Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Alliances Fund/NomadLab Solution-Promoting Digital Inclusion Among the Underserved Youths
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Applicant information[edit]
A. Organization type
- Mission-aligned organization
B. Organization name
- Passerelles numeriques
E. Do you have an account on a Wikimedia project?
- Yes
E1. Please provide the main Wikimedia Username (required) and Usernames of people related to this proposal.
- noemi_encinares
G. Have you received grants from the Wikimedia Foundation before?
- Did not apply previously
H. Have you received grants from any non-wiki organization before?
- Yes
- H1. Which organization(s) did you receive grants from?
- Smart Axiata
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) EMpower UBS Optimum Foundation Motorola Solutions Foundation Pierre Bellon Foundation etc.
- H2. Please state the size of these grants from the following options.
- Other
- H3. What type of organization (s) did you receive grants from?
- Bilateral or Multilateral Organizations, Other
- H4. What percentage of your program budget do other funders contribute to?
- More than 75%
1. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?
- No
1a. Fiscal organization name.
- N/A
2. Are you legally registered?
- Yes
3. What type of organization are you?
- Non profit organisation
4. What is your organization or group's mission and how does it align with the Wikimedia movement?
- PN’s mission is “to unlock the potential of underprivileged youth by empowering them with innovative education in key digital and soft employability skills.” We promote inclusive technology through provision of education to the disadvantaged youths of Southeast Asia and Africa. Similar to Wikimedia, our target beneficiaries come from underrepresented communities also.
5. If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has. (optional)
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/passerellesnum-riques/mycompany/ NomadLab - http://nomadlab.passerellesnumeriques.org/
Grant proposal[edit]
6. Please state the title of your proposal.
- NomadLab Solution: Promoting Digital Inclusion Among the Underserved Youths
9. Where will this proposal be implemented?
- Cambodia
10. Indicate if it is a local, international, or regional proposal and if it involves several countries?
- International
10a. If you have answered international, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.
- Cambodia, Philippines, and Vietnam
10b. Are there any specific sub-regions or areas where your proposal will be implemented?
- Cambodia - Currently, PN Cambodia (PNC) has already deployed 9 NomadLabs in the provinces of Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, Kratie, Ratanak Kiri, and Kampot. More NomadLabs are expected to be deployed across the country in the coming years. We are targeting far-flung and poor communities where the solution is needed the most.
Philippines and Vietnam- the first step is to conduct a feasibility study to identify the regions/provinces where the solution is most applicable. Similar to PNC, PN Philippines (PNP) and PN Vietnam (PNV) will identify the remote communities and public schools where we can partner so underprivileged students will benefit from the program. The PNP center is located in Cebu City so ideally the initial projects will be within nearby towns or provinces. On the other hand, for PNV, the initial deployment should preferably be located nearby Da Nang Province where the PNV center is based.
11. What is the challenge or problem you are addressing and why is this important?
- Almost 50% of the world’s population, 3.7 billion people, are digitally disconnected and most are women from developing countries. In Cambodia alone, only 52.6% of the population are internet users. Unfortunately, the vulnerable people are most likely to be excluded from access to digital technology. In the majority of public schools in developing countries, digital literacy and basic ICT training are not compulsory in basic education. In the recent study conducted by UNICEF on the digital literacy in education systems across ASEAN countries, one of the key findings is that more than half of 10 to 24 year-old participants said they did not learn digital skills at school with the majority coming from rural areas. Aside from poverty, remoteness, limited access to technical resources and infrastructure, there is a lack of practical solutions to address the problem. Apparently, these problems have led to most developing nation’s inability to disseminate digitally relevant resources and content and transfer of basic ICT skills to the vulnerable population. These issues result in a domino effect of inability to equip students with necessary digital skills, excluding the disadvantaged population to access remote learning, and producing highly unemployable and digitally incompetent workforce.
12. What is the main objective of your proposal? Please state why you think partnering with Wikimedia Movement helps to achieve this objective?
- PN will partner with the Wikimedia Movement through our NomadLab project to support and strengthen its implementation & replication to far-flung and poor communities in Cambodia, Philippines, and Vietnam. NomadLab aims to provide free access to digital tools with online/offline solutions and offers digital learning content to young students and adults from remote communities. Wikimedia can help us build a new system of collaboration with the free knowledge ecosystem through its content projects.
