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International Development Policy - Guidance on Programmes and Funding

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Guidance on Programmes & Funding

Issued June 2008

Introduction

This guidance outlines the operation of the Scottish Government's International Development policy announced by the Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture, Linda Fabiani, on Wednesday 7th May 2008. It describes the specific objectives of each programme within the policy and details the funding process determining the use of the International Development Fund (IDF) which supports the delivery of the policy. The total allocation per financial year (1st April to 31st March) is as follows:

2008/09 - £6 million

2009/10 - £6 million

2010/11 - £9 million

As stated in the main international development policy, monitoring and reporting procedures for Scottish Government funded work have been updated to reflect the new policy approach.

The policy approach has been informed by consideration of the responses to the Scottish Government public review (conducted August to October 2007), the intelligence gained from an independent review of Scottish Government funded activity within Malawi, discussions with the Government of Malawi, the public evidence provided to the Scottish Parliamentary Committee for Europe & External Relations and experience to date in operating the previous international development policy. It has also been designed to reflect the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and specific elements have been addressed within the funding criteria where possible, to build the quality and impact of Scotland's contribution to international development. Further meetings were held with the Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS) and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership in early June 2008 regarding this guidance.

1. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Darfur region of Sudan (total allocation of £4 million over 3 years)

Sub-Saharan Africa remains an area of acute and persistent poverty as illustrated by the UN Human Development Index and includes many commonwealth countries, with historical and/ or contemporary relationships with Scotland.

1.1 Objectives

  • To enhance Scotland's contribution to the fight against global poverty in some of the poorest countries in the world by working with Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and in the Darfur region of Sudan.
  • To work with organisations in Scotland to support those in greatest need and the most vulnerable, working together to achieve sustainable outcomes, based on the priorities identified by the developing countries.
  • To contribute to the achievement of the priorities of relevant in-country development policies and complement the work of the UK Government and other international development programmes.

1.2 Programme Overview

This programme will not involve the development of a formal Co-operation Agreement with the government of any one country. It will build upon existing relationships and work between organisations and institutions in Scotland and the four countries identified. It will also build capacity and encourage the transfer of skills among African countries - i.e. south to south exchange and networking. This may include activity with Malawi, although it must not be exclusively in Malawi and any activity in Malawi funded through this scheme must not duplicate work funded within the separate Malawi Development Programme.

The programme will operate through a block grant system. The use of block grants will devolve greater responsibility to the organisation/ consortium in Scotland for the identification and delivery of a programme that reflects the objectives in 1.1. The Scottish Government will not predefine sectors or specific areas to address but will expect applicants to demonstrate their experience and knowledge with regard the country for which their application relates. The holder of the block grant will be directly responsible for the monitoring of the programme in consultation with partners in the African country. A block grant may involve one large programme or a combination of smaller linked projects. Organisations must therefore be able to demonstrate the capacity of their organisation/ consortium to deliver the block grant, their knowledge of relevant 'country plans' of the developing country and must have established relationships with delivery partners in-country. Strengthening civil society involvement must also be considered across all programmes.

1.3 Process

One block grant of £1 million will be awarded per country (3 year duration) through a competitive process to an organisation/ institution or appropriate consortium. This selection process and the first instalment of the block grant will occur within the first financial year (2008/09).

The announcement of the call for applicants with details of the timescales, the assessment criteria and process, and the application pack will be published on the Scottish Government website. NIDOS will also be alerted to enable them to inform their members. A two stage process will operate with a call for concept notes, where organisational capacity and the programme concept will be assessed, and then successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application for consideration.

