In 2024, Places to Grow launched the Joint Action Fund (JAF). This grant initiative is integral to our strategy of fostering collaborative innovation, peer learning, and adaptable early childhood development (ECD) practices among organisations and stakeholders. We amplify their impact and drive systemic change by promoting coordinated action among a portfolio of carefully selected interconnected projects in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. This helps build a robust and evolving ECD ecosystem.

This initiative provides both financial and non-financial support. Beyond funding individual projects, it seeks to cultivate a cohesive portfolio of interconnected initiatives capable of generating crucial insights, fostering more effective collaborations, and ultimately driving systemic change. This comprehensive approach underscores our commitment to transforming the ECD landscape, fostering innovation, adaptation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Application deadline
20 January 2025, 12pm CEE

WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS ARE PLACES TO GROW LOOKING FOR?

We are seeking to fund initiatives that demonstrate a commitment to:

● Effective and efficient Advocacy

Projects should aim to contribute to a broader advocacy strategy to influence local, regional and national policy changes. This might include developing and disseminating strong evidence-based or ethical arguments for the value of ECD investment or building coalitions with other stakeholders to amplify the message.

● Close Collaboration with Health Institutions

Health systems regularly contact pregnant women, young children, and their families, enabling the implementation of interventions promoting physical and cognitive development from conception through the first 1000 days of a child's life. We encourage projects that establish and nurture strong partnerships with health institutions. These collaborations can facilitate integrating ECD services into existing healthcare systems and promote a holistic approach to well-being.

● Sustainable Funding of ECD Services

Our funding strategy promotes the long-term sustainability of ECD services. We seek projects that explore innovative funding models and partnerships that can ensure continued access to high-quality ECD programmes. This might include exploring opportunities for blended finance models, engaging with social impact investors, business and public sector.

We believe investing in core enabling conditions is essential for achieving lasting transformation. Therefore, we are looking for initiatives that prioritise:

● Building solid relationships and networks

Projects should demonstrate a commitment to fostering strong relationships and networks among ECD stakeholders. This could include facilitating collaboration between ECD providers, health institutions, social services, education institutions, researchers, policymakers, and families, as well as creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and peer learning. Collaboration with the previous cohort of Joint Action Fund projects and Places to Grow partners is encouraged.

● Developing a shared understanding of the system

We encourage initiatives that contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex ECD system. This might involve researching key leverage points for change, mapping existing ECD services and resources, or developing shared data platforms to track progress and measure impact.

● Co-creating a shared vision for the future

We believe that lasting system change requires a shared vision for the future of the ECD sector. We encourage projects that involve a diverse range of stakeholders in developing and articulating a compelling vision for a more equitable and effective ECD system.

HOW MUCH IS THE GRANT AMOUNT?

We are offering grants of up to €34,000 for projects that meet these criteria. The total amount to be granted is €135,000, but it may increase as we are seeking more funds for this pooled initiative.

WHAT IS THE PLACES TO GROW APPROACH TO GRANTS?

Our approach to grantmaking is designed to foster collaboration and learning from the outset. Building strong enabling conditions, like the relationships among our grantees, is essential to achieving system-level change. That's why our process looks a little different:

● Early Collaboration

We work closely with applicants from the beginning to explore opportunities for collaboration and learning with other applicants. This may require more face time and flexibility than other grants, but we believe it is essential for building a solid cohort of initiatives.

● Building a Collaborative Cohort

Places to Grow aims to create a cohort of grantees who support each other and have the potential to achieve more together than apart. This is why Places to Grow is looking for flexible projects that are willing to collaborate with other grantees. This approach recognises the power of collective intelligence and the potential for synergistic outcomes when organisations work together towards a shared vision. A system’s health is often driven by "invisible" interconnections and enabling conditions, such as relationships and collaborations among actors. By fostering a collaborative cohort, Places to Grow seeks to create an environment where grantees can leverage each other's strengths, share knowledge and resources, and amplify their collective impact.

● Flexibility

Once we agree on the projects, we keep bureaucracy as low as possible and are open to changes in your project or budget distribution as you see fit based on what you learn along the way. We want to empower you to adapt and respond to the system's evolving needs.

● Ongoing Support

We facilitate, train, and hold monthly check-in meetings with our grantees. These meetings help track progress, share lessons learned, and build a sense of community among the cohort. As one of our previous grantees shared, "When I feel like nothing has been done, I can see how much we actually did that month. It is good for our own evaluation."

We believe this hands-on, collaborative approach will enable our grantees to achieve greater impact and contribute to lasting systemic change in early childhood development.
This is also a new approach for us, and we are committed to learning and adapting as we go. We recognise that we may make mistakes along the way. Still, we believe that we can create a more effective and impactful grantmaking process by being open to feedback and continuous improvement.

