The Global Development Network (GDN) is now accepting submissions for the 2009 Annual Global Development Awards and Medals Competition for the Japanese Award for Most Innovative Development Project.

A competitive grant program administered by GDN, the competition provides an opportunity for organizations to expand their on-going field work in any development related project. Finalists are invited to attend the Annual Global Development Conference, held each year in a different country, to showcase their project proposals before an eminent jury for the final round. This year the Annual Conference will be held in Prague from January 16-18, 2010. The winning project will receive a cash award of US$ 30,000 and the runner-up will receive US$ 5,000.

Eligibility criteria includes

• Ongoing development projects in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia
• The project must be managed by an organization with its headquarters in a country in one of the above regions
• The degree of innovation and the potential for broad application of the project in other countries
• The project must have been implemented before December 31, 2007

The deadline for submitting completed applications is August 28, 2009.

All applications and documents must be submitted as electronic files only at http://opa.gdnet.org