1.4 Funding Criteria

  • This programme will support the provision of a Scottish contribution to international development and so the main applicant must be an organisation with a presence in Scotland. Applications will be considered from all types of organisations or institutions, as long as they can demonstrate that they have the expertise to develop a relevant programme - consortium bids (headed by a lead organisation responsible for the grant) will be encouraged and may include the involvement of private sector organisations where support is to enable the sharing of expertise, but not for profit.
  • A block grant of £1 million will be available to support work in each country (over 3 financial years - 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 subject to satisfactory performance). Continuation of funding will be considered subject to future Scottish Government budget allocations.
  • To facilitate south-south exchange, bids that additionally involve one or more of the other four countries and/ or Malawi will be considered as long as the main country for the block grant is identified and the rationale and benefits for the inclusion of the additional countries are clearly stated. For example, a block grant for Zambia may involve some work with Malawi. Equally, a block grant for Rwanda may involve some work with Tanzania and Zambia.
  • The Scottish Government is keen to leverage external sources of funding for the four identified countries. If such opportunities arise, joint or matched funding will be considered through the block grant process at the application stage (i.e. applicants should indicate if they have secured any commitment to match fund the Scottish Government block grant). This process will not involve accessing additional sources of Scottish Government funding beyond the current IDF budget.
  • Bidders must clearly demonstrate that the proposal addresses the development needs and priorities identified by the developing country, with written evidence of support for the proposal from partners in the developing country (e.g. letter of support) and secondly that there is evidence of consultation with Government in the host country at a local and/ or national level. The requirement for Government consultation will not apply to the programme in Sudan given the unique nature of the situation in Darfur, but applicants will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the situation and current work being undertaken by the international community.
  • Applications must address the sustainability of the proposed work in terms of the outcomes and also commit to actively seeking other sources of funding for when the Scottish Government block grant ends.
  • Administration costs must be kept to a small proportion of the overall costs and the rationale for these must be clearly demonstrated. It is recognised that developing and maintaining a block grant programme may incur additional costs when compared with a single project grant.
  • Core funding for UK organisations will not be considered beyond the main networking organisations (i.e. NIDOS and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership) which will be dealt with in a separate programme.
  • The Scottish Government will not award funding directly to other Governments or to individual representatives of other Governments.
  • The Scottish Government will not provide direct financial support solely for the transportation of goods to developing countries. This often undermines local industries and results in inappropriate goods being delivered and often getting held back at airports. It also creates logistical problems for distribution and sometimes inequitable distribution that cannot be justified. It is therefore not the best use of the Scottish Government's resources. Where the transportation of specific equipment is an essential and proportionate part of the activities of the block grant and where evidence can be provided that the equipment cannot be sourced in-country or in other parts of Africa, such an allocation will be considered as part of the wider block grant.
  • The Scottish Government will not use the IDF to support predominantly capital infrastructure projects and capital spend which is primarily to create a fixed asset, such as building accommodation or new institutions. Some capital elements will be considered if they are an essential and proportionate part of a wider programme. For example, we recognise that in delivering effective training there will be occasions where vital equipment is required to enable the training to take place. Again, evidence will be required that it cannot be sourced locally or in the region.
  • This funding excludes programmes where the primary output is research and the enhancement of knowledge.
  • As mentioned in Paragraph 1.3, the bidding process will consist of two stages; concept notes and the invitation to submit a full application form. At the concept note stage, organisations may bid for no more than two of the four countries e.g. one concept note for Zambia and one concept note for Rwanda. All concept notes will be assessed and where they meet the essential criteria, the lead organisation will be invited to submit ONE full block grant application for ONE country only. If two concept notes for different countries from one lead organisation are assessed as meeting the assessment criteria, officials will discuss with the lead organisation which concept will go forward to the full application stage.
  • Applying for a block grant will not preclude any organisation from applying for grants from other programmes in the other geographical areas of this policy - e.g. Malawi.

2. MALAWI DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (Minimum of £3 million per annum)

The Scottish Government remains committed to developing the special relationship that exists between our two countries as a distinct programme within the policy.

2.1 Objectives

  • To enhance Scotland's contribution to the global fight against poverty by building Scotland's special relationship with Malawi, reflecting our shared history and working together to achieve sustainable outcomes.
  • To work with the Government of Malawi, through the Joint Commission process, to ensure that a relevant and effective programme is delivered.
  • To complement the work of the UK Government and other international development programmes in Malawi.

2.2 Programme Overview

This programme will build upon the strengths of this unique relationship and the experience, expertise and activity developed to date. It will also provide a more focused contribution, in line with the development priorities of the Government of Malawi and the intelligence gained from the independent review of projects in Malawi. The overall programme will broadly reflect the agreed themes of the Co-operation Agreement (civil society development and governance, sustainable economic development, health and education) but with a greater focus within and across those strands on the following cross-cutting themes:

  • Vocational training and education
  • Gender issues and equality
  • Enterprise development
  • Strengthening the context for enhanced human rights and civil society development

These cross-cutting themes will provide greater coherence and strategic focus to implementation of the policy. Further information on these themes will be provided in the call for applications. Particular attention will be given to the priorities of the Government of Malawi with reference to the Malawi Growth & Development Strategy and other relevant policy/ development initiatives. The Scottish Government will not attempt to cover all areas of Malawi's priorities but continue to seek the views of the Government of Malawi as to which specific areas they wish the Scottish Government to consider.

