Alumni Engagement Grant 2025

Australia is committed to investing in the human resource development needs of its partner countries to achieve their development goals. Australia’s investment in capacity building and fostering people to people linkages is further strengthened through alumni engagement opportunities such as professional development and alumni grants to support alumni achieve outcomes that align to the development priorities of Australia and Bhutan.

The Alumni Engagement Grant 2025 in line with the objectives of the Australia Awards Global Strategic Framework 2021-2024 aims to:

  • support alumni projects that contribute to Bhutan’s development (preferably to implement Development Impact and Linkages Plans (DILPs) for Australia Awards Scholarships Alumni and Return to Workplans (RWPs) for Short Course Awards alumni and Fellows that will contribute to critical & emerging development needs in their organisations, sectors, and communities and raise alumni profiles
  • support alumni activities that align to Australia’s long-term priority sectors in
    • Agriculture, Fisheries, Water
    • Building Resilience—humanitarian assistance, disaster risk reduction, social protection, stability and economic recovery
    • Education and Health
    • Effective Governance—policies, institutions and functioning economies, law and justice, including technology and innovation
    • Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
    • Disability Inclusion, and
    • Infrastructure, Innovation & Trade—innovation and trade facilitation and international competitiveness.

Applicants must be:

  • Australia Awards alumni of the DFAT-funded Australia Awards Scholarships, Fellowships, or Short Courses
  • Bhutanese citizens, residing in Bhutan, and intending to use the grant in Bhutan
  • can apply as individual Australia Awards alumna/alumnus or as alumni groups (total members not exceeding five members)
  • applying to:
    • implement an innovative idea and approach on a small scale; or
    • host a workshop, seminar, training or conference, with a clearly articulated outcome or
    • conduct awareness and capacity building activities.
  • agree to participate in Fraud Management; Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI); Child Protection; and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) briefing prior to receiving the grant and use and acquit the grant according to DFAT and Program guidelines.
  • The maximum grant amount that can be provided for each activity is AUD5,000. Co-funding is allowed, but applicants must specify activities/outputs where the Alumni Engagement Grant 2025 money will be used.
  • Activities must be completed and acquitted by 15 June 2025.
  • Successful applicants must sign a Grant Agreement. The grant agreement will specify reporting format and adherence to other requirements from the grant recipient.

Applicants must complete the application form and required attachments (below) and submit them online by 23 February 2025.

All the relevant documents (application and attachments) need to be converted into a PDF file and uploaded on the online application portal.

Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Please download the application form and other relevant documents from the section below.

Application form (for individual applicants)

Application form (for group applicants)

Risk Assessment form

Certification

Detailed Budget

Alumni Group Member details

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • applications must align to DFAT priority areas under the Australia Awards Global Strategic Framework 2021-2024 and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy
  • applications are encouraged for implementation of DILPs/RWPs
  • linkage to grant objectives, DFAT priorities and development needs in the country
  • linkage to the usage of knowledge and skills the applicant(s) have gained through their Australia Awards Scholarship(s) or Short Course(s) or Fellowships
  • demonstrate how the activity will add value to existing systems or support innovation
  • demonstrate collaboration with local partners or organisations to sustain initiatives supported by the grant, and
  • applications must identify the activity’s intended primary beneficiaries, providing estimates of numbers.
Activity  Timeline
Call for grant proposals 27 January 2025
Deadline for submission of applications 23 February 2025
Announcement of results 3 March 2025
Conduct Fraud Awareness, GEDSI, PSEAH and Child Protection Briefing 4 March 2025
Sign Grant Agreement 4–7 March 2025
Implement Grant Activity 10 March 2025
Submit Mid Term report and acquittals 30 April 2025
Submit Completion report and acquittals 15 June 2025

Further information

For further information, contact the Australia Awards office in Bhutan at
inquiries@australiaawardsbhutan.org