation. Reports may be sent back and ask for more information or to clarify certain information provided. 

Approval might take two to four weeks and therefore it is recommended that project activities are budgeted accordingly so there are no delays in implementation. 

Final reports must be submitted within 30 days of the completion of the project. Delays to reporting obligations and delivery of project activities may impact future funding from the APNIC Foundation. 

Metrics are a vital part of demonstrating the impact and alignment of funded activities with the APNIC Foundation’s strategic objectives. When selecting and reporting on metrics, grant recipients should consider the following: 

Selecting Metrics 

• Metrics should align with the project’s focus areas and the Foundation’s strategic pillars of Infrastructure, Inclusion, and Knowledge. 

• Projects are required to select at least one metric that corresponds to their identified focus area(s). 

• Metric selection should balance the time, cost, and effort required for data collection with the value and insight the metric provides. 

Reporting on Metrics 

• Biannual Reporting Periods: Reporting is mandatory for all projects and must be completed every six months for the periods January to June and July to December. 

• Reports must be evidence-based, with data clearly attributable to funded activities. 

• Disaggregate data by gender, disability, or other relevant demographics where applicable. 

• Collect data consistently and systematically every six months to avoid gaps or overlaps. 

• Metrics can be cumulative (e.g., tracking adoption rates over time) or progressive (e.g., snapshot-based satisfaction scores). 

• If no activities contribute to a metric during a reporting period, report it as zero. 

• Reporting on metrics is in addition to reporting on project-specific indicators, which measure overall project performance at the activity level. Both are required to provide a comprehensive picture of the project’s progress and outcomes. 

Using the Metrics App 

• Grant recipients must register on the Metrics App (link) to manage and report metrics. 

• The Metrics App allows users to add, review, and submit metrics, providing a centralized platform for tracking progress. 

• Detailed instructions for using the Metrics App, including adding and updating metrics, are available in the Metrics App Guide. 

Support and Assistance 

• The Foundation’s MEL team is available to help grant recipients select appropriate metrics and navigate the Metrics App. 

Metrics are an essential part of understanding and showcasing the impact of the project. Selecting meaningful metrics and maintaining consistent reporting will ensure the Foundation can measure progress effectively and provide valuable insights to the Asia-Pacific Internet technical community. 

Final technical reports are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, including basic information about team members according to the APNIC Foundation privacy policy. 

Publishing these reports will allow the community to benefit from your experience and learnings. Reports are also of interest to researchers interested in understanding the evolution of technologies, as well as for others looking to build or scale similar solutions or approaches. 

It is advisable to inform APNIC Foundation about any pictures, diagrams, audio and/or video material that document project activities. These additional materials will be used to development ISIF Asia promotional materials, and as such ISIF Asia reserves the right to reuse them totally or partially. Therefore, to credit the authors full details must be provided. Funding recipients will be showcased on our website and online platforms. 

The application and the financial report provide a template to organise expenses according to the following budget lines. No overheads are funded on a percentage basis, but they can be folded into project deliverables. The APNIC Foundation requires that the grant recipient maintains their own financial records in accordance with their internal policies. At any stage, APNIC Foundation may perform a financial audit of the project expenses. A project may be requested to evidence expenses and will be required to respond to this with documentation outside the signed financial reports. 

Equipment: All devices, hardware and software needed for specific project implementation. It is assumed the organization already has the equipment to conduct their day-to-day work. 

• Human Resources: Organization’s staff, contractors and consultants providing technical support, programming, documentation, monitoring and evaluation costs for all project related activities. 

• Project Activities: Direct project-related expenses such as materials, training for community beneficiaries, and field trips.  These should include logistics, accommodation, airfares, visa applications, and per diem 

• Engagement by Project Team: Expenses associated with face-to-face or online local or national engagement activities, such as participation in conferences or presentations. These should include logistics, accommodation, airfares, visa applications, per diem, and registration fees. 

• Capacity Building: Costs associated with mentoring, training, and professional development for project and organization sustainability. 

• Support Services: Web hosting, transcripts, translations, licenses, etc. 

The APNIC Foundation reserves the right to organize site visits for its staff or for its funding partners at any time during or after the project cycle. Recipients are requested to support and organize the logistics. 

