1. Purpose of the APCMLEF

The APC Member Learning and Exchange Fund (APCMLEF) aims to support member driven skills-sharing, internships, and planning for collaboration among APC members. Online collaboration can be very powerful, but it has limitations. The APC network has grown significantly in size and geographic reach during the last few years. And while this increases opportunities for working together, it makes effectively facilitating collaboration and exchange more challenging. The APCMLEF supports APC member and staff face-to-face meetings, when effective collaboration requires it. Its goal is to make it possible for members to visit each other for activities such as:

• skill sharing or training;
• emergency technical assistance;
• problem solving;
• technical development;
• project planning and development;
• strategic planning; and
• service and product development.

Since August 2008, APCMLEF also supports travel to events organised by others (e.g. conferences and workshops) when a member exchange is organised as part of the event and the APC network can benefit from the exchange outputs as described below.

2. What does the APCMLEF support?

The fund covers only travel (visa costs, train or air fares, fuel if people use their own vehicles, spare tires if they use bicycles or scooters) and daily subsistence (meals and accommodation). Member staff time, rental of office spaces and other onsite costs are not covered.

2.1 Outcomes of collaboration supported by APCMLEF

Members involved in the member exchange who receive support document the process using a pre-designed template. All outputs of the learning and exchange are shared among APC members. Such outputs are stories, training materials, documentation and lessons learned from project collaboration. APC members are also encouraged to share their experience using various thematic APC mailing lists or the APC blog. That way the APC network can not only benefit from the member exchange, but also potentially contribute to projects you are working on with your host organisation.

3. Who is eligible for APCMLEF support?

The APCMLEF fund is available only to APC member organisations.

More information on APCMLEF: write to mef-at-apc.org or directly to MEF coordinator Karel Novotný at karel-at-apc.org