Knowledge Management Fund

The Knowledge Management Fund is the Knowledge Platform’s instrument to financially support activities arising from its network. The small-scale grants awarded by the Fund offer a low barrier to entry for innovative, agile and experimental proposals. The aim of the KMF is to diversify thinking and evidence in the Security & Rule of Law (SRoL) field, particularly in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings (FCAS).

The KMF is a €200,000 annual fund that awards grants for 9-month projects of up to €20,000 for events, research ideas and other initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of knowledge generated by the SRoL field, and its subsequent uptake. 

Updates on the 2023 application have been announced below, under "When can I apply?". Please keep an eye out for our newsletters and website for information on the KMF 2023. Updated theme and guidelines have been posted at the bottom of this page. 
 

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions, please check the FAQ. For any further questions, please contact the Platform via KMF@kpsrl.org.

When can I apply?

The Knowledge Management Fund 2023 application window is now closed. Deliberation by the Review Board is now in progress. Please note that this was the only window to apply for the KMF in 2023. 

  • Call Opened: 12 May (now closed)

  • Public KMF Info Webinar: 25 May

  • Expressions of Interest Deadline: 4 June (23:59 CEST)

  • Full Proposal Invitations: 23 June

  • Full Proposal Due Date: 16 July (23:59 CEST)

  • Final Candidate Interviews: 31 July - 4 August

  • KMF Recipients Awarded: 11 August

  • KMF Grantee Cohort Kick-off Call: 17 August

 

Please click here to read more about the KMF Accessibility Plan of Action, which is a work-in-progress that we hope to continue inviting our community to contribute to.

How to apply

Updated guidelines, formats, updated budget template and theme have been posted at the bottom of this page. Please note that budget proposals will only be accepted using this budget template. You can watch this budget proposal tutorial if you require any guidance. If you have any further questions regarding the application process, please contact us at KMF@kpsrl.org.

Once a full project is approved, the Secretariat will contact the grantee to discuss deliverables, budgets, timelines, contingency planning and the division of labor between the Secretariat and the applicant(s) in more detail. What is agreed upon will be drawn up in an award letter and signed by the Secretariat and the applicant(s). 

 

Avoiding conflicts of interest

KMF proposals submitted by any of the Platform’s consortium partners (The Clingendael Institute, Saferworld and IDLO) are assessed through a separate procedure. Proposals are received by the Secretariat, which checks the proposal for eligibility. Those proposals that meet the eligibility requirements are sent on to the Platform’s Advisory Committee, whose members assess the proposals according to the stated Criteria. Please click here to download the full Conflict of Interest Policy.

Sever Džigurski

More information

Selection of proposals that will receive funding is made by the KPSRL secretariat based on scoring criteria. Each proposal is scored by at least two people. In case of conflict of interest, Advisory Committee or Management Committee members are asked to score the proposal. If a full proposal is approved, the Secretariat will contact the grantee to discuss deliverables, budgets, and the division of labour between the Secretariat and the applicant(s) in more detail. What is agreed upon will be drawn up in an award letter and signed by the Secretariat and the applicant(s). All projects will be expected to begin by 17 August 2023 and close by 17 May 2024.

More information

FAQ

  • Applications are open to any consortium or individual with the ambition to improve policies, programs or knowledge in the field of security and rule of law in fragile and conflict affected countries. Think-tanks, (I)NGOs, academics, universities, private sector organizations, government institutions, journalists, independent researchers or innovators, and data specialists are all welcome to submit proposals.

     

    Partnerships between individuals and organizations and across the range of sectors within our network are highly encouraged. In particular, the KMF welcomes partnerships that link people from different regions of the globe.

     

  • The first Knowledge Management Fund 2022 application window is now open. The review team will soon be in the process of reviewing Full Proposals, thus Expressions of Interest are no longer being accepted. Please note that as we have transitioned last year into a new iteration, we also changed a few aspects of the KMF. The most important thing to take note of is that grants are slightly larger (€20.000) and projects run slightly longer (9 months) than they were in 2020, however there will be fewer grants awarded. Please follow this page and stay tuned for announcements about the KMF'22: Window II opening later this year.

    • Call Opened: 2 November

    • Expressions of Interest Deadline: 27 November (23:59 CET)

    • Full Proposal Invitations: 15 December

    • Full Proposal Due Date: 15 January, 2023 (23:59 CET)

    • Final Candidate Interviews: Week of 23 January, 2023

     

  • To stimulate a diversity of proposals, this KMF window (Autumn 2022) does not link to any specific thematic headline. Instead, we see this window as an opportunity to, in term of thematic focus, listen and follow your lead. The KMF remains a fund focused on the generation and brokering of knowledges as well as learning exchanges supporting the work of our community, rather than implementation of activities. We are interested in three dimensions of knowledges: (co)creation, connections, and use. Each proposal is expected to work towards at least one of the following: • (co)creation of new knowledges – to fill gaps where there is insufficient knowledges or expertise available, • linking knowledges and actors – to address a lack of awareness or understanding of existing knowledges, or bring actors together for network strengthening or collaborative efforts • breaking down the barriers for learning and change within or between people, institutions and organizations – to create enabling environment for or strengthen programmatic or organisational learning, • creating the impact of knowledge through its uptake – to ensure the use of knowledges and learning that already exists, which is either ignored or not made available to policymakers and practitioners.

  • There must be some public presentation of the results of the project in order to ensure that the entire community can benefit, as detailed in the assessment criteria. One of the preferred ways of doing this is to host a session at the Annual Conference in October 2023, though this cannot be guaranteed.

  • In order to help (potential) applicants to the KMF, the Secretariat has developed guidance on what it understands by 'knowledge uptake', available here.