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Arab World Social Innovators Program
Become a Social Innovator

What is the Synergos Social Innovators Program?

This Arab World Social Innovators (AWSI) program will identify and support men and women who are the founders of businesses and civil society organizations whose work is intended to improve the well being of those living in the geographies where they operate. Innovators are eligible who are engaged in doing work in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine or the United Arab Emirates.

The AWSI program, Chaired by His Excellency Sheikh Tariq Bin Faisil Al Qassimi, provides professional and financial support to help social innovators transform already successful models into larger-scale enterprises or non-governmental organizations.

Members of the first AWSI Program are leaders of projects promoting jobs and economic development, more sustainable agriculture, services for people with disabilities, opportunities for youth leadership development and civic participation, and the preservation of local crafts and culture - a total of 22 such initiatives altogether.

Program Benefits

If selected as a Social Innovator, you will have access to:

• Leadership Development workshops and events designed to strengthen the skills and experiences to help your innovation achieve its goals and objectives.
• Training provided by Synergos staff, business leaders and experts.
• Peer Learning offered by others in the current Program and other social innovators.
• Networking with business, government, philanthropic and other civil society leaders in your area and across the world to leverage your innovation and make a greater impact.
• Financial awards of $12,500 per year, for each of two years, to help you develop your social venture.

Selection Criteria

The points listed below describe the qualities and characteristics that Synergos is looking for in a Social Innovator. Candidates should meet all of the five main selection criteria.

• The Idea: Social innovators must possess a creative idea, solution or approach to a social, economic, environmental or other problem that will make an impact on the alleviation of poverty and inequity.
• The Entrepreneur: Social innovators must be driven by a vision to promote social progress and break old patterns of action and perception. S/he will persevere to refine, test and spread a remarkable new idea, methodology or approach to improve the quality of life for people in their community and beyond.
• The Impact: Social innovators must lead social innovations that have already demonstrated significant social impact at a local level with the potential to serve a larger population or geography.
• The Potential: Social innovators must demonstrate the potential for scaling up their initiative by securing needed talent, capital, technology and other resources.
• The Values: Social innovators must be persons who have demonstrated a high standards of personal and professional conduct along with a genuine commitment to helping the community. Candidates will not be considered who advocate any form of discrimination against race, ethnicity, sex, religion, age, or disability.

Synergos is seeking a cohort of Innovators displaying gender, sector and geographic diversity and in a limited number of cases, innovators who meet special qualifications set by our funders.

Program Guidelines

Carefully review the program guidelines below to better assess whether you and your social innovation are eligible for the Program.

Will Be Considered	Will Not Be Considered
Social innovators working in the non-profit or private sectors.	Social innovators who are government officials or employees.
Social innovations and innovators active in one of the following five program areas: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates	Social innovations and innovators not operating in any of the five designated program areas.
Social innovation projects that are environmentally responsible.	Social innovations that pose harm to the environment or incorporate methods that are environmentally damaging.
Social innovations with a proven track record. Social innovations must be operating long enough to have proven their success at solving a social, economic or environmental problem. We are looking for projects that have already demonstrated positive social change at a community level and need additional professional and financial support to strengthen and expand their offerings. Social innovations with no proven track record.	Social projects at a beginning stage of development with a limited operational history and no record of success at solving a social,economic or environmental problem. We will not consider social innovations that have no documented social impact at the community level.

To Apply

The deadline for completed applications is January 31, 2011. We encourage interested applicants to submit their information at an earlier date so that any missing materials can be provided in a timely manner.

Please click on the appropriate link to access the application form:

PDF format - Preferred	English	عربي
MS Word format	English	عربي

For any questions about the application process, please contact socialinnovators@synergos.org