2.3 Process

The Joint Commission process between our two Governments will continue and feedback will be published on the Scottish Government website subject to the agreement of the Government of Malawi. One funding round will be held each financial year (in the first half of the year) with an option for a second round within that same financial year, depending upon available funds within the remaining IDF budget. Detailed priorities within each theme and specific funding criteria will be set and published on the Scottish Government website along with the assessment criteria. NIDOS and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership will also be alerted when funding rounds are announced to enable them to alert their members.

If there are priority pieces of work identified by the Scottish Government and the Government of Malawi that have not been addressed in a funding round (e.g. due to a lack of suitable bids or if the need is identified after the funding round cycle and there are available funds in the IDF) competitive tendering will be considered. Expressions of interest will be invited based on pre-defined criteria before requesting detailed applications. Both NIDOS and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership will be notified of any opportunities as they arise and they will be published on the Scottish Government website.

2.4 Funding Criteria

  • This programme will support the provision of a Scottish contribution to international development and so the main applicant must be an organisation with a presence in Scotland. Applications will be considered from all types of organisations or institutions, as long as they can demonstrate that they have the expertise to develop a relevant programme - consortium bids (headed by a lead organisation responsible for the grant) will be encouraged and may include the involvement of private sector organisations where support is to enable the sharing of expertise, but not for profit.
  • Joint or matched funding will be encouraged as part of the main funding application process (i.e. where a request for Scottish Government support unlocks a commitment of funding from an external source). Bidders will need to provide evidence of funding commitments at the application stage. Opportunities for applications that will attract matched funding outside grant rounds will also be considered although this will depend upon the availability of remaining funds in the IDF at that time.
  • Bidders must clearly demonstrate that the proposal addresses the development needs and priorities identified by the Government of Malawi, with written evidence of support for the proposal from partners in the developing country (e.g. letter of support) and secondly that there is evidence of consultation with Government of Malawi at a local/district and/ or national level. This may be through the partner organisation in Malawi.
  • Grants will be for a maximum of three years in duration (subject to satisfactory performance), although continuation of funding will be considered subject to future Scottish Government budget allocations. Applications must address the sustainability of the proposed work in terms of the outcomes and also commit to actively seeking other sources of funding for when the Scottish Government grant ends.
  • No minimum bid will be specified so as not to exclude smaller organisations and a maximum of £400k will be available for any one individual organisation or consortium to develop more strategic programmes of work.
  • Administration costs will be considered on a case-by-case basis but must be kept to a small proportion of the overall costs and the rationale for these must be clearly demonstrated.
  • Core funding for UK organisations will not be considered beyond the main networking organisations (i.e. NIDOS and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership) which will be dealt with in a separate programme.
  • The Scottish Government will not award funding directly to other Governments or to individual representatives of other Governments.
  • The Scottish Government will not provide direct financial support solely for the transportation of goods to Malawi. This often undermines local industries and results in inappropriate goods being delivered and often getting held back at airports. It also creates logistical problems for distribution and sometimes inequitable distribution that cannot be justified. It is therefore not the best use of the Scottish Government's resources. Where the transportation of specific equipment is an essential and proportionate part of the activities of a specific project and where evidence can be provided that the equipment cannot be sourced in-country or in other parts of Africa, such an allocation will be considered as part of the project application grant.
  • The Scottish Government will not use the IDF to support predominantly capital infrastructure projects and capital spend which is primarily to create a fixed asset, such as building accommodation or new institutions. Some capital elements will be considered if they are an essential and proportionate part of a wider programme. For example, we recognise that in delivering effective training there will be occasions where vital equipment is required to enable the training to take place. Again, evidence will be required that equipment cannot be sourced locally or in the region.
  • This funding excludes programmes where the primary output is research and the enhancement of knowledge.
  • Multiple applications from organisations will be considered. Furthermore, applying for a grant in one programme will not preclude an organisation from applying for a grant from the other programmes in the other geographical areas of this policy.

3. FAIR TRADE SCOTLAND PROGRAMME

3.1 Objective

  • To support and promote Scotland's contribution to Fair Trade with developing countries as a responsible nation in the world, working with the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to help Scotland achieve Fair Trade Nation status.

