The foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, the performing arts, population, environment, conflict resolution, family and community development and US-Latin American relations. Some sub-areas of interest to the foundation are listed in the programme descriptions that follow. Special projects outside these broad areas may be approved by the board of directors from time to time.

Although the Hewlett Foundation is a national foundation, with no geographic limit stipulated in its charter, a proportion of its funds has been earmarked for projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The conflict resolution programme supports work in a wide variety of settings. The foundation favours general support grants intended to strengthen the institutional capacity of conflict resolution organisations and research centres. The foundation does not typically provide funding for start-up efforts. Its grants are made in six major categories.

The foundation is particularly interested in university-based centres that demonstrate both a strong commitment to systematic, interdisciplinary research on conflict resolution and an ability to contribute to the improvement of conflict resolution practice. The foundation also supports collaborations of institutions and scholars in extended research undertakings of relevance to practitioners and policy makers.

The foundation is interested primarily in opportunities to help effective and stable groups increase their capacity for growth and outreach. Grants support new approaches and new applications of conflict resolution methods, the achievement of greater organisational maturity, and efforts to enhance the overall impact of practitioner organisations on the field and on the communities in which they work. Candidates must demonstrate either the capacity to deliver services to low-income citizens and other communities that have historically been underserved by the conflict resolution field, or the capacity to extend the benefits of Federal or state policy initiatives in conflict resolution to a wide audience.

The foundation supports organisations that educate potential users about conflict resolution techniques; serve the training and support needs of professionals and volunteers in the field of conflict resolution, and promote the field as a whole.

Recognising that the origins of conflict can often be traced to defects in methods of communication and participation in policy making, the foundation assists organisations that demonstrate means of improving the processes of decision-making on issues of major public importance. The foundation's interest is focussed primarily on facilitating and convening organisations that explore new ways of approaching contentious public policy issues through collaborative action that addresses the legitimate interests of all involved parties.

The foundation also supports a limited number of organisations that are working on the international application of conflict resolution techniques and the development of practice-relevant theory related to ethnic, ideological, religious, racial and other intergroup conflicts around the world. Applicants in this area are expected to show significant field-level involvement with conflicts that have international ramifications. This is the only category of the conflict resolution programme in which overseas initiatives are considered.

Each year, the foundation considers a small number of proposals addressed to emerging issues in the conflict resolution field. Grants support short-term projects responsive to such critical concerns as evaluation and professional standards. Applicants must demonstrate multi-institutional involvement in the work plan and project governance, as well as compelling evidence of the project's likely impact on the field at large.

The foundation has a strong commitment to the voluntary, non-profit sector. It will therefore assist efforts to improve the financial base and efficiency of organisations and institutions in this category. Proposals that show promise of stimulating private philanthropy are particularly welcome.

In its grant-making decisions as well as in its interests and activities, the Hewlett Foundation is wholly independent of the Hewlett-Packard Company and the Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation.

For further information, contact: 525 Middlefield Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025; Tel: 650-329-1070; Fax: 650-329-9342.