Yes. The APNIC Foundation will notify funding recipients about any meeting planned and will provide detailed logistic information with enough anticipation to guarantee participation. Mandatory participation to specific events will be part of the terms and conditions for the release of funds.

As part of the funding conditions, project initiatives need to acknowledge support from the APNIC Foundation in all outputs and material produced within the project, using APNIC Foundation grant funding. Grantees will also be provided with appropriate logos to support acknowledgement. 

Here is a sample of acknowledgement: “This work was supported by a grant from the APNIC Foundation, via ISIF Asia.” 

Where you are sharing on social media, please use the tag relevant to your grant year. 

• #ISIFAsia2023 

• #ISIFAsia2024 

• #ISIFAsia2025 

When posting on social media in general, please tag ISIF Asia if you are on Facebook or Twitter, and the APNIC Foundation if you are on LinkedIn. We can help amplify the work that you are doing. 

• Facebook: @APNICFoundation 

• Twitter / X: @ApnicFoundation 

• LinkedIn: @apnic-foundation 

• Bluesky: @apnicfoundation.bsky.social

All ISIF Asia funded projects are required to publish their Final Technical Report on our website to document their project activities and share their lessons learned. All reports are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Ownership of the project idea and materials will remain with the recipients of the ISIF Asia funds.

When submitting an application and/or a report, the applicants and/or the grantees are granting permission to the APNIC Foundation and its funding partners to use materials, submitted or developed during the application and/or reporting process, in publications or promotional materials. These materials can be project descriptions, photographs to illustrate a project idea during the application process, or taken during a project implementation, at funded events, etc. 

Calls for applications open annually, and all dates about our application cycles are announced on our website and social channel. 

You are invited to join our mailing list. To register, sign up on the contact us page.   

Proposals must have clear and concrete objectives and a well-structured project methodology. 

Grant applicants should demonstrate capacity to manage funds, conduct project activities and document outcomes effectively, within the specified budget and time limits.  

Grant applications must include a realistic timeframe for project implementation, according to ISIF Asia terms and conditions. 

Grant applications must include only the budget breakdown of the funds solicited to ISIF Asia. If the application is part of a larger project, details about source of funding and budget distribution can be provided as part of the grant application but without being included on the budget breakdown requested as part of the application form. The program may decide to partially fund a proposal. 

Projects should clearly address diversity as part of their staffing, governance and implementation, and include on their application information about the expected impact of their activities around the many dimensions of diversity such as race, ethnicity, language, literacy, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, etc. Projects led by women and/or where women have an active technical role are specially encouraged to apply. 

ISIF Asia has a strong emphasis on documentation of impact and knowledge sharing. Grantees are required to prepare progress and final reports using a designated reporting platform. Project reports are published using a Creative Commons 4.0 license. Besides the project technical report, grantees are encouraged to share research papers, videos, and other communication materials. Applicants are required to include a clear communication strategy for the dissemination of project outcomes.  

Successful funding recipients will be encouraged to submit papers to academic peer-review journals as well as research papers to regional and global conferences such as the APNIC, APRICOT, IETF and others to share project outcomes as well as to share “behind the scenes” lessons learned during the project cycle in our blog.  

Successful funding recipients will be required to be available for interviews and other promotional activities around the dissemination of project results. 

There are certain conditions where a grant may need to be closed off and/or terminated at a point prior to full completion. This will be in consultation and communication with the grant recipient’s primary contact.  

Some conditions, but not limited to are: 

• Sanctions restricting funding to certain locations or activities 

• Inability to obtain internal or external approvals to deliver grant related activities 

• Inability to provide high-quality grant reports in a timely manner that demonstrate the grantees use of funding efficiently and in line with their approved proposed activities 

• In case of proven fraudulent activity on part of the grant recipient 

Yes, it is possible, but it will be a slow process. The APNIC Foundation staff is willing to review the comments gathered during the selection process and provide a summary after final decisions are published. This should allow the applicant to improve future applications. The decisions are final and cannot be challenged. 

Award recipients are expected to write a blog article about the impact receiving the award had for the organization and their future plans.