13. Describe your main strategies to achieve this objective?
- Building bridges and creating fruitful partnerships lies in PN’s DNA. Our on-the-ground experience in Southeast Asia has taught us that interdisciplinary cooperation and multisectoral partnerships yield the best results when addressing one of the most complex development challenges of our time: quality education for all. With our long-term vision to scale regionally and globally and tap thousands more beneficiaries, Wikimedia can be one of our best partners to achieve this goal.
With our years of presence and operation in all three countries, we have built connections with the local government, corporate partners, communities, alumni, and relevant networks. We have familiarity with the countries’ educational system, poverty situation, remote communities, and lack of digital inclusion in the majority of the population. Strategically, mobilization is easier with our existing centers and local teams. NomadLab is a perfect complement for our TVET program in our goal to teach digital skills, provide digital resources, and build employability for underserved youths.
In a nutshell, these are the next major steps that we can to take moving forward to scale NomadLab across the region:
- 1. NomadLab is a modular, open source, inclusive, easy-to-build solution for ICT infrastructure and an innovative educational tool for teachers and students. It was first introduced in Cambodia where we also founded PN’s first TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) program in 2005. Hundreds of students have already benefited from our initial pilots but thousands still need to be reached, hence, we aim to build more NomadLab across Cambodia. Our PNC team currently partners with local communities, NGOs, and government ministries to choose locations, deploy, and implement the project within the country. PN, together with SIPAR, a local NGO partner, works together in securing funds to continue the implementation and replication of NomadLab across the country.
- 2. PN also wants to replicate the NomadLab solution to the Philippines and Vietnam, eventually, where we have existing centers for our TVET program too. PN is currently working to secure fundings to start raising funds to conduct feasibility studies in both countries so we can identify the needs, beneficiaries, local partners, and communities where we can build the first NomadLab infrastructure. Ideally, we want to build the first NomadLab in the Philippines within the next year and in Vietnam within the next two years.
- 3. We want to partner with Wikimedia to help us scale NomadLab solutions in Southeast Asia. Aside from that, one unique component of partnering with Wikimedia is the chance for the NomadLabs in all 3 countries to develop a standard system of collaboration with the free knowledge ecosystem by incorporating Wikimedia’s content projects like Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and/or WikiFundi and other possible online platforms available.
14. Are you running any in-person events or activities?
- Yes
- N/A
15. Please state if your proposal aims to work to bridge any of the identified content knowledge gaps?
- Language, Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context)
16. Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or thematic focus.
- Education, Open Technology
17. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select all categories that apply.
- Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background, Linguistic / Language, Socioeconomic status, Digital Access
18. Please tell us more about your target participants.
- PN’s approach to implement the NomadLab solution is done effectively through building strong tie-ups with various partners and stakeholders --- NGOs, government, academic institutions, corporations, communities, and beneficiaries.
The main participants in the program are the beneficiaries/students from poor families and remote communities, ages 6 to 18 years old on average. In Cambodia, where NomadLab started, the strategy to choose and retain the stakeholders has been successful so far. To choose beneficiaries, pilot, and implement the solution, PN partnered with SIPAR, an NGO with 28 years of presence in Cambodia whose goal is to improve literacy and reading abilities of underserved locals through setting up reading corners, libraries, and resource centers that are highly accessible to them. SIPAR has been working closely with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS) and has extensive exposure with rural schools and communities for almost 3 decades already. In strong cooperation with SIPAR and MoEYS, NomadLab is PN’s answer to the country’s pressing need to address digital literacy and inclusion aside from TVET. With their help we were able to collaborate with public school libraries and youth clubs that will need NomadLab the most. To date, we have already deployed 9 NomadLabs in 5 provinces within Cambodia and since the first pilot, we have enhanced and have been working on refining the solution to serve our beneficiaries better.
Also, one of the unique features of NomadLab is the train-the-trainer approach. PN provides intensive training to the local staff who oversee and guide the students on the ground to ensure proper program implementation. PN also extends constant and necessary technical support to our partner schools and learning hubs.
Furthermore, PN is working hard to forge and maintain strong and long-term partnerships with the stakeholders for the success and sustainability of the program. We ensure that everyone has their important role to play and has involvement in NomadLab. Thus, we plan to replicate the applicable best practices that we have done in Cambodia to Philippines and Vietnam too.
19. Do you have plans to work with other Wikimedia communities, groups or affiliates in your country, or in other countries, to implement this proposal?
- Yes
19a. If yes, please tell us about these connections online and offline and how you have let Wikimedia communities know about this proposal.