WHO CAN APPLY TO THE JOINT ACTION FUND?

The Joint Action Fund is open to a diverse range of applicants committed to innovating and advancing ECD in Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. To be eligible to apply, the lead applicant must be a legal entity based in one of these three countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Organisations outside these countries can be partners in a project but cannot be the lead applicant. This ensures that the project is grounded in the local context and led by an organisation with a deep understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities within the region.

We particularly welcome joint applications from diverse stakeholders, such as:

Local, regional, and national authorities and institutions
Companies
Academic institutions
Non-governmental organisations

Collaborative projects that bring together different perspectives and expertise are highly valued and align with Places to Grow's collaborative ethos.

CAN PREVIOUS JAF 1 GRANTEES APPLY FOR JAF 2?

JAF 1 grantees are welcome to apply. Please get in touch with your Places to Grow contact person to get more information, especially if your JAF 1 project is not finished yet.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS?

Sharing of learning

Applicants must be willing to share their knowledge more widely, including the challenges and successes. The details and outcomes of the experiment must be made public openly as a condition of funding. Applicants must be able to prepare a report in a format suitable for publication on the Places to Grow website.

Record keeping

Applicants must keep accurate records of the grant's expenditures and comply with Places to Grow's monitoring requirements.

Participation in events

Applicants must be committed to taking part in internal Places to Grow workshops and at least one public event.

Additional funding

We are happy to consider applications for projects that have additional funding, although all proposals should demonstrate the added value of Places to Grow funds and clearly show the Places to Grow-funded component of the project.

Participation in follow-up

Places to Grow is committed to evaluating the impact of its grant-making processes over the medium term, so applicants should be willing to participate in a follow-up survey or informal conversation about the progress of their initiative up to three years after the application.

WHAT DOES THE APPLICATION PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

Phase 1: Proposal Submission

Applicants are required to submit their proposals by January 20, 2025 at Midnight (CEE time). You can fill the form in English, Czech, Hungarian or Slovak language. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us directly via hello@weareholis.org.

Phase 2: Shortlisting and video calls

Holis will score all proposals based on the selection criteria (detailed below) and create a shortlist of ideas with the greatest potential. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a video call to receive feedback on their proposal and collaborate on idea development. This phase aims to support the development of shortlisted ideas and address outstanding questions and concerns raised during the review process. Throughout this process, Holis will actively seek potential collaboration and support opportunities among applicants to foster a strong cohort of grantees.

Phase 3: Final Selection & Feedback

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit the full application. These final proposals will be reviewed initially by one or more relevant members of an external advisory group and experts to help assess the applications. Proposals will then be scored based on the selection criteria, considering the input from the external advisory group. The Places to Grow team will make final decisions about funding.

WHAT CRITERIA WILL YOU USE TO EVALUATE PROPOSALS?

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Alignment with the goal of the Joint Action Fund

How well the idea supports the development of a robust and interconnected Early Childhood Development (ECD) ecosystem in Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary.

2. Stakeholder involvement and relevance

The diversity of stakeholders involved and the relevance of each stakeholder. A clear plan should be provided on how each stakeholder contributes to the success of the experiment/project.

3. Clarity of idea

How clearly the project is articulated.

4. Novelty and innovativeness

The novelty and innovativeness of the project.

5. Generating practical insights

The project should aim to generate practical insights and learnings that ECD practitioners and stakeholders can directly apply to improve their work. This could involve developing and testing innovative service delivery approaches, evaluating existing programmes' effectiveness, or identifying best practices that can be shared and replicated. The proposal should outline how these insights will be disseminated to the target audience and how they are expected to influence practice within the ECD sector.

6. Catalysing systemic change

The project should demonstrate how its outcomes will contribute to broader systemic change within the ECD sector. This could involve influencing policy decisions, strengthening stakeholder collaboration, promoting sustainable funding models, or shifting power dynamics within the system. The proposal should clearly articulate the intended systemic impact of the project and outline a plan for achieving this impact.

7. Team experience and skills

Whether the team and any partner organisations have the likely expertise and skills to carry out this project successfully.

KEY DATES AND WEBINARS

14 Nov 2024

Publication of the call

5 December

Q&A webinar

20 January 2025, 12AM CEE time

Deadline for proposals

Early February 2025

Applicants will be contacted

Mid February 2025

Interviews with shortlisted candidates

Late February 2025

Deadline for final applications

Early March 2025

Final selection of projects and contracting

We expect projects to take a maximum of 9 months to complete from the awarding of the grant.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS?

