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Call for proposals: British Embassy San Jose’s Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018

The call for bids for the British Embassy San Jose’s Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018 is now open.

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

The British Embassy San Jose is pleased to announce its call for project proposals for its Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018.

The British Embassy’s Bilateral Programme Fund seeks to promote respect for human rights, with a special emphasis on minority groups, and to strengthen the justice systems in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The Fund also aims to boost innovation and provide support to budding entrepreneurs, with a view to encouraging economic development in both countries.

Our Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018 is aimed at supporting human rights, innovation and entrepreneurship in Costa Rica and Nicaragua in areas including, but not limited to:

  • promoting the rights of indigenous communities
  • decreasing the incidence of modern slavery
  • protecting women’s rights and promoting their economic empowerment
  • providing support for innovation and entrepreneurship

How to apply for funding

The Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018 looks for practical and high-impact interventions. Proposals must be a clear catalyst to transformational changes in public policy and/or practice in target countries and/or their behaviour in global fora, and demonstrate sustainability. Proposals focusing purely on research, analysis, reports, seminars or workshops will not be relevant unless they lead to specific and measurable actions or behavioural change.

The bidding process is conducted in two stages: the concept bid stage and the full bid stage. Only bids approved through the concept stage will be considered for full bids. Implementers will be advised if a concept bid has been accepted and called to present a full bid.

Submission of bids

Concept bids, together with the Activity Based Budget, should be submitted in English with the title “Bilateral Programme Fund 2017/2018 – [Implementer Name, Country Name]” to CostaRica.Prosperity@fco.gov.uk

The deadline for submission of concept bids is 2 April 2017.

Eligibility

All project proposals must meet the following criteria:

  • project proposals must be submitted on the Concept Bid Form in plain English
  • all projects should be designed to deliver over the course of one year only
  • proposals must demonstrate practical and high-impact interventions that will lead to a real and timely difference to decision-making. Funds cannot be used to fund one-off visits or seminars
  • projects must clearly be a catalyst to transformational changes in policy and/or practice
  • proposals focusing purely on research, analysis, seminars or workshops will not be relevant unless they lead to specific
  • proposals must add value and not duplicate other donor activity
  • they must show evidence of strong buy-in from key beneficiaries
  • projects in innovation and entrepreneurship should demonstrate a UK expertise link
  • proposals should include a communications strategy to disseminate the results of the project

Implementation dates and payment information

Successful projects will start in April 2017 and must finish by the end of January 2018. We would expect project proposals to be between £5,000 and £10,000, in addition to co-funding. The budget must be presented in pounds sterling (GBP). Should the project implementer of the successful bid be based in the either of the target countries, payments will be made in United States dollars, subject to the FCO’s official rate of exchange.

Documents for download

If your project is selected to move to the full bid stage, you will need:

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Updates to this page

Published 17 March 2017