3.2 Programme Overview

Scottish Ministers are committed to Fair Trade and achieving Fair Trade Nation status for Scotland. Fair Trade is an important way to support producers of goods in developing countries by giving better terms of trade, better prices and decent working conditions. This in turn can lead to an improved quality of life for many families in developing countries giving them the opportunity to work themselves out of poverty and help to meet the needs of the whole community. A number of towns, communities, schools and universities in Scotland are already active in Fair Trade and have been for some years. It is important to follow their lead, build on what has been achieved already and to work towards Scotland's pledge to become a Fair Trade Nation. A number of important steps have already been taken towards this goal and the Scottish Government will continue to take a keen interest in this agenda.

3.3 Process

Funding for this programme will be delivered via support for the Scottish Fair Trade Forum and considered as part of the reporting and review process for the existing grant, as and when required. Funds will not be allocated directly to organisations in Scotland wanting to develop 'fair trade projects' as this is included in allocations to the Forum. The Scottish Government's contribution is likely to have greater impact by supporting the Forum at a more strategic level as the overarching networking body tasked with developing this agenda. It also avoids diverting vital resources away from work in developing countries which provides a stronger targeting of funds to those in greatest need.

4. CORE FUNDING FOR SCOTTISH-BASED INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORKING ORGANISATIONS

4.1 Objective

  • To support key networking agencies for international development in Scotland recognising their role in information exchange and the promotion of best practice in Scotland's contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

4.2 Programme Overview & Process

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that networking organisations in Scotland can make to the effectiveness of the international development sector, both in terms of their assistance in supporting the capacity-building of NGOs in Scotland to work with developing countries and secondly in providing a focal point for information exchange and the promotion of best practice in development. The Scottish Government will continue to support NIDOS and the Scotland-Malawi Partnership and will consider any other needs identified by the Scottish Government in the course of programme delivery.

5. Response to International Humanitarian Crises

5.1 Objective

To assist with Scotland's response to international humanitarian crises.

5.2 Programme Overview & Process

The Scottish Government recognises the significant contribution that Scotland already makes to international crises through the work of DFID, NGOs and individuals in Scotland. Additionally, Scottish Ministers may wish to respond to some international humanitarian crises in recognition of Scotland's role as a responsible nation. The following approach will be considered for those crises that result in an appeal by the Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC):

  • Scottish Ministers, on behalf of the Scottish people, will express Scotland's condolences to those affected most directly by the disaster;
  • Scottish Ministers will endeavour to raise the profile of related fund-raising campaigns wherever possible and encourage the contributions of Scots and Scottish organisations to relief efforts through media activity;
  • Where possible, the Scottish Government will consider temporary secondments of Scottish Government staff to back fill posts and meet immediate administrative needs in Scotland;
  • Officials in the Scottish Government's International Development Team will liaise with DEC and take the lead in co-ordinating the Scottish Government's response;
  • Decisions regarding direct financial support to enable established organisations in Scotland to respond will be considered on a case-by-case basis and informed by the advice of DFID and where possible the advice of the country involved to identify appropriate support and avoid duplication of effort. Any contribution will be in the form of one-off and short-term support and would not constitute a widening of the policy priorities in the medium or longer-term. No funds have been specifically allocated to this activity from the IDF.

6. INDIAN SUBCONTINENT DEVELOPMENT

Scottish Ministers wish to engage with the Indian subcontinent in recognition of its links with Scotland and to contribute to the Scottish Government's objective to build a strong, fair and inclusive national identity and express solidarity with communities represented in Scottish society. It will extend our friendships with other countries that have a strong Scottish footprint as represented by patterns of modern migration.

6.1 Objectives

  • To recognise and build upon Scotland's links with the Indian subcontinent by working together with communities in Scotland to support development, and in turn help support an inclusive society in Scotland.
  • To reflect the development priorities identified by the developing country and to complement the work of the UK Government and other international development programmes.

6.2 Scope of Programme & Process

Decisions on the funding process will be informed by discussions with relevant communities within Scotland to assess the focus of engagement and where Scotland can add value, as well as considering how best to operate this aspect of the policy. Close working with relevant communities would inform the design of an appropriate and transparent funding procedure. At this stage, it is envisaged that match funding would feature in the process.

International Development Team

internationaldevelopment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

International Division

Europe, External Affairs & Culture Directorate

June 2008

Page updated: Friday, February 6, 2009