Assessment for the Sub-Saharan Africa Block Grant Development Programme
August 2008
Stage 2 - Full Application Form
Full Application Forms will be assessed by LTSI assessors using three levels of criteria:
Level 1: A set of Simple Yes/No criteria that allow assessors to filter out Application Forms that do not comply with minimum requirements.
1. The main applicant organisation must have a presence in Scotland.
2. The applicant must apply for no less than the maximum level of £1,000,000.
3. The applicant must include written evidence of support from partners on the ground in the relevant country and,
- Additionally for Zambia, Tanzania and Rwanda, we will require evidence that the applicants have consulted with the government of the relevant country;
- For the Darfur region of Sudan, we will require specific evidence of already established relationships in-country, essential for the delivery of the block grant and operating within a humanitarian context.
If either of these pieces of evidence are not available, an explanation must be attached as to the reasons why not. The last date for submitting this information is 27 October. Any application still without this evidence by that date, will be rejected.
Level 2: Assessors will carry out an expert assessment of each Application Form against the funding criteria, each of which is weighted equally. Each of the criteria will be allocated a score with regard to how well they meet the criteria (A+ being excellent and D being poor):
The funding criteria are:
1. The relevance of the Programme to the development priorities of the developing country for which the Application Form applies.
2. The relevance of the Programme to the Scottish Government's International Development Policy.
3. The degree of previous experience in developing relevant programmes of engagement and delivery in the developing country for which the Application Form applies.
4. The capacity of the applicant organisation/consortium to deliver development programmes in the identified developing country.
5. The strength of the evidence of the organisation/consortium's knowledge and understanding of the relevant "country plans" of the developing country in which they intend to work.
6. The strength of the evidence of a strong and ongoing relationship with their delivery partners in-country; this will include written evidence of local partners' involvement in the design and on-going delivery of the programme as well as setting its aims and objectives.
7. The applicant must provide evidence of their commitment to and capacity to undertake thorough and rigorous Monitoring and Evaluation procedures to lead to effective programme management.
8. The extent to which sustainability of the programme is addressed in the Application Form.
Level 3: Based on the above assessment of each individual criteria, Application Forms will receive an overall mark according to the 5 point scale set out in the table below:
A+ | Excellent - Very High Priority for funding |
A | Very Good - High Priority for funding |
B | Good - Medium Priority for funding |
C | Average - Low Priority for funding |
D | Poor - not recommended for funding. |
In addition assessors will complete a brief narrative assessment indicating the rationale for the grading above.
LTSI will then submit the Application Forms with the marking, the recommendation and the rationale behind this, to the Scottish Government. Final decisions on which applications should be funded will be made by Scottish Ministers, based on consideration of the advice and recommendations of Scottish Government officials.
Required documentation:
- We require applicants to attach written evidence of support from local partners in the relevant country and evidence of how local partners have been involved in setting programme design, or indicate when this information will be submitted.
a. Additionally for Zambia, Tanzania and Rwanda, we will require evidence that the applicants have consulted with the government of the relevant country;
b. For the Darfur region of Sudan, we will require specific evidence of already established relationships in-country, essential for the delivery of the block grant and how it will operate within a humanitarian context.
- We require applicants who comprise a consortium of organisations and individuals to attach a copy of their consortium agreement (or similar document) which binds all members together and which states the name and status of the lead partner and role of the other partners.
- We require the lead applicant to submit a copy of recent independently verified accounts.
- We require copies of the accounts of member organisations, particularly that of the lead partner, who will provide the framework for delivering the funds, to be attached.