Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF)
Frequently Asked Questions1
Related pages: Governance and Transparency Fund |
Guidelines, criteria and concept note guidance
| Terms of Reference
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Eligibility
Q: Who can apply to the GTF?
A: The GTF is open to applications from organisations or consortiums of
not for profit organisations from anywhere around the world.
Q: Is the Fund open only to registered charities?
A: No. The Fund is open to applications from any not for profit
organisation or group.
Q: We are a ‘for profit’ organisation – can we apply to the Fund on
our own or as part of a consortium?
A: No. The Fund is open to applications only from not for profit
organisations.
Q: One of the partners we wish to work with is a ‘for profit’
organisation – is our application eligible?
A: The Fund will consider proposals which involve ‘for profit’
organisations as partners, where their involvement can be shown to be an
integral part of the proposal.
Q: Can our partners be local/regional government?
A: We will consider proposals where local/regional government is a
partner but this should be the exception rather than the rule and we will
require strong justification for supporting partners in this category.
Q: We are an organisation called ABC (UK). Can our local partners be
ABC (South Africa)?
A: In order for ABC (South Africa) to be considered as a true local
partner we will need evidence which shows that they are an autonomous
organisation with their own local board of trustees and can provide Annual
Audited Accounts to show that less than 50% of their annual income is derived
from any other branch of ABC.
Q: We are a Southern based not for profit organisation – can we apply
directly to the Fund or must we find a partner in the North.
A: You can apply directly.
Q: Can UN agencies apply?
A: No.
Q: Will applications from UK-based organisations be favoured in any
way?
A: No. It is a level playing field for all applicants.
Q: Do applications have to be from consortiums?
A: No. We will consider applications which have been submitted by just
one organisation so long as they can show that they have the capacity to manage
the level of funding requested.
Q: Can I apply for support if I am already in receipt of other DFID
support eg a PPA or a strategic grant from CHASE
A: Yes. However, the GTF cannot be used to fund activities for which DFID
is already paying through any other funding mechanism.
Q: Which countries are eligible for support under the Fund?
A: The Fund will support activities in any low or middle income country
but not the EU accession countries.
Q: Are research projects eligible?
A: No. Research can be a small component of a project but should not be
the main action.
Fund Manager
Q: Who will be responsible for the day to day management of the Fund?
A: DFID is contracting an external Fund Manager to look after all aspects
of the Fund from assessment of Concept Notes, evaluation of proposals, issuing
of grant agreements and authorising of payments to appraisal of reports.
Q: How will DFID select a Fund Manager?
A: Through a fully competitive tendering exercise run under EC public
procurement rules. The final selection panel will be composed of a
representative from BOND, an independent consultant and DFID staff.
Q: What role will the Fund Manager play?
A: A full copy of the Terms of Reference for this role is on the DFID
website.
Concept Notes
Q: Why is there a Concept Note stage?
A: The Concept Note stage enables the Fund Manager to identify those
applicants and ideas which do not meet the basic Fund criteria at an early
stage. This ensures that potential applicants do not spend a lot of time working
on proposals which could never be considered for support.
Q: Could my application be rejected at Concept Note stage because it
is considered weak?
A: No. At this stage there is no assessment made of strengths or
weaknesses of the proposed activities. Concept Notes will be rejected purely
only eligibility grounds.
Q: Can I submit more than one Concept Note?
A: No. There is strict a limit of one Concept Note per organisation.
Q: We are a not for profit organisation (DEVDIV) with member
organisations/affiliates around the world. Would the Fund Manager accept a
Concept Note from more than one our ‘family’ eg would you accept a Concept Note
from DEVDIV (Malawi) and one from DEVDIV (Bangladesh)?
A: No. In order to ensure that the Fund supports as wide a range of
partners and activities as possible we would consider DEVDIV (Malawi) and DEVDIV
(Bangladesh) to be part of the same organisation ‘family’. As such we could only
consider one Concept Note. If this was to happen we would put both applicants in
touch with each other and ask them to reach agreement on one Concept Note.
Q: If my Concept Note is rejected can I resubmit it with changes made?
A: No. There is a one-off call for Concept Notes. If your Concept Note is
rejected there will be no opportunity to resubmit.
Q: Could you please clarify how long the Concept Note should be?
A: Section B of the Concept Note must not exceed 1500 words. Please
ignore the guidance that the Note should be no longer than 3 pages.
Q: Can my organisation be a member of two different consortiums both
submitting a Concept Note?
A: No. In this case you would have to decide which of the two consortiums
you wished to apply with.
Q: Can my organisation submit a Concept Note on our own and also as
part of a consortium?
A: No. You would have to decide whether to submit on your own or as part
of a consortium, not as both.
Q: If we do not submit a Concept Note on time can we simply go to
proposal stage?
A: No. You cannot submit a proposal unless you have had a Concept Note
accepted
Q: What format must the Concept Note take?
A: There is now detailed guidance on how to
draw up a Concept Note on the GTF pages of the DFID website.
Q: When is the deadline for submission of Concept Notes?
A: We will not be able top set an exact deadline until we have finalised
the contract with the Fund Manager. Current best estimates suggest that the
deadline will be in the first week of May 2007.
Country Assistance Plans (CAPs)
Q: What is a CAP?
A: A CAP is a Country Assistance Plan. It is a paper drawn up by the team
in DFID responsible for our bilateral programme in their country eg the
Bangladesh CAP is produced by the DFID Bangladesh office.
Q: What is the CAP used for?
A: The CAP details what DFID hopes to do and achieve in each country.
