Under the banner of eNGO Challenge, Digital Empowerment Foundation  in collaboration with Public Interest Registry is initiating Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring from this year. eNGO challenge aspires to create an ecosystem for the civil society organizations to take advantage of ICT and digital revolution and help exchange the best practices in order to create an information-rich society at the grassroots level.

 The Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring will look at exploring1NGO from each category and each category will have ONE special winner from among the other category winners, who will be considered for Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring. The Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring will help the select NGO in establishing Community Information Resource Centre at their premise in accordance with DEF’s CIRC program. All the establishing cost will be borne by DEF under the eNGO Challenge framework.

Besides, Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring program will explore with the selected NGO how they can be helped in scaling up their operations and impact with the use of ICT and Digital tools which could include use of Web, Internet, Mobile, Digital Centres, Access to Internet for adjoining areas around the NGO’s operational areas, and so on. Besides, through the establishment of CIRCs, the entire ecosystem of CIRC and its mandate will be incorporated extensively into the workings of the selected NGOs.

 DEF believes that staying connected and having full access to ICT and digital tools is a must for a nation’s development. The initiative looks at providing more opportunities to NGOs towards connecting to and with the billions who live in India.

 Mission

Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring program looks at giving a chance to NGOs who want to work towards a connected India but lack appropriate expertise and ecosystem for implementation. Through the Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring DEF along with PIR is taking a step forward and creating an extra platform to facilitate digital inclusion agenda for the growth of the NGOs. Through more and more NGOs taking the initiative towards the progress of the country we believe that we are smoothing the process of access and information in many remote areas of the country.

 What is a Community Information Resource Centre?

Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC) aims at transforming lives of people in the nation where poverty and digital illiteracy intersect. Through CIRCs we look forward to equipping people with the potency of technology to attain their own entitlements. The CIRC will have Laptops, Photocopy machine, Printer, Internet facility, projector etc. for the benefit of the community.

 Eligibility Criteria:

There are no eligibility criteria for the Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring, and it is not open to NGOs separately. However, all those NGOs who have applied into eNGO Challenge, and those who would be selected as winners, from among them, the jurors would decide as who is one per category who would be selected and whose name would be announced on the day of the eNGO Challenge – Award & Gala event and ceremony.

 Support Period

The Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring would continue to support the NGO with the establishment of CIRC and for other support system, for 1-2 years, depending how soon the selected NGO takes full responsibility to sustain the CIRC and make itself dependent.

 There will be a separate MoU between DEF and selected NGO for the Digital NGO Resource for Support & Mentoring with proper scope of responsibility and target deliverables.