CEPA’s Innovation Fund encourages initiatives that take an original responses to issues of poverty. Since its beginning in 2005 it has funded over 40 innovative projects. Yearly funding ran to Rs. 500,000/- per initiative.
The Innovation Fund allowed CEPA to move out of its core research-based motivations to select, support and monitor initiatives that directly addressed poverty.
However, CEPA has not been able to sustain Innovation Fun since 2016 owing to financial constraints.
To link up with persons, networks and organizations working on poverty
To increase outreach and knowledge of issues related to poverty
To provide visibility for successful responses to poverty
In terms of poverty alleviation, we locate innovation in terms of problem identification, analysis, development of solutions and implementation.
Among some of the successful innovative ideas in the past were: research studies, seminars, audio visual productions, street theatre and fine arts.
We locate projects that strike an optimal balance between innovation and feasibility. We believe that ideas need to be transformed to workable events for poverty alleviation to become a reality.
The Innovative Fund is publicized in Sinhala, Tamil and English newspapers and mailed directly to partner organisations, academic institutes and CBOs. Proposal writing guidelines are shared with all interested parties, via email and CEPA website.