- We had a meeting with Jacqueline Chen, working at the Community Resource team of Wikimedia Foundation, together with Wikimedia volunteers from Cambodia, Will Conquer and from Philippines, Anthony Diaz. We have discussed how PN and Wikimedia can collaborate together and have decided to push for the NomadLab project for this potential partnership.
19b. If no, please tell us the reasons why it has not been possible to make these connections.
- N/A
20. Will you be working with other external non-Wikimedian partners to implement this proposal?
- Yes
20a. If yes, please describe these partnerships.
- We will work with the government, NGOs, academic institutions, donors and communities in implementing the NomadLab project across Cambodia, Philippines, and Vietnam.
20a. If yes, indicate sharing of resources from these partners (in kind support, grants, donations, payments).
- gifts or service in-kind support
grants donations
21. Please tell us how your organization is structured.
- PN is composed of both support and local offices across the world. Our head office is based in Paris, France while the regional office is based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. PN also has 4 centers located in Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Madagascar where we implement our programs.
For global alignment, PN’s support teams provide assistance in fundraising, finance, innovation, human resources, and monitoring and evaluation. The regional and global heads extend capacity building support, spearhead the strategy development and implementation, and lead the coordination among the offices and teams to set direction and ensure collaboration. On the other hand, each center is led by a Country Representative who directly supervises the Department Managers. All the Country Representatives and Directors from the support offices report directly to the Board President. PN is led by its Board of Directors who inspire governance and strategic direction and provide oversight and accountability for the entire organization.
For the NomadLab project, it is currently led by the PNC Country Representative who has a dedicated NomadLab team and with support of PNC staff. The support teams, most especially the fundraising teams extend the necessary support to the NomadLab team. When replicated in the Philippines and Vietnam, the project will also be spearheaded by their respective Country Representatives with the assistance from local staff and future dedicated NomadLab teams.
22. Do you have the team that is needed to implement this proposal?
- There are 3 groups of teams who are directly and indirectly involved with the NomadLab project:
- 1. Local team – the implementation of NomadLab projects in every center will be led by the Country Representatives. Same with how we did it in Cambodia, the Country Representative stands as the project team leader. She is supported by a small team of NomadLab project specialists who provide technical and operational expertise to the solution. The local fundraising teams are also working on securing fundings to support scaling of the project across the country. Alongside with them, the local Admin and Finance, IT, Education, and Selection teams also extend necessary support whenever needed. In PNP and PNV, we also foresee the involvement of every department to the development of the NomadLab in these countries.
- 2. Global team – the support offices are also involved most especially in the efforts to replicate Nomadlab to Philippines and Vietnam and scaling within Cambodia. The Global Fundraising teams are looking for donors and partners to support this initiative. The Finance team is helping in estimating the funds needed and will also help in monitoring the expenses. The M&E Director will also help in overseeing the program implementation and measuring its impact and results.
- 3. External partners – similar to the approach of PN’s TVET program, we also forged ties with external allies from NGOs, government, academic institutions, and local communities for the NomadLab project in Cambodia. These partners help in the program roll-out and some also assist in looking for funding partners. We hope to do the same method in the Philippines and Vietnam if appropriate. Consultants will be considered too especially in the feasibility study phase in these 2 countries.
23. Please state if your organization or group has a Strategic Plan that can help us further understand your proposal. You can also upload it here.
- No
Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation[edit]
24. What do you hope to learn from this proposal?
- In 2019, PN underwent a strategic review to assess how we can further increase our impact, relevance, and sustainability. The assessment led to PN’s new mission of promoting inclusive technology beyond our flagship TVET program. One of the goals of the new mission is to broaden PN’s footprint and scalability with expanded impact and additional solutions for digital inclusion like NomadLab.
Partnering with Wikimedia is a unique approach that we would like to explore as we push for NomadLab’s further improvement and scaling. Since digital transformation is a never-ending process, NomadLab has a flexible business model and customizable content. We want NomadLab to remain relevant, useful and applicable in the years to come thus it was created to be an evolving solution too. Through this proposal, we want to:
- learn how PN and NomadLab can benefit by partnering with the Wikimedia Movement.
- learn how PN and NomadLab can contribute to the Wikimedia Movement’s goals.
