Priority issues

• Does Embassy have priority themes for this year?

Eligible organisations

• Who can apply?
• Can one organisations submit more than one proposal?
• Can organisations with previous KAP funding apply?
• Do we need to have a Dutch partner organisation?
• Do we need to have a partner organisation?
• Can different branch offices of Georgian NGOs submit separate applications?

Eligible costs and budget format

• What costs cannot be covered by budget?
• Can we receive financial support for the acquisition of a computer/laptop that would help our organisation to implement the project?
• Can the embassy cover the personnel related costs of a person hired to exclusively assist our organisation in the implementation of the project?
• Can we receive financial support for the payment of an international expert’s contribution to the project?
• Can we apply for co-funding projects supported by other donors?
• Do we have to provide proof of secured co-funding?
• How can we indicate our contribution?
• Do you have standard rates for fees or per diems?

Submission of proposals

• How many copies we need to submit?
• How can organisation submit application form?
• How soon we will receive information about the evaluation of our proposal?

Criteria for evaluation

• Are there criteria for evaluating projects?

Priority issues

• Does Embassy have priority themes for this year?

One organisation can submit one proposal for each competition round.

• Can organisations with previous KAP funding apply?

The ongoing projects must be completed and closed before the organisations can apply again for Matra delegated funds..

For small scale, local initiative projects there is no need to involve Dutch organisations. The embassy’s funds for local projects are made available for the Armenian and Georgian organisations exclusively.

Each organisation has to decide whether they need to team up with (an) other organisation(s) or not for implementing a specific project. Programme supports both kinds of projects: by individual organisations or by coalitions. In case of coalitions, roles and responsibilities of each partner should be clearly defined and described in the proposal. 

Application form and annexes

• Can we modify the application form?

All questions that are in the application form need to be answered for the purpose of the project evaluation. You may modify the format, but the proposal must provide the same information as the application form.

Proposals must be submitted in English.

A representative of the applicant organisation who is authorised to enter into contractual agreements must sign the application form.

Application form:

Section 1. Information about implementing organisation:
Please provide accurate information about organisation. Make sure that the address indicated in the application form is a business address and not address that you have the organisation registered under. Same is for the telephone, fax numbers and email. Please provide full address: with correct apartment numbers and postal codes. Embassy may send some information by ordinary postal services and the Embassy cannot be hold liable if documents do not reach the organisations; it is organisations responsibility to provide the correct postal address.

Sections 2 Project information; 3. Short project description; 4. Matra themes:
This part is for the administrative purposes and please be very brief and specific. Contact person is a person that is responsible for managing the project implementation and it may be different from the person who signs the application form.

Please be very brief in project summary. Highlight only key issues.

You need to provide information about partner organisation only if you are planning to implement this project in partnership with other organisations. In this section you only need to provide name, contact details for organisation and person responsible for project implementation from partner’s side.

In the themes section, please indicate a priority theme that is the most suitable for your project.

Section 5. Detailed project proposal
Goal: Describe the wider purpose the project aims to contribute to. It is a statement that summarises why you are doing the project and what positive changes you are planning to bring. E.g. to provide policy makers and general public with greater awareness of scientific research and environmental programmes for combating global climate change as a contribution to environmental policy formulation in the country.

Objective:  Describe the objective(s) of the project in terms of the impact the project will try to achieve. It is the change that you are striving to bring by implementing your project in a particular environment and context. You should describe what changes you hope to achieve in the way that people thing or behave through the implementation of your project. E.g. all target groups are aware of the existing scientific research in climate change; environmental policy debates also address on a local level problems of global warming.

Expected results: Describe the concrete results the project aims to achieve. Results are measurable changes which you are being able to deliver. These are services and that you are sure you can deliver during the project implementation. Results should be SMART (Specific/Measurable/Agreed/Realistic/Time-bound). E.g. A new course evaluation and assessment system is in place by 2008 in 20 state universities.

Outputs: Describe for each result the measurable output of the project activities that will be organised to achieve that result. Project outputs are something that the project produces that others use to address the issues or problems that the project is working on, i.e., the project determinants. These are the project deliverables, and it is important to identify them. An output can be a database, publications, workshops, training courses, capacity built in the members etc.

Target groups and estimated number of beneficiaries, involvement of target groups in project: target group should be estimated and specifies in detail; if possible number of total targeted groups; differentiation between direct and indirect ones, description – whether it is region/country/locality/age/gender, etc. Also should include a short description concerning the way in which the beneficiaries will be actively involved in project activities.

Relevance to country’s development: Brief project justification, problem description and local context.

Relevance to Matra programme goals: How project will contribute to Matra Programme’s goals of support the transformation to pluralist, democratic statehood under the rule of law.
Detailed description of project activities and methodology: Please do not mix this section with the activity plan. Include in this section detailed description of the activities that will help you to achieve the results mentioned above. Also please describe what methods of implementation you choose and why.

Qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring the project objective(s), result(s) and output(s): these ideally can be included in the relevant sections above. These are standards you are planning to achieve and what will you be recording and measuring in order to assess successful impact. These standards should also be SMART. In other words, how will you demonstrate that you have been successful and achieved desired results, how will you measure and evaluate your success, what is source for verification this achievement

What factors will contribute to efficient and timely implementation of your project? TOWS analysis: you need to think about external and internal factors that may either help or hinder you to implement the project Threats/Opportunities/Weaknesses/Strength analysis will help you to answer this question. Strength and weaknesses – is something that is characteristic to originations and are more internal features (e.g. whether it is human resources involved in the project or on the contrary their absence); while threats and opportunities are external features and not under your control (e.g. relevant ministry drafting assistance policy to the same target group as you are or unstable political situation that may hinder your project implementation).

