UK Aid Direct – Top Tips for Round 3

by | Feb 28, 2019 | Archive, Uncategorized

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” admin_toggled=”no”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]

UK Aid Direct Top Tips for Round 3 

Fun facts:

  • UK Aid Direct is DFID’s funding mechanism for small and medium sized Civil Society Organisations;
  • It’s managed by Mannion Daniels.
  • It started in 2010 when it used to be known as the Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF);
  • It rebranded in 2016/7 as UK Aid Direct. The first round in 2017 received 626 applications across all four of its funding streams (Community Partnerships, Impact, Jo Cox Memorial and the Small Charities Challenge Fund).
  • Last year’s round received 538 applications.

Given that there were a mere 516 people on the webinar today, it looks like we can expect the same kinds of numbers this year. 

  • As of this year, applicants based and registered in the country of implementation can apply directly. No UK partner needed! Hurray!
  • This year, a portion of the available funding will be ringfenced for projects supporting urban poverty, but you do not have to be focussed solely on this to apply.

Whilst there are *a lot* of important things to take into consideration (see the end of this post for the low down & links), the best part of this webinar for me was the ‘Top Tips’ section given by two current grantees, Send a Cow and Able Child Africa. So, I’m starting with that.

Send a Cow

Quick side note: I enjoyed hearing that this UK registered INGO was set up in 1988 by a group of Christian dairy farmers and that they actually sent 36 cows on a plane to Uganda! The 80s seem to be full of similar NGO anecdotes. Luckily, they’ve come a long way since, as Richard, their Contracts Manager mentioned. They now work in 6 countries across Africa and have an annual turnover of c. £7.6m, half of which from institutional donors like DFID (and no cows fly anywhere anymore..).

Send a Cow’s top tips* on UK Aid Direct applications:

*I’ve likely mis-quoted these but the general idea is there!

  1. Know your proposal team. Get buy-in from right across your organisation, the higher the better (i.e. SMT). Present a project plan to help involve colleagues from M&E, Finance, Fundraising and, of course, your country teams. Make sure everyone knows what they’re working towards and give clear time frames.
  2. Start early and manage your time well. Don’t wait for the call to open. If other countries are keen to apply ask them to pitch for their programme and see which fits best with DFID’s focus.
  3. Be super organised! Have clear roles, timelines, at least one Proposal Coordinator, or ‘Enforcer’ as Richard called it, who has overview of the whole process, can ‘push’ people, draft sections for review and collate disparate parts into a final whole. (I feel *so* identified by this role, I might change my email Signature to ‘The Enforcer’ from now on…).
  4. Invest in the opportunity. Spend time, and perhaps even money, to get your proposals right. Talk to other grantees, go to webinars, read all the guidance etc.
  5. If project is brand new make sure the chief writer is part of the programme design process.
  6. ‘Don’t rush to write’ (This is the most comforting thing I’ve heard in ages as a proposal writer!). The first thing you need to do is get the project right. Do the prep work before you put pen to paper. Find out the challenges faced in target community. Do the Theory of Change and confirm the project outcomes before you begin writing. Talk with partners and get them to co-creators in design phase.
  7. Invest at Concept Note phase. It can be tempting to think that the real work is at stage 2 (the Full Proposal), but scale and rigour is required at Concept Note phase. This means all the thinking needs to be done at the start. Able Child Africa reemphasised this point saying:

 ‘Get the tough stuff done early’ Plan your programme properly before you write your proposal. Do the Theory of Change / problem tree analysis even though it’s not required at the concept note stage. This is the first thing you should do with your implementing partners to agree ‘the problem’.  Know the risks, know the full budget. Don’t wait until later.  

  1. Know your strengths. Don’t be tempted to show a confused project that’s trying to do too much.

Able Child Africa also highlighted the importance of mainstreaming disability and gender across your programme design. It’s not a tick box exercise.  E.g. How are different genders and people with different disabilities involved in the design process? How are they involved in the delivery and monitoring? How are targets including those groups? Include this thought process at the very early stage of programme design.

And the budget?

The NGOs also suggested the following:

  1. Don’t rush to compile DFID’s budget template.
  2. Have a fully costed internal project budget. Without this you can’t hope to achieve full cost recovery, an essential part of organisational health. Time invested here is never wasted.
  3. Be as close to the budget creation phase as possible. Co-create the budget with teams in countries. Support them to do it and scrutinise it as early as possible.
  4. Be prepared to play the role of the donor and ask the difficult questions about the budget of your team.
  5. When you do come to fill in the template, use the right one! They’ll be on Aid Direct’s website from March 4th.
  6. Use the budget notes and include as much detail as possible, including unit costs.
  7. Map where each cost fits into the Theory of Change.
  8. Fully consider costs associated with vulnerable groups. E.g. If you are going to use the Washington Group short set of disability questions, you’ll need to include a budget line for training on its use.
  9. Include child protection and safeguarding training costs into your budget. It’s a non-negotiable area for DFID.

Mannion Daniels also added the following tips on the budget:

  • Don’t change the format of the template!
  • Make sure the budget matches your work plans – do these make sense when looked at side by side?
  • Cars cannot be purchased with DFID funds (they can be leased or rented);
  • Motorbikes can;
  • Maintenance costs for an existing vehicle can be paid for with DFID funds;
  • Match funding is a requirement for Impact Grant applicants only. It cannot be in-kind funding. The only exception to this is where applicants provide their own staff time as gift-in-kind. This should be presented as how much the staff member costs you and that you’re covering this cost.
  • The more match funding you can provide in your impact grant, the better. The minimum is 25% of the total budget.
  • Statutory fines are inadmissible. So is:
    • Severance pay
    • Major Cap Expenditure; minor Cap Ex is ok
    • Spending funds to lobby the UK government.