If this pooled fund interests you and you would like to join the philanthropic organisations supporting systemic change in ECD, please get in touch with the Places to Grow Project Lead, Maxim Dedushkov, at hello@weareholis.org.

The first Joint Action Fund call focused on supporting experiments testing innovative solutions in ECD, and projects aligned with Places to Grow’s strategic themes. The awarded projects have been carried out throughout 2024.

LOCAL INCUBATORS OF ECD

by the Czech ECD Platform

Emily Vargas-Baron, a researcher from Stanford, proved that the most efficient ECD programmes are always intersectoral: they also focus on parents and are coordinated with a vision. There are many ways to achieve this goal. This project aims to determine which tool would be the most effective and preferred by local stakeholders in four chosen Czech municipalities.

The four direct goals of this Joint Action Fund project are the following: diverse stakeholder engagement as it is much harder to build cooperation without relation between individuals; gaining a deeper understanding of local needs to be able to support them adequately; exploring if the evidence-based Primokiz methodology, held by ISSA, sufficiently addresses local needs in the Czech context; and a preliminary research on which organisation in the Czech Republic can provide a Primokiz licence in the future.

Mid-project Update: The Czech ECD Platform has collaborated closely with local governments to identify needs and has brought together diverse stakeholders in the ECD ecosystem through study visits, workshops, and regional research. This approach has fostered relationships and facilitated a collective vision for supporting early childhood development at the national level.

WEBSITE

MEDIUM ARTICLE

COORDINATED SERVICES OF ECD IN A SELECTED LOCALITY IN THE BANSKÁ BYSTRICA REGION

by SOCIA

The project aims to pilot and verify a coordinated approach to providing early care support services in selected segregated communities in the Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia.

The coordinated ECD will implement the new procedures defined in "The Path of a Child with a Health or Social Disadvantage in the Early Childhood Support System" in practice. SOCIA participated in creating the mentioned material as part of the Permanent Interdepartmental Working Group on the Strategy and Action Plan of coordinated early intervention and early care services for 2022 - 2030 in Slovakia.

The three direct milestones of this Joint Action Fund project are the following: establishing cooperation with the chosen municipality - signing a cooperation agreement or memorandum; employing a local coordinator of ECD, and an agreement on the implementation of the child's journey through the early childhood support system across all areas (social, health, and education).

Mid-project Update: SOCIA has successfully hired a Local ECD Coordinator who actively develops community activities. They have established regular collaboration among local organisations, resulting in consistent meetings to address specific family cases. Families have already shown greater trust and willingness to accept support, establishing a solid foundation for effective integrated services.

WEBSITE

MEDIUM ARTICLE

TOWARDS IMPROVED QUALITY OF OMAMA AND THE SUBSEQUENT ECD SOCIAL SERVICE

by Cesta von

Cesta von’s project aims to evaluate and maximize the Omama program's experiences in shaping a systemic approach to early childcare through advocacy. The project has two key goals.

The first is research: Cesta von will conduct an in-depth program evaluation, assess existing data, and collect missing data to objectively identify the impact, benefits, and areas for improvement. The research will focus on the impact of ECD on parental competencies, barriers to access and acceptability, and the most significant contributors to impact. All relevant outcomes of the research and know-how will be shared with other ECD providers or the state.

The second key goal is advocacy: based on the research results, Cesta von will provide recommendations for the design of a state-supported early childcare social service. They will also share the knowledge acquired throughout this grant and actively advocate for the quality of planned systemic measures, creating recommendations for the quality framework of a newly established service.

Mid-Project Update: They have collaborated with P2G Partners Schola Empirca and Socia throughout the project. They have partnered with Schola Empirica to collect comprehensive data through desk research, interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. They are working with Socia and engaging relevant ministries to shape an effective model for a new law that would recognise early childhood development as an expert activity within social services legislation.

WEBSITE

MEDIUM ARTICLE

ECD ECOSYSTEM MAPPING AND VISUALISATION PROJECT IN BANSKÁ BYSTRICA REGION

by Holis

Using a portfolio approach, the goal is to create a visual map of the current ECD ecosystem in the Banská Bystrica Region. Rather than focusing on isolated projects or sectoral challenges, the portfolio approach allows for a collection of initiatives to be viewed and managed collectively, ensuring synergies and unified goals. The ecosystem map will be a particularly useful resource for the ECD coordinator role of the Banská Bystrica Region.

Mid-Project Update: Working closely with the Banská Bystrica regional government office, Holis has created an ECD Ecosystem Map that acknowledges and highlights the existing ECD network (including the organisation and their services). The project’s data-driven approach has helped map the needs of children and families, assisting government decision-making and ensuring better resource allocation.

WEBSITE

MEDIUM ARTICLE: PART 1

MEDIUM ARTICLE: PART 2