Q: Is there a CAP for every country?
A: No. There are CAPs for all of the main recipients of DFID support but
not for every country covered by the GTF
Q: Where can I find the CAPs?
A: CAPs can be found on the DFID website
Q: The country we are proposing to work in does not have a CAP. Will
my proposal still be eligible for GTF consideration?
A: Yes
Country Governance Analysis (CGAs)
Q: What are CGAs?
A: Country Governance Analysis – these are papers produced by DFID which
provide an assessment of the trajectory of political governance in the country
concerned and point to areas that may be in need of strengthening or support.
Q: Where do I find copies of the CGAs?
A: The CGAs are not, at present, on the DFID website. You will have to
contact the DFID office in the country in which you are proposing to work in
order to see whether any CGA has been completed for that country.
Q: Are there CGAs for all countries?
A: No. CGAs are very new documents. Many DFID offices are still in the
process of producing their CGAs and most will not be available for several
months yet.
‘Portfolio’ Proposals
Q: Will the Fund consider stand alone projects?
A: The Fund can consider stand alone projects as well as ‘portfolio’
proposals.
Q: What are ‘portfolio’ proposals?
A: A range of individual but related projects, with a number of different
partners.
Q: We know the type of activities we want to support but have not yet
identified all of the different local partners – can we still apply?
A: Yes. We do not expect all proposals to have identified all partners.
We expect some portfolios to ‘fill up’ after funding is approved and work has
begun.
Funds
Q: Has the £100m available already been notionally allocated (or ‘ringfenced’)
in any way?
A: No. We have do not have set allocations of funding either
geographically, by sector or by applicant grouping. All applications will be
assessed on their individual merits.
Q: How much funding can I apply for?
A: The minimum grant is £750,000 and the maximum is £5m over a period of
between 3 and 5 years.
Q: Is the 85% on-granting to local partners ‘set in stone’?
A: No. We have already said in the guidelines that we will consider a
lower figure if the applicant can show exceptional circumstances.
Q: Does there have to be any matched funding?
A: No. The Fund will provide up to 100% support, up to the maximum of
£5m.
Q: Will the Fund cover pre-contract costs eg can we include the cost
of setting up the consortium?
A: No. The Fund will not support any pre-contract costs.
Consortium
Q: What is a consortium?
A: Any group who have a common interest in the type of work they want to
do and have an agreement to work jointly on the programme / portfolio.
Q: Do we have to list all members of our consortium at Concept Note
stage?
A: Yes.
Q: Do consortiums have to show a long history of working together
before they will be considered as eligible?
A: A history of collaboration is not a requirement. However, the lead
organisation will have to clearly show the benefits of the consortium members in
working jointly.
Q: What is the difference between a consortium member and a local
partner?
A: Consortium members could be considered as being the managers of the
GTF grant whereas local partners could be thought of as the recipients of
support, including management support from consortium members.
Q: Do all consortium members and local partners have to provide the
supporting documents ie audited accounts etc?
A: Only consortium members have to supply this documentation at Concept
Note stage
Proposals
Q: The criteria mentions innovative proposals and new initiatives –
how crucial is it for the success of an application to be innovative/new?
A: We are not insisting on applications being innovative. What is
important is the effectiveness of what is being proposed.
Q: Why only one call for proposals for the whole 5 years?
A: It was decided that with projects aiming at improving governance
systems and processes, it was important that projects be long term (ie 5 years).
If there was to be another call in 2 years, these projects would only be for 3
years and this didn’t seem appropriate.
Local Partners
Q: What do you mean by ‘local partner’?
A: We expect the actual work ‘on the ground’ to be undertaken by a local
organisation. In most cases these organisations will be the ‘local partners’ of
the applicant.
Q: Do you expect all local partners to be well established?
A: You are not restricted to organisations that are already well
established. It is possible that funds could be used to strengthen existing
organisations or networks or start new ones.
Q: Can a local partner be included as a potential beneficiary in more
than one Concept Note
A: Yes. However, if you are aware of another bid intending to work with
the same local partner you should say so in your Concept Note
Q: How thorough will the check on local partners be?
A: Lead agencies will be expected to have satisfied themselves of their
local partner’s ability, both technically and financially, to undertake the
activities in the proposal.
Lesson Learning
Q: How will it be ensured that learning from all the funded proposals
is used?
A: The Fund Manager will publish annual reports about the fund. There
will be a mid term review during the 5 year life of the Fund which will
incorporate learning from all stakeholders.
The Future
Q: Will there be a GTF Phase 2 after the initial 5 years is completed?
A: There is currently no commitment to prolong the GTF beyond 5 years.
A definition of Governance and Transparency
Q: Is there any particular definition or notion of governance that is
preferable in terms of submitting a successful application?
A: We have placed an ‘Accompanying Note’ on governance and transparency
on the GTF pages of the DFID website. However, this ‘Note’ does not form a part
of the criteria and guidelines for the Fund and has been written as a general
think piece on governance and transparency.
Website
Q: Will there be a website covering this fund?
A: Once contracted the Fund Manager will set up a website with all the
relevant information.
Other Questions
Q: If I have any other questions where should I send them to?
A: Please direct any questions to
gtf@dfid.gov.uk
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1 NB. These FAQ’s do not supercede information provided by
the ‘Governance and Transparency Fund – Criteria
and Guidelines’ document – which remains the principal source of guidance. In
the unlikely case of any apparent inconsistencies between these documents,
please inform the DFID team at gtf@dfid.gov.uk.
Last updated 29 May 2007