Very interestingly, Mannion Daniels confirmed that they don’t grade the budget. This means it does not contribute to the overall score and will not impact whether your application is taken forward or not. However (there’s always a ‘but’!), if they cannot understand the budget and if there are too many items which are ineligible, you can be disqualified.

Don’t forget to include:

  • Costs of complying with IATI
  • Reporting costs
  • M&E costs
  • What you view as a reasonable apportionment of overheads. this will be assessed at Stage 3 to create an NPAC (Non-Programme Attributable Costs).
  • All the non-DFID funding. This is v important as some projects will require a certain amount of match funding

Finally, a few answers to the thousands of questions people asked were:

  • You can submit as many applications as you like’ as long as you’re eligible (see below for eligibility).
  • Yes, you can reapply from a previously unsuccessful application, just take the feedback on board.
  • A southern based organisation does not need a UK ‘partner’
  • You can apply directly if you are registered and have relevant proof of registration in your country.
  • If you are a UK registered NGO, you should have an established partnership in-country.
  • Consortium approaches are also fine.
  • Syria is not an eligible country.
  • You can apply for ANY project which is addressing the SDGs and you are impacting upon the most marginalised and vulnerable populations.
  • US organisations are not eligible to apply.
  • No annual audited accounts? If you’re too small to require them by UK law, we accept independently examined accounts. If you don’t have these, submit what you have. Mannion Daniels are used to looking at management accounts.
  • Re-granting is not allowed. You need to have your implementing partners in advance.

So, you know all the tips, but don’t know enough about the who, what, when, where, why? Read on…

What’s UK Aid Direct all about?   

There are two streams that will be opening imminently (March 4th), Impact Grants and Community Partnerships Fund. Each has its own criteria.

Which is?

DFID UK Aid Direct Community Partnerships Grants

What? Projects which address any of the Global Goals and deliver sustained poverty reduction for the most vulnerable and marginalised populations.  A portion of available funding will be reserved for projects addressing urban poverty.

Where? Projects can take place in one or more project country, made up of the lowest 50 countries in the UN HDI or a DFID priority country.

Can I apply? Small, non-governmental organisations who have an average income of less than £1,000,000 per annum for the past 3 years may apply. Formal consortiums may also apply.  The average annual income of each consortium member organisation must also be less than £1,000,000. Such organisations must either be registered as a not-for-profit organisation in the UK; or registered in one of the lowest 50 countries in the UN Human Development Index (HDI) or in one of the countries that DFID considers to be of high or moderate fragility.

How much can I request? Up to £250,000 for projects lasting three years or less. No match-funding is required.

When do I need to apply by? 17 April at 5pm UK time.

How do I apply? The application platform will be live on March 4th through UK Aid Direct’s website:  https://www.ukaiddirect.org/

DFID UK Aid Direct Impact Grants

What? Projects which address any of the Global Goals and deliver sustained poverty reduction for the most vulnerable and marginalised populations.  A portion of available funding will be reserved for projects addressing urban poverty.

Where? Projects can take place in one or more project country, made up of the lowest 50 countries in the UN HDI or a DFID priority country. See links below.

Can I apply? medium sized NGOs or consortiums of NGOs that are registered as a not-for-profit organisation may apply. Applicants must be registered in either the UK, one of the lowest 50 countries in the UN Human Development Index (HDI) or in one of the countries that DFID considers to be of high or moderate fragility. Applicants must have an average annual income of less than £10 million for the past three years to be eligible. For formal consortium applications, the average annual income of each consortium member organisation must be less than £10,000,000.

How much can I request? £250,001 and £4,000,000 for projects lasting three to five years. DFID will provide up to 75% of the total project costs. Applicants must ‘match fund’ the remaining 25% (or more) from their own resources or another external source. Match funding cannot comprise gift-in-kind.

When do I need to apply by? 17 April at 5pm UK time.

How do I apply? The application platform will be live on March 4th through UK Aid Direct’s website:  https://www.ukaiddirect.org/

What’s the process?

Both streams are made up of a 3-stage process: 1) a concept note; 2) if you’re successful, you’ll invited to full application, and then 3) if you’re successful you’ll go into a due diligence process that can take up to 6 months. Keep this in mind if you get through to stage 3 and how this might impact your project timelines.

Stage 1, the concept note stage will open on March 4th. You cannot apply before this. All applications must be made through the online portal only. All supporting documents and all application forms must be submitted by 5pm BST Wed 17th April.

Stage 2 is likely to take place in mid-July and final results are expected in December.

So, what does DFID expect to see in your application form?

The best and simplest answer to this question is to read all the very thorough guidance Mannion Daniels has created on the UK Aid Direct website.

However, they did reiterate a few things:

Design phase

  • You need to analyse the specific local context, specific drivers and challenges. Frame it at the wider level but show what’s needed at the local level.
  • How will you collaborate at the programme design stage so you’re aware of all the specific issues which is relevant to the communities you’re working in.
  • Demonstrates how your partnerships work at the local level.

Sustainability

What will happen at the end of the project when the funding ends? What is the long lasting impact and change? How will you include feedback from community and how you have learned from experience?

Capacity building

This is not just for beneficiaries, but also for implementing partners, stakeholders and front line staff. How will you build the capacities of these groups?  What will happen as a result of the capacity building?

Theory of Change

  • This is not needed at Concept Note stage. But develop it now to help guide your project design.
  • Show how you’re measuring change. NOT just a list of activities, but the change / impact you’ll have as a result of your project.
  • Look closely at how Value for Money is tied into you’re your Theory of Change.

 Beneficiary numbers.

Make sure your numbers are realistic within the timeframe you’re ‘we don’t want to see high numbers of beneficiaries for the sake of it.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]