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The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund calls for proposal

The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF) announces its Call for proposal number one from Vietnamese non-profit and non-governmental organisations.

• From: British Embassy Hanoi
• Published: 7 June 2013

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF)

PARAFF seeks to promote public participation and accountability in law-making and policy development processes by strengthening engagement of non-governmental organizations in these processes at national and sub-national levels as well as in monitoring the implementation of these.

Support Areas and selected themes

All proposals must lie within one or more of PARAFF’s Support Areas listed below:

1. Research related to legislative and law-making processes, with a focus on themes relevant to poverty eradication, democratic governance and NGOs’ roles in promoting public participation and accountability (for example: evidence based research on specific laws and bill; research on citizen’s participation in preparation of bills; research on participatory planning at local and provincial level; research on citizens’ supervisory rights on government agencies; research on measuring citizens’ satisfaction with service delivery).

2. Raising Awareness of NGOs and key partners about the rights and opportunities provided under the present legal framework related to public participation and accountability (for example: the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Ordinance on Grass-root Democracy).

3. NGO lead-initiatives on monitoring and providing feedback to Government and Elected representatives on the implementation of laws, government policies, and budgets at national and sub-national levels (for example: initiatives enabling citizens to exercise their supervisory rights on government agencies; strategies to make service delivery more accountable such as complaints mechanisms, public information campaigns, citizens report cards and score cards, community monitoring and social audits; budget transparency and accountability strategies, public expenditure monitoring, participatory auditing; initiatives to secure freedom of information and transparency, including initiatives focused on making revenues from natural resources more transparent)

4. Networking among NGOs and other stakeholders for enhanced engagement in legislative and law-making processes, in policy dialogues with the National Assembly and the People’s Councils, and Government agencies at various levels.

Furthermore, proposals for consultations should relate to one or more bills from the legislative agenda of the 13th tenure of the National Assembly. PARAFF’s 1st Call for Proposal will give priority to the bills listed below:

• Bill on amending, supplementing a number of articles of the Law on marriage and family
• Bill on amending, supplementing a number of articles of the Law on vocational training
• Bill on amending, supplementing a number of articles of the law on health insurance
• Bill on environmental protection
• Bill on urban management
• Bill on Oversight activities of the People’s Council
• Bill on Construction
• Civil Code

Priority bills for monitoring are:

• Bill on People with Disabilities
• Bill on Consumers’ Right Protection
• Law on Petitions

What kind of grants do PARAFF offer?

1. Small Project Grants: Applicants may apply for grants of up to VND 600 million per proposal for a maximum duration of 12 months.

2. Research Grants: Applicants may apply for grants of up to VND 400 million per proposal for a maximum duration of 12 months.

3. Core Funding: Applicants may apply for grants VND 1,500 million per year for a maximum of two years. Core funding is geared towards organisations in continuous support of one or more of the support areas of PARAFF. The core funding grants are provided in support of, mainly larger, organisations with a well-established track-record in research and advocacy.

Core funding grants generally include various activities, perhaps within different localities, to meet the objectives of an organisation’s strategic plan (3-4 year plan).

Who can receive a PARAFF grant?

Target groups are Vietnamese non-governmental organizations, mass organizations, socio-political organizations, professional associations, and community based groups.

Applicants who apply for small project and research grants will be expected to meet a set of minimum criteria as follows:

• Established for Non-profit purposes;
• Non-government and non-international;
• Registered officially for more than one year by Vietnamese Authorities;
• Have a legally binding set of rules that explains how the organisation operates;
• Have a bank account operated by more than one signatory, and
• Have the support of relevant authorities and/or elected deputies and/or local partners to the proposed project.

Applicants who apply for Core Funding Grants will be expected to meet a set of minimum criteria as follows:

• All criteria for the small project and research grants presented above;
• Have two consecutive annual audited statements of accounts certified by a suitably qualified auditor and supported by bank account records for the same period; and
• Have satisfactory internal governance structures and financial management capacity, systems and procedures.

How should applications be made, and by when?

All applications consist of a concept note and lump-sum budget; and a full project proposal with detailed budget break-down. All formats are available on the PARAFF website.

A soft copy of the concept note and lump-sum budget in Vietnamese language shall be submitted to the PARAFF Secretariat via its email account office.paraff@gmail.com before 5pm on 14th June 2013 for preliminary assessment. Submission of a concept note is not mandatory but a condition for attendance at the outreach workshops mentioned below.

A full proposal with detailed budget break-down in Vietnamese language in both hard and soft copy on CD shall be sent by mail, messenger services or be delivered by hand to the PARAFF Secretariat before 5pm on 29th July 2013 at the following address:

Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF) Unit 303-B3, 3rd floor, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound 298 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: (+84) 04 6273 6531; Fax: (+84) 04 6273 6542 E-mail: office.paraff@gmail.com

Please visit the PARAFF Website at http://www.paraff.org for more information about the selection criteria, application process and to download application forms.

PARAFF plans to hold Outreach Workshops in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Ha Noi on 27 to 28 June, 01 to 02 July and 04 to 05 July 2013 respectively to assist eligible applicants that submitted relevant concept notes with further information and training on proposal writing.

Confirmation of attendance should be made to the PARAFF Secretariat at least five (5) days before the abovementioned dates. Please kindly confirm your attendance by e-mail to office.paraff@gmail.com or by telephone to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet at 04 6273 6531.

How are applications assessed?

Grant applications will be screened according to the eligibility criteria and evaluation criteria available for download on PARAFF website. Short-listed applications will be considered by an independent Grant Committee. Outcomes of the Call for Proposals and a list of successful organisations to be funded will be published on the PARAFF website by 30th September 2013. PARAFF is available to answer any questions or inquiries about the outcomes from applicants at the above contact address.

Published 7 June 2013