British Embassy Programme Fund Call for Bid
The British Embassy Manila is calling for concept notes for the British Embassy Programme Fund. Deadline for submission is 9 June 2017.
The British Embassy Manila is calling for concept notes for the British Embassy Programme Fund. Deadline for submission is 9 June 2017.
The British Embassy Programme Fund (BEF) is a new fund to support programme activity in line with the UK government’s foreign policy objectives in the Philippines during financial year 2017/18. This fund replaces the previous Bilateral and Strategic Programme Fund. Proposed projects should be in support of FCO strategic priorities and Embassy country objectives as outlined below.
The BEF project bids are shortlisted and approved by the British Embassy Manila’s Post Programme Board. To apply for funding, interested organisations must submit a Project Concept Note (please see the form attached) to the Embassy’s Project Section. This will provide the basic information required to enable the Post Programme Board to make an assessment on whether or not an implementer will be invited to submit a full Project Proposal.
All projects submitted must directly support at least one of the following priority objectives for the British Embassy Programme Fund:
- Enable strong rule of law, through strengthening reforms in the justice sector
- Tackle forms of modern slavery, including trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, and forced or compulsory labour
- Promote a safe and enabling environment for Human Rights Defenders
- Increase understanding and acceptance of human rights principles, including as a means to support conflict resolution and peaceful dialogue
- Promote the development and implementation of evidence-based, rights-based drug policies and programmes
The BEF will fund projects from £5,000 upwards. It is strongly recommended that projects supporting priority objectives 2-5 are costed at less than £12,000.
All British Embassy Manila Programme Fund projects must clearly demonstrate how they support at least one of the above priorities
- deliver value for money (VfM)
- meet OECD criteria for Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding and
- aim to complete 90% ODA spend by the end of December 2017
The assessment criteria will be based on the following:
- financial and operational capacity
- relevance
- methodology
- sustainability
- value for money
- impact
Managerial and Financial Aspects
- any organisation can apply for funding. We do not accept project bids submitted by individuals
- please note that we cannot make pre-payments; the successful bidders should make the payment and then ask us to reimburse these expenses. The implementer must have an active bank account in the name of the organisation to which we can electronically transfer reimbursements.
- organisations must prove that they are able to manage the project sum in a satisfactory manner; the Embassy may request reports by auditors
Exemptions
We regret that we are unable to fund:
- academic courses
- charitable activities
- commercial activities
- infrastructure or construction projects, or
- humanitarian aid
Co-financing
- a partnership framework to support the broader engagement of a project can strengthen your bid
- other sources of funding should be specified
Evaluation of project bids
- the application must relate to one or more of the priority objectives
- the aim of the project should be concise, feasible and sustainable
- the expected outcomes should be measurable and
- the target group should be clearly defined and involved in project implementation
Approval and reporting
If the Project Concept Note is successful, we will invite the implementer to submit a full Project Proposal. The full conditions of grants will be outlined once final decisions have been made by the Post Programme Board.
The Embassy will require monthly financial reports and quarterly project progress reports from implementers. The first payment will be made upon the receipt of monthly financial report. When the project has been completed the implementer shall prepare and send a final report to the Embassy within the period specified in the contract. Implementation time frame
Successful applicants will implement their projects from July 2017 until February 2018. All payment requests and reporting should be finalised in the first week of March 2018, with 90% of funding spent by December 2017, with full spend by February 2018, and you are advised to plan project activities accordingly.
Contact
Completed concept notes should be sent by email to Khim.Muli@fco.gov.uk by 9 June 2017.