Bangladesh: Bilateral Programme Budget (BPB)
The British High Commission in Dhaka manages a Bilateral Programme Budget (BPB) on behalf of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Bilateral programme budget
The British High Commission in Dhaka manages a Bilateral Programme Budget (BPB) on behalf of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The programme funds small, targeted projects which support UK priorities.
2015/16 Programme:
The bidding round for prospective projects for the financial year 2015-16 is now open. We are pleased to invite NGO’s/Civil Society, think-tanks, private sector, academic institutions, research bodies and development partners to submit project proposals for this funding stream. We are looking for innovative and creative interventions that will make a difference.
Projects will need to demonstrate clear measureable outcomes, and should contribute to bringing about change at a policy level in order to maximise the impact that a small amount of funding can deliver. Co-funded projects are particularly welcomed. Proposals should be strategically aligned with at least one of the following categories:
- Strengthened democracy with effective, accountable and responsive governance and an empowered civil society;
- Support for rule of law;
- Protection and promotion of human rights including the most marginalized sections of the society;
- Safeguarding security, including by countering terrorism;
- An improved investment climate and growth-led climate resilient economic development;
- Support to secure international agreements on climate change or to increase Bangladesh’s resilience and capacity to respond to and recover from natural disasters.
Project bids that seek to hold one off seminars, conferences, and study tours are unlikely to secure funding. While we are happy to accept research based projects, the Programme Board would need to be convinced that such a project would actually have an impact on the issue in the timeframe available. Such projects should clearly explain how the research will be used or disseminated to create impact. Programme funds should not be used to purchase equipment, such as laptops, vehicles etc.
Our contribution towards each project will be limited to approximately £20k and all projects need to be completed by the 15th of March 2016.
Selection Criteria:
Project proposals must clearly demonstrate how they will support the FCO’s strategy in at least one of the categories mentioned above. All projects are assessed by the Programme Board at the British High Commission, Dhaka, subject to the availability of funds.
Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Value for money;
- Alignment with the strategic priorities;
- Evidence of local demand or need;
- Creativity and innovation;
- Project viability, including capacity of the implementing organisation;
- Project design (clear and achievable impact);
- Risk and stakeholder management;
- Sustainability.
Key Documents:
You can see the full proposal forms and activity based budget template below:
Full proposal form – projects under £10k
Full proposal form - projects £10k - £80k
Activity based budget template
Application Deadline:
The deadline for submission of project bids is 28 May 2015. Please note that only projects submitted on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s project bidding form will be considered for review.
Contact:
Please do not contact us with enquiries about the status of your application, we will provide feedback to applicants in due course. A project surgery session with potential implementers will be held every Monday between 1000-1100 hrs during the month of May 2015 at the British High Commission to provide guidance on project ideas. For further details of the funds available, to register your attendance at the project surgeries and information on submitting bids, please contact: Dhaka.Projects@fco.gov.uk
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 May 2015 + show all updates
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Updated with the new information.
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Announcing the 2014/15 call for bids.
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First published.