Call for proposals: Partners for Development Program - Projects $2M and Over - Closed

Please note that on March 11th updates were made to the budget tables. Please see the Information Updates section for more information.

Table of Contents

• Eligibility
• Proposal assessment
• Application process
• Application form and Guidelines
• Deadline
• Review process

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Partnerships with Canadians Branch (PWCB) is launching a $110 million call for international development projects under its Partners for Development Program, with funds to be disbursed over a period of up to five years.

The deadline for submissions was March 31, 2011.

The objective of this call is to support the international work of Canadian organizations that will contribute to Canada's efforts to effectively reduce poverty through projects and programs that are sustainable and have clear results that will make a difference in the lives of those in developing countries.

With this call, CIDA will also:

• Concentrate half of PWCB funding in CIDA's countries of focus and half in other countries eligible for official development assistance; and
• Align 80 percent of PWCB funding to CIDA's priority themes: increasing food security, securing the future of children and youth, and sustaining economic growth.

This call will fund projects from Canadian organizations in partnership with organizations in developing counties. CIDA will contribute $2 million and over to projects for a duration of up to five years. Funding will be on a cost-shared basis of up to 3:1. For example, partners would contribute at least $750,000 for a $3-million project. In order to encourage new partnerships and widen the range of Canadian organizations receiving CIDA support, those seeking first-time funding will be eligible for a one-time cost-sharing ratio of 4:1. For example, these partners would contribute a minimum of $600,000 for a $3-million project. Overhead is to be included in the total cost of the project.

For more information, please download the Partners for Development $2-Million-and-Over-Call Application Guidelines.

Eligibility

Organizations submitting proposals must be incorporated in Canada and have at least three years experience managing and delivering international development projects in developing countries.

Proposal assessment

CIDA-PWCB will assess all completed proposals on a comparative basis against the following five partnership principles, which are explained further in the Partners for Development $2-Million-and-Over-Call Application Guidelines:

1. Sound governance
2. Support of Canadians
3. Relevance to CIDA mandate and coherence with Government of Canada policy
4. Results
5. Development effectiveness

The proposal must meet mandatory principles 1 and 2 in order to be further assessed against principles 3 to 5.

Application process

1. Please review the Partners for Development $2-Million-and-Over-Call Application Guidelines document thoroughly.
2. Create or update your organizational profile through PARTNERS@CIDA.
3. Upload the mandatory organization and proposal documents, as listed in the supporting documentation section of the application form, including the completed application form, to your profile on PARTNERS@CIDA. Supporting documentation that is not available in an electronic format should be scanned and uploaded to PARTNERS@CIDA. PWCB will not accept application forms or supporting documentation by mail or by fax.

Application form and Guidelines

• Application Form (RTF format)
• Partners for Development $2-Million-and-Over-Call Application Guidelines (PDF - 409 KB, 33 pages)
• Interim Haiti Recovery Commission: New Project Concept Note (RTF format)
• Budget Table Template (XLS format)

Deadline

Completed applications must have been submitted by March 31, 2011.

Review process

To ensure transparency and fairness to all applicants, CIDA will not discuss applications until all organizations have been notified of decisions regarding their proposals. Applicants, however, can submit questions regarding the process via email to : correspondence.pwcb@acdi-cida.gc.ca. CIDA-PWCB will acknowledge the receipt of questions within one business day and will post all questions and answers concerning the guidelines on its website. Information posted on the CIDA-PWCB website, the application guidelines, and the Frequently Asked Questions section of the CIDA-PWCB website represent the only official interpretation of the application process.

Applicants that do not meet principles 1 and 2 listed under Proposal assessment will be notified in writing immediately. All other applicants will be advised of the results by August 15, 2011. A PWCB officer will then contact successful applicants to discuss the contract details. PWCB will also send a letter to all unsuccessful candidates to inform them of the decision and any areas for future improvement.

Please note: Projects that target Haiti require endorsement by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC). This was also required for proposals submitted to the Haiti Recovery and Reconstruction call for proposals. To facilitate this process, organizations must fill in and upload to PARTNERS@CIDA the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission: New Project Concept Note (RTF format) along with the completed application form and other mandatory/supporting documents. CIDA will submit the form to the IHRC on behalf of the organization. All proposals submitted to this call that include Haiti should be long term in nature. A previous call for proposals was issued in October for short-term recovery and reconstruction projects in Haiti, therefore short-term proposals for Haiti will not be considered under this call.

*If your project has a Haiti component, please see the Haiti Recovery and Reconstruction background information.

Information Updates

1. The following clarification was included to Section 3 of the Application form and Guidelines: In order to be eligible, organizations must be incorporated under the laws of Canada, or a province or territory of Canada, for 3 years or more.
2. Question 5.5.3 of the application form now reads: "Describe how the initiative will be sustained upon completion of the project and after CIDA's support ends and include information on the project's financial sustainability strategy. The critical path (refer to section 5.3.1.1) should also include details on the handover to local successor(s)."
3. Please note that the Performance Management Framework is not a mandatory proposal document at the time of application. This document is required following a proposal's approval and within four months following the signature of the agreement.
4. The critical path can now be uploaded (refer to section 5.3.1.1 of the application guidelines and application form) to the Mandatory Proposal Documents section on Partners@CIDA.
5. Question 6.3.2.2 of the application form now reads: "Indicate the dollar value and type of in-kind contributions raised for international development in each of the past two years."
6. The Operational Risks section of the Risk Register now reads: ''Please identify the key operational risks associated with this project.''
7. Section 5.2.3.2 of the application guidelines and application form has been expanded and now includes the following text: ''CIDA will not score you on your actual risk levels but on your understanding of risk management and the risks pertinent to the project; how the risks could hinder or improve the expected results; and the quality of your response strategies to the risks (i.e. mitigation).
8. Please note that the erroneous formulas in the French Budget Tables 1, 2 and 4 have been corrected and organizations may now download the updated budget tables.

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