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Where next from DFID?

Find out in this quick 4 min read.

March 1st 2018

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This week, I sat in a packed room at the Bond Conference with many other NGO staffers eager to hear the answer to this question. It was explicitly stated that the answer would be related to FUNDING. Eek, how exciting.  We were on tenterhooks.

20 mins in, however, the parallel universe version of myself was ready to start heckling…

Whilst it’s great and important to hear that the Global Disability Summit is happening this summer, that ‘small organisations are part of the fabric of DFID’, that ‘trust is our oxygen’ and all the other twitter friendly sound bites we got in the first t.w.e.n.t.y minutes of a 60 minute session, it showed there was little to be said for funding. The next 40 minutes were split between a lightning-speed factoid session on what they’ve funded recently, 1 exciting ‘almost announcement’ and a few audience Q&As.

Here are the 5 questionably useful things I heard related to money:

  1. DFID supports CSOs through 4 central funding streams (we know this) which, along with contracts, represents around 40% of the money allocated to CSOs. It comes from the UK.
  2. The rest of the CSO pot is allocated through DFID’s country offices. This means there is a huge argument for building relationships with DFID staff in the countries you work. Right now.

3. UK Aid Connect:

  • Was launched in July 2017
  • Is a competitive fund worth £138m that will run from 2018 – 2021
  • Is split into 2 phases; phase 1 decisions will be made in ‘February 2018’ (so I assume with in now being March that this has happened?)
  • Phase 2 decisions will be made in this April.

4. UK Aid Match

  • Round 1 happened eons ago
  • Round 2 will run from 2016 – 2020
  • The last decisions were made in July 2017
  • Mannion Daniels will take over the fund management
  • They are ‘possibly’ looking to change the eligibility criteria which currently states NGOs have to be able to raise a minimum of £100k in a public appeal. Crowd funding platforms were mentioned as possible ways of supporting smaller charities in reaching a minimum fundraising target. Welcome news for smaller organisations, I’m sure.
  • The next round will be open ‘in the next couple of months.’

5. UK Aid Direct

  • 207 grants were approved in 2017
  • Accountable grant agreements being signed now
  • The next round (after some good pressing from Amref’s CEO) will be announced NEXT WEEK. Although Ben didn’t say if it would be good or bad news. Watch this space.
  • Gerard mentioned they’re looking at ways of streamlining the application process so organisations don’t waste resources applying. He anecdotally mentioned that in ‘one round there was something like £1bn worth of applications’. So it’s a buyers’ market for DFID and a warning to charities that only the best applications will be selected.
  • The Small Charities Challenge Fund has seen 101 eligible applications so far. 85% of these are charities DFID has not worked with before. This is what they wanted. They are still waiting to make their final decisions. Despite saying it’s ‘always open’ for applications,  they review them at set dates (next review is at the end of March), so essentially, keep to these deadline.

Not the very best use of an hour, but a couple of glimmers of hope.  Interestingly, DFID had a stand at the conference this year, with a handy flyer stating much of what I’ve written about, and it’s all already been pretty nicely summed up by Bond here. However, if UK Aid Direct is launched next week, and you’re interested in applying, you’ll be needing this website.

*Omissions, mistakes? Let me know! 

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