OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development ($100,000 prize) 2023

The OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development (AAD) honors outstanding contributions to sustainable development. Established in 2006, the award annually recognizes a different theme of particular relevance to global development.

In recognition of the central role of women in the international development agenda, the OPEC Fund will present its 2023 AAD to a project partner working on the crossroads of gender equality, development and climate action. Of particular interest are plausible contributions toward SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

About OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 1014, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by: Qatar (1961) terminated its membership in January 2019; Indonesia (1962) suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016; Libya (1962); United Arab Emirates (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973) suspended its membership in December 1992, rea... read more

OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development

Aim and Benefits of OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development

• Awardees will receive a US$100,000 prize.

Requirements for OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development Qualification

Nominator

• The nominating party should have direct knowledge of the nominated organization’s work.
• The nominating party may not be an employee or any other individual receiving remuneration for services from the nominated organization. Board members of the nominated organization may nominate, provided they receive no payment for their services.
• The nominating party may not be a family member or an employee of the nominated organization.
• The nominating party may not be the founder of the nominated organization.
• The nominating party may not be an OPEC Fund employee or board member. 

Nominee

• The nominee must be an established, nongovernmental charitable organization operating in a country or countries other than the OPEC Fund’s 12 member countries (Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela).
• Nominees must be legal entities and have been so for at least three years.
• Nominees must have audited financial statements dating back at least two years.
• Nominees must have expenditures greater than US$1,000,000 (in their most recent audited accounts).
• Nominees may not be local offices of parent organizations, specific programs within organizations, university-based projects, or fiscally sponsored organizations.

Interview date, Process and Venue for OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development

Evaluation Criteria

A nomination letter should emphasize the nominee’s accomplishments and future goals. Both historic and recent performance should be addressed. The following are elements to consider when describing a nominee’s work: 

• Extraordinary contributions toward fostering development that empowers women while addressing climate change.
• Established record of achievement particularly in the formulation, implementation and/or promotion of development solutions that drive gender equality and climate action in the global south.
• Demonstration of a compelling approach to making a lasting impact and evidence of results achieved and their sustainability into the future.
• Demonstration of effective partnerships, such as delivering initiatives in cooperation with multiple stakeholders, including governments, Donors and Civil Society Organizations
• Demonstration of the effective use of funds received from other donors.
• Innovation in program design or technology.
• Demonstration of strong project and financial management, including the tracking and documentation of relevant development outcomes such as the gender-disaggregated number of beneficiaries and measures of the achieved improvements.
• A project proposal for the use of the AAD grant proceeds that must align with the aforementioned thematic focus areas and principles. Particular consideration will be given to the relevance of project objectives, proposed approach and activities to achieving these objectives, as well as the expected results.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

The nomination process is completed online. Once an organization has been nominated, the OPEC Fund will contact the nominee directly to ask for additional information and supporting documents, as appropriate. In addition, the OPEC Fund may contact the nominating party for the same purpose. 

The nomination process involves the following steps:

• Step 1: Download the nomination form.
• Step 2: The nominating parties submit nomination forms in English via the designated email address: [email protected]. Nominations must be signed by a senior official (e.g. CEO, Vice-President, or Head of Operation) and cite the motivations for nomination. Supporting documents should also be submitted. The nominating party may only nominate one organization per year. Deadline to submit AAD nominations is May 12, 2023.
• Step 3: The OPEC Fund contacts the nominee and/or the nominating party for additional information and supporting materials.  
• Step 4: The OPEC Fund AAD Committee reviews the nominations based on the aforementioned criteria, and makes a recommendation to the OPEC Fund Management for approval.
• Step 5: The OPEC Fund informs the successful nominee and nominating party of its decision via an official letter, including terms of utilization of the AAD grant proceeds. 
• Step 6: Upon confirmation of acceptance of the AAD and terms of utilization of its proceeds by the awardee, the OPEC Fund plans and implements a dedicated communication campaign in partnership with the nominee. The nominee is expected to provide audio-visual material and written testimonials of its work, and agree to one or more filmed interviews with the OPEC Fund and select journalists for this purpose.
• Step 7: The OPEC Fund Annual Award for Development will be announced at the 2023 OPEC Fund Development Forum held in Vienna, Austria on June 20, 2023. Both the nominee and the nominating party are invited to the ceremony. 
• Step 8: The ceremony may be preceded or followed by a press event hosted by the OPEC Fund in Vienna, Austria. Awardees may be expected to provide brief statements and press engagement. The OPEC Fund will work with awarded teams to prepare appropriate audio-visual material and testimonials for release ahead of said occasion.  
• Step 9: The nominee is expected to showcase the AAD on its website and provide the OPEC Fund with updated audio-visual material and work testimonials both in advance of, and within one year of receiving the AAD. The nominee shall also report to the OPEC Fund within two years of receiving the AAD, outlining the main achievements attributable to the AAD. In addition, the nominee shall contribute to one of the OPEC Fund’s publications on subject matter related to the award and/or participate in a special event (TBD) to share learnings of recent achievements.

For more details,visit OPEC website