Cuba programme fund FY 2020-21: call for bids
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the British Embassy in Havana has decided to freeze its call for projects bids in this Financial Year 2020-21. We will provide you with more information once we are in a position to do so. Please follow @UKinCuba for more updates.
Official Development Assistance funds of the British government
Deadline: April 19, 2020
The British Embassy in Havana invites interested organisations to submit project proposals to be implemented during the British financial year 2020-21 (April 2020 to March 2021) to support cooperation between the United Kingdom and Cuba in priority areas for both countries.
This support is channelled through small-scale project interventions (up to £10,000), but with potential for greater impact. It is important to take into account that the project funds will be allocated depending on their availability and according to high quality activities that deliver good value for money.
Priorities in Cuba
The British Embassy in Havana is interested in financing innovative projects, with tangible objectives and measurable policy outcomes. We remind applicants that it is not possible to finance pure academic research projects.
Proposals should be related to one of the following policy areas:
- financial and professional services, central banking
- global health threats, biotech and life sciences
- higher education and English language teaching
- energy (including renewable energy) strategy and technology
- public policy, administration and governance, including public procurement
- Cuban economic model, challenges and solutions
- creative industries
- climate change
The Embassy might consider other proposals that do not fully fit into these priority policy areas if related to the general objectives of the Embassy’s work. These will be assessed case by case.
Considerations to take into account
- project activities must be fully implemented before the end of the financial year in March 2021
- 85% of the total Embassy allocation must be implemented by mid-December 2020. Therefore, capacity to deliver before that date would be an asset
- payments will be made through quarterly refunds. It should be made clear in the project proposals in the case that the implementer does not have the financial capacity to deliver the project, in full or in part. Exceptions related to advance payments are not guaranteed
- administration costs must not exceed the 10% of the total project budget
- proposals that are co-financed by other donors are welcome. This information must also be specified at the time of submitting the proposal
- each institution can submit up to 3 proposals
- funds cannot be used for capital purchases; this includes infrastructure, cars, furniture, computer equipment, amongst others. Nor for flight tickets above economy class
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible, your organization or agency must be a legal entity, a not-for-profit commercial company, a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) or government, or an academic or research institution, while proving:
- previous experience in project management and administration
- previous experience working with international agencies or organizations would be considered an asset
- proof of legal registration
- sufficient technical, financial, human and logistical capacity to complete the project proposal
How to bid
The application process must include the following forms:
- project proposal form under £10,000
- a detailed budget breakdown (Activity Based Budget, ABB spreadsheet) of the specific activities to be developed by the project (financial breakdown) on a monthly basis
Project proposals will not be considered if they are not submitted together with the detailed ABB supporting how the budget will be spent and demonstrating an efficient use of financial resources. The ABB should include as much detail as possible.
All required documents should be sent to the email address: ukincubaprojects@fco.gov.uk with the subject ‘Project proposal form’ and including, in the email’s body, a brief reference to the organization and the project title.
Only the proposals approved by the Embassy Programme Board will be considered for implementation.
Timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 19 April | Deadline for submission of proposals |
| 6 May | Notification to all participating institutions about the success of the submitted proposals, accepted and approved for moving forward to the implementation stage |
If approved, additional information will be requested to ensure the due diligence process, and finally a contract or financing agreement will be signed with the British Embassy in Havana.