In the last section, the two year project proposals, should demonstrate how the project will contribute to resolving the concrete issue and problem that project targets, or contribute to sustainability and capacity building of the organisation.

Detailed plan of activities: schedule of your activities by month
How are you planning to multiply successful results of your project? Expected follow-up: Description of the initiatives and further steps that will be taken in order to further disseminate project’s impact after completion. You have to demonstrate how you will communicate the success of this project to other stakeholders and target audiences. You need to mention whether it is possible to replicate outcomes elsewhere .

Annexes:
Information about organisation: history, main activities, management structures, etc. (not more than 2 pages): brief description of what is organisation’s mission, how organisation is managed, and what activities organisation has conducted so far.

References: Two references regarding your organization and/or the project: reference letters can be from the previous donors, or organisations who you have worked with on other projects. Relevant project support letters from different stakeholders (ministries, local government institutions, schools, etc.) is useful and needed particularly if project envisages work with the governmental structures and offices.

Commitment letters: you would need commitment letters proving the contribution of the other donors only if it is co-funded project; official letter from donor organisation is needed confirming their contribution for implementing that particular project.

Letters of intention: letters confirming partner organisations commitment to implement the project need to be submitted with the proposal. Letter should be signed by a representative of the organisation that holds senior managerial position. Letters are only needed if project is implemented in partnership with other organisations. Partnership is different from the services that may be provided by companies (e.g. printing house).

Prove of financial capacity: Copy of the most recent financial annual accounts (profit and loss account/the balance sheet for the previous financial year), you can also submit recent audit reports, if any; Please provide English translation of these documents.

Organisation’s statute: A copy of the statute, notary certification of the document is not needed, you do not need to translate this document as well.

Official registration: A copy of certificate, notary certification of the document is not needed, you do not need to translate this document as well.

List of implemented projects: List of projects implemented by the organisation in the past two years (if any). The list must contain projects title, duration, total amount of budget, and donor name.

Only if you want to. Embassy does not require such proof of your work. Please submit only those materials that may be relevant for the proposed project.

Eligible costs and budget format

What costs cannot be covered by budget?

1. projects that are a repeat of previous projects or that were already under way before the application was submitted;
2. charitable activities;
3. international travel expenses;
4. commercial activities;
5. activities whose target group includes central government.

Can we receive financial support for the acquisition of a computer/laptop that would help our organisation to implement the project?

No, cots related to equipment acquisition are not eligible.

• Can the embassy cover the personnel related costs of a person hired to exclusively assist our organisation in the implementation of the project?

So called running costs, that also include costs of personnel can be included in the project budget, but they may not exceed the 10 percent of the total cost of the project..

• Can we receive financial support for the payment of an international expert’s contribution to the project?

No, costs and fees of international experts are not eligible.

• Can we apply for co-funding projects supported by other donors?

You may apply for co-funding.  Also following issues need to be taken into account in such case:

1. Matra’s visibility must be guaranteed;
2. a clear, transparent description should be given for the Matra activities;
3. the other sources of funding should also specified in the proposal;
4. the budget balances;
5. Embassy does not accept co-funding within the budget items; i.e. if the total communication cost of your project is EUR 300, the Embassy will either finance the whole amount or you will have to cover these costs from other sources

Do we have to provide proof of secured co-funding?

Yes, if you indicate that project is co-financed by other organisation we need to have official letter from that organisation confirming their contribution to that particular project. Co-funding should also be reflected in project budget.

• How can we indicate our contribution?

You can indicate either your in-kind or financial contribution in the budget under heading of “contribution of implementing organisation.” You can include use of your equipment and personnel contribution in this column.

• Do you have standard rates for fees or per diems?

No, there are no standard fee or per diem rates, however both should be realistic and if experts have different rates, you should give justification and arguments why they differ.

Submission of proposals

• How many copies we need to submit?

Only one copy of application form and all the annexes.

• How can organisation submit application form?

It is preferable that you submit your application forms either in person on by postal mail. Electronic submissions are acceptable only for organisations working in the regions and in Armenia. Please discuss this issue beforehand with Civil Society Programme Manager.

Embassy is open from Monday till Thursday from 9:00 to 18:00, Friday from 9:00 to 14:00, lunch break between 13:00 – 14:00.

Our contact details are:
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Sheraton Metekhi Palace Hotel
20 Telavi Street,
0103 Tbilisi, Georgia
Phone: +995 (8)32 276200
Fax: +995 (8)32 276232
 http://www.mfa.nl/tbi

How soon we will receive information about the evaluation of our proposal?

You will receive information about your project within two months from the deadline of proposal submission.

Criteria for evaluation

• Are there criteria for evaluating projects?

There are five main criteria for evaluating projects:

1. Project relevance;
2. Potential project impact;
3. Proposed methodology to achieve planned results;
4. Assessing organisation’s capacity (managerial, HR, sector experience);
5. Cost-benefit ratio (including added value vis-à-vis other initiatives in the field);
6. Regional and thematic distribution.