- understand how we can address knowledge gaps through Wikimedia Movement’s content projects
- learn how we can use and apply Wikimedia’s core metrics to monitor and measure NomadLab’s results and impact
Core Metrics[edit]
25. Enter a description of the metric and a number in the target field. If the metric does not apply to you, enter N/A for not applicable.
| Core metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | Estimated no. of participants (new): until December 2023
Students: PNC: 22 850 (3 initial pilots in 2019 = 2 600 beneficiaries; in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Sipar and Youth Star foundation, target of 18 750 students by 2023; 1 additional NomadLab (NL) sponsored by Wikimedia = 1 500 direct beneficiaries) PNP: 3 000 (1,500 students in every NL; target: 2 NLs) PNV: 1 500 students (1,500 students in an NL; target: 1 NL) Total students: 27 350 Teachers: PNC: 840 (1 Kampong Cham; 2 Prey Veng; estimated NL til 2023 is 24 (in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Sipar and Youth Star foundation) ; Wikimedia: 1 NL = 28 NL x 30 teachers) PNP: 60 teachers (30 teachers in every partner school; target partner schools: 2) PNV: 30 teachers (30 teachers in a partner school; target partner schools: 1) Total teachers: 930 PN staff PN support team - 6 (Fundraising, M&E, Operations, Innovation, HR, & Finance) PNC - 10 (NL experts, Country Rep, External Relations, Training and Education, Selection, Admin & Finance) PNP - 8 (NL experts, Country Rep, External Relations, Training and Education, Selection, Admin & Finance) PNV - 6 ((NL experts, Country Rep, External Relations, Training and Education, Selection, Admin & Finance) Total PN staff: 30 External consultants - 2 ( PNP and PNV) |
28312 |
| Number of editors | PNC - 28 (1 in every NomadLab center)
PNP - 2 (1 in every NomadLab center) PNV - 1 (1 in every NomadLab center) |
31 |
| Number of organizers | Dedicated NomadLab team - 6 (2 staff in each of the 3 centers)
Team Leaders - 3 (1 in each center) Trainers - 31 (PNC - 28; PNP - 2; PNV - 1) Teachers - 31 (PNC - 28; PNP - 2; PNV - 1) PN staff - 18 (PN support office - 6; PNC - 5; PNP - 4; PNV - 3) |
89 |
| Wikimedia Project | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Wikipedia - 155 (PNC - 140; PNP - 10; PNV - 5) | 155 |
| Wiktionary | Wiktionary - 155 (PNC - 140; PNP - 10; PNV - 5) | 155 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
25a. If for some reason your proposal will not measure these core metrics please provide an explanation. (optional)
- N/A
26. What other information will you be collecting to learn about the impact of your work? (optional)
- To assess NomadLab’s progress towards PN’s impact goals, below are the measurable indicators that we will use based on UN SDGs that are aligned with our mission:
- 1. Quality Education (SDG 4)
a. Participation rate of students in the NomadLab program b. Proportion of students who graduate equipped with basic ICT skills c. Percentage of students who have improved academic performance at the end of academic period d. Number of school staff and youth club members who were trained and who actively participate in the program
- 2. Gender Equality (SDG 5)
a. Proportion of female vs. male participants
- 3. Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)
a. Number of students who have knowledge in more career choices or professions other than the ones present in their community b. Number of students who choose courses in tertiary studies that require ICT skills c. Number of students who choose college courses that are not professions within
27. What tools would you use to measure each metric selected?
- Suggested metric to use: Event Metrics
Also needs help from Wikimedia to identify other suitable metrics for this project
28. How do you hope to share these results so that others can learn from them?
- I would like to receive support from the Foundation to discover how I can share my learning
Financial Proposal[edit]
29. What is the amount you are requesting from WMF? Please provide this amount in your local currency.
- 100000 USD
30. What is this amount in US Currency (to the best of your knowledge)?
- 100000 USD
31. & 32. Please provide a budget for the amount of funding requested.
- Please see attached budget proposal
33. What do you do to make sure there is a good management of funds?
- PN centers have Finance and Admin teams, led by the Global Finance Director who monitor the use of every donation received and ensure funds are spent accordingly. In most grants that we secure, a budget breakdown with specific allocation is indicated. To be transparent, we also submit regular narrative and financial reports to update the partners on the progress of the projects and the funds spent to date. Also, PN has been labeled IDEAS since 2019, a label that attests to our good practices in governance, finance, and evaluation.
34. How will you contribute towards creating a supportive environment for participants using the UCOC and Friendly Space Policy?
- We will ensure to follow the rules and regulations indicated both in UCOC and Friendly Space Policy set by Wikimedia.
35. Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.
- Other public document(s):
Final message[edit]
By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.
36. We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
- Yes
Feedback[edit]
- Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.
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