Chat with National about int'l project

Erika, John and I just talked to Rosemary Powers at EWB National. We were mainly trying to get some guidance about how to evaluate the 'open' projects posted on the website. We learned that the applications get posted/pulled on a monthly basis and that applications that are not selected by chapters get reviewed after 8 months. In terms of getting more detail about the projects that are posted, we were instructed to contact national once we've selected a small number of projects in which we are interested. They will then give us the contact information for the groups submitting those projects. In most cases, the scope, funding, and cultural dynamics are not well defined in these applications, so it would be up to us to focus in on those issues.

We specifically asked about Kenya, since there are a number of projects listed there and we know that it is currently under a travel advisory. Rosemary said that EWB projects are ongoing in Kenya and that she would give us the contact info of some folks on the ground who could give us more details/background.

In terms of projects that we identify independently from national, they will be looking at the following (at a minimum) as they decide whether to grant the application:
- who will take ownership after the project is complete?
- will the entire community benefit?
- what is the specific scope?
- does it fit EWB mission and vision?
- what other NGOs are there?
- are we pushing this on the community or are they asking for it?
- does the chapter have the skills/fundraising to achieve success?

We talked about some other topics but I think these were the most important.