Call for Proposals – South East Asia Prosperity Fund 2015/ 2016
We are now calling for project proposals, for funding in our financial year 2015/2016.
South East Asia Prosperity Fund 2015/ 2016 Bidding Round
The South East Asia Prosperity Fund is the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) technical cooperation programme that aims to create the conditions for global growth. Working closely with project implementers and the FCO’s network of overseas missions, the Prosperity Fund has supported projects in its main markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam & the Philippines - providing technical assistance, building capacity, encouraging stakeholder discussions and sharing the UK experience.
The call for the first stage of Interim Project Proposals is now open.
Deadline for submission
The deadline for submission of the Interim Project Proposals is 9 January 2015.
There will be certain types of projects that we are unable to fund. Do read about them below.
Priorities vary across the region. We strongly encourage you to get in touch with the British Embassy or British High Commission in the country where the project will operate to discuss your draft project proposal.
Instructions for submitting your Interim Project Proposal
For this first stage round of Interim Project Proposals, please only fill in Sections A, B, C, D, E, F, I, K & L on the bidding form. Please make sure you include a signature and the printed name and title of the person submitting the form. An electronic signature will be accepted. Please email the completed bidding form in MS Word format to Prosperity.Fund@fco.gov.uk by close of play on Friday 9th January 2015.
Download the bidding form
Download the
Contact
If you have any questions not covered by the website or FAQs, visit the South East Asia Prosperity Fund blog for more information or email us at Prosperity.Fund@fco.gov.uk
Priorities for 2015/2016
Project proposals in the following areas will be considered for funding and can be bilateral (working in one country) or regional. We expect the earliest possible start for projects to be in May 2015.
Openness
We are particularly keen to support:
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Projects that lead to increased cross border trade and investment either by reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, by liberalisation of key sectors, improved trade facilitation or enhanced investment protection.
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Projects that supports financial sector reform and integration, in the areas of international financial standards and regulations, capital markets, banking, insurance, Islamic Finance standards and development, anti-money laundering frameworks.
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Projects that lead to the development and adoption of effective public private partnership frameworks, as a means to infrastructure financing.
We are also keen to support:
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Projects that encourage improvements to the business environment for domestic and foreign firms, through a rules-based economic system, regulatory reform, and closer engagement with global economic policy institutions and fora. This will include projects that level the playing field for all firms by
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Promoting transparency in government and businesses, focusing on public procurement, facilitation payments and business licensing; engaging with international transparency initiatives including Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
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Enabling a non-discriminatory and transparent intellectual property regime, including by building capacity on implementation and enforcement; adoption of key international IP agreements
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Encouraging greater adoption of international product standards
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Strengthening national competition policy regimes
Sustainability
We are particularly keen to support:
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Projects that help governments to engage progressively in international and multilateral climate change fora, in particular to achieve the ambitious new global agreement all UNFCCC parties have agreed to secure by 2015.
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Projects that work with governments to reduce existing and future carbon emissions from the energy sector through better legislation, regulation, policy-making, financing and implementation. Proposals are welcome both on the energy supply side, and on the reduction of energy demand, in particular through improved energy efficiency in key sectors.
We are also keen to support:
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Projects which work with governments or cities to encourage low carbon economic growth through better legislation, regulation, policy-making, financing and implementation.
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Projects that encourage significant and scalable carbon emissions reductions in key sectors like energy, agriculture, transport, waste and land use.
Finally, we will consider proposals which support our objectives to increase international and domestic ambition to tackle climate change, including:
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Projects that promote the sustainable management of natural resources, in a way that builds resource security.
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Projects that encourage governments to increase their ambition on climate change through a clearer understanding of the latest information on climate change science and risks.
Areas not covered by the Fund
We will not fund projects that focus solely on research. A certain element of research is acceptable, as long as it is linked to policy and is dovetailed with outreach activities.
We will not fund climate change adaptation projects. The Programme focuses solely on the mitigation aspect of climate change. The Department for International Development (DfID) is the UK’s focal agency for adaptation projects – please approach them if you have project ideas on adaptation.
We are unable to fund projects that have significant capital costs (i.e. equipment, infrastructure etc). If a small amount of capital expenditure is required, we will consider your requirement on a case-by-case basis.
We are unable to fund projects working solely in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Brunei, and Singapore. But regional projects in our main markets (Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) that involve these countries will be considered.
Assessment Criteria
Relevance
We will consider how relevant the proposed intervention is, including looking at how it fits in with the priorities of host governments, the objectives of the FCO and the Prosperity Fund, complements the work of other donors and the timing and appropriateness of the proposed activities/outputs.
Effectiveness
We will consider how effective the proposed outputs and activities will be in achieving the project’s stated purpose/outcomes.
Efficiency
We will consider how efficiently resources will be used in delivering outputs. This goes beyond value for money. We will also look at how efficient the proposed delivery channels are.
Sustainability
We will look at how sustainable the benefits of the projects will be after funding. A key component we look at here is how supportive or engaged host governments are in the project.
Impact
We will consider the project’s potential for positive impact, including its potential for wider, indirect impact or potential to leverage further funding. We will also consider the risk of negative/unintended impacts here.
Project proposals that are able to demonstrate clearly why the UK should fund the project, and how the UK would benefit from funding this will be viewed favourably.
Where a regional project proposal has been submitted, we will consider the logic behind the involvement of participating countries recognising, where possible, any synergy that might arise from this arrangement.
In addition to the above, the Programme Board will also seek to balance risks and opportunity cost across the portfolio of projects, consider as well as ensure that the eventual allocation of funds is appropriate across priority areas.
Full timetable for the bidding process
Please see the full timetable for the bidding process in this infographic.
Other documents
Please read the South East Asia Prosperity Fund FAQ before applying.
The FCO uses a standard contract with all successful project implementers as the basis on which project funds are granted. Please ensure that you have read and are happy with the terms before applying for funds, in the event that your project bid is successful.