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Funding
News - Requirements for project proposals |
The Lesotho Council of
NGOs with the assistance of the British Council has announced the
2006 Small Grants Programme is available to civil society
organizations in Lesotho. Priority will be given to projects that
strengthen democracy, good governance and human rights and equal
priority will be given to tackling HIV/AIDS and developing effective
poverty alleviation strategies.
Account should be taken of Lesothos HIV/AIDS strategy and a projects
relevance to the country’s mainstreaming of HIV/Aids programme.
Support to the most marginalised affected groups (e.g. orphans,
older people) would be good.
Projects should identify;
1. What is the problem?
A project should identify a problem and propose a solution. You
should make sure you understand the problem and how the proposed
solution addresses it. This will help clarify the projects overall
goals or wider objectives and may show you how it relates to DFIDs
priority objectives.
2. What are the immediate objectives?
Unless the overall problem is very simple, a project will contribute
to, rather than provide, a solution. The immediate objective is the
project's purpose.
3. How will you tell whether the wider or immediate objectives have
been realised?
If the project contributes to solving a problem, its contribution
should be identifiable and, ideally, quantifiable and at appraisal
you should set a clear target for this contribution.
4. Are the immediate objectives realistically achievable?
The activities to be financed should be sufficient to achieve the
objectives and, even if they are sufficient, the implementing
organisation should ensure they have the required competence or
resources.
Internal risks:
Show that the applicant has experience of similar projects.
Show that the planned resources and activities are sufficient to
produce the outputs.
Do the proposed beneficiaries want the "benefits"?
External risks:
Does the project design make realistic assumptions about factors
outside its control?
5. Who are the beneficiaries?
The project should identify the target group of people who will
benefit. You should also consider others with a stake in the project
who may be overall losers as a result of it.
6. Is the project sustainable?
If the project requires running costs for staff, materials, etc.
then a reliable source must be identified in the design. If SGS
finance is sought for running costs, an external source must be
identified at the outset to take over when SGS support stops. You
should aim to support projects that will eventually be able to
survive without SGS or any other external support.
7. Are we getting value for money?
If possible, compare the costs and benefits with what you would
expect from another local source.
8. Are the proposed inputs realistic?
Apart from any possible SGS input, are the resources the project
needs likely to be available? (e.g. volunteer time, equipment,
technology, other funding)
Organisational Factors
A. What organisation(s) is/are involved in the project and what are
their roles in project implementation?
More than one organisation may be involved. However many there are,
roles should be clearly defined and you should assess their capacity
to fulfil those roles.
What are the main organisation's objectives?
At best, a project proposal will represent an area of overlap
between the SGS objectives and those of the main ‘sponsor’
organisation. You need to know how central the project is to their
main purpose and, in broad terms, what else the organisation stands
for.
C. Are the beneficiaries part of the organisation?
If so, is there any conflict of interest? Who is excluded from
project benefits through non-membership of that organisation? Were
they consulted?
D. Does the organisation have the capacity to implement the project?
What is its track record?
E. Is the organisation sustainable?
With large, established organisations, assessing sustainability
should be straightforward. However, the opposite is true of a small
or fledgling organisation. These are extremes, but you may find you
have only incomplete information on which to decide whether a
promising but embryonic organisation represents too big a risk to
take with taxpayers’ money or the potential contribution to
development is too important to miss.
Applicants should apply outlining the areas above; directly to LCN
to the address on the back page of this publication. Organisations
applying for these funds do not have to be members of LCN. |
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