Application Guidelines for Call # 9

Report no.

Issue no: 2.11...3

Date of issue14-03-07

PreparedKN, JLA,LKJ, DI, LT

CheckedDR

ApprovedDR

Application Guidelines for Call # 9

Table of Contents

Page

INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………...... 4

GOAL, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF BUSAC FUND ………………………...... 4

THE PRESENT CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ………………………………………...... 5

HOW TO COMPLETE APPLICATION FORM ………………………………………...... 5

A]application Data Sheet ………………………………………………………………………5

b]The Applicant ……………………………………………………………………………………..6

c]Service provider ………………………………………………………………………………..6

d]the advocacy action …………………………………………………………………………..7

e]methodology of proposed action ………………………………………………………8

f] justification of proposed action ……………………………………………………….8

g]expected results ……………………………………………………………………...... 8

1) Expected Final Results …………………………………………………...... 9

2) Expected Impacts ……………………………………………………………………………………………..9

3) Cross Cutting Issues ………………………………………………………………………………………….9

h]budget of the action ………………………………………………...... 9

i]expected sources of funding ………………………………………………………...... 9

j]descriptive summary ………………………………………………………………...... 10

k]conflict of interest …………………………………………………………………...... 10

l]endorsement by the executive committtee of the association…...... 10

m]annexxes …………………………………………………………………………………………10

1) Budget ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….10

2) Feedback …………………………………………………………………………………………………….10

3) Checklist …………………………………………………………………………………………………….11

v.conditions for award of contract of the busac fund grant ……………...... 11

a]awards ……………………………………………………………………………………………..11

b]eligible groups ………………………………………………………………………………...11

c]advocacy actions and possible areas of coverage …………………………..12

1) Identifying the Advocacy Action ……………………………………………………………………………12

2) Use of Service Providers ……………………………………………………………………………………12

3) Objectives of BUSAC Fund & Examples of Possible Initiatives ………………………………………..13

d]rules of application …………………………………………………………………………14

1) Eligibility of Organisations …………………………………………………………………………………..14

2) Eligible Advocacy Action ……………………………………………………………………………………16

e]budget of the action ………………………………………………………………………...16

1) Eligible Costs …………………………………………………………………………………………………16

a) Eligible Direct Costs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………16

b) Eligible Indirect Costs …………………………………………………………………………………………………17

2) Ineligible Costs ……………………………………………………………………………………………….17

3) Other Costs …………………………………………………………………………………………………..17

4) Contingency Reserve ……………………………………………………………………………………….18

f]access to the outreach facility ……………………………………………………….18

g]application form and supporting document………………………………………18

h]how and where to send the application …………………………………………….19

1) Submitting your Application …………………………………………………………………………………19

2) Deadline for Receipt of Application ………………………………………………………………………..19

3) Acknowledgement of Receipt ………………………………………………………...... 19

i]evaluation and selection of applications …………………………………………19

1) Assessment …………………………………………………………………………………………………..20

2) Review and Decision by the BUSAC Fund Technical Board ……………………………………………20

3) Due Diligence, Financial Certification, Adjustments & Supporting……………………………………...20

4) Notification of BUSAC Fund’s Decision …………………………………………………………………...20

5) Conditions Applicable to Implementation ………………………………………………………………….21

j]criteria for evaluation and selection ………………………………………………22

1) Evaluation Grid ……………………………………………………………………………………………….24

Please Note: It is very important to read the guidelines BEFORE COMPLETing THe application FORM. do so WITH ALL DUE CARE BECAUSE MISTAKES MAY RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF THE APPLICATION.

I.INTRODUCTION

The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund is a challenge fund intended to support private sector advocacy in Ghana. Funds are provided, on a competitive and transparent basis, to support applications which meet BUSAC Fund’s criteria, objectives and which are regarded as having the best chance of making positive impact on the sector. Applicants will be responsible for the implementation of their Actions, but could provide and use their own funds as appropriate support as they see fit. The Fund operates nation-wide. Initiated by DANIDA, the Fund has received additional support from United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The programme runs until (March 2009)

Calls for Applications are now issued every 4 monthsand in 2007 are tentatively scheduled for July, November and March, 2008.

Private sector advocacy
Private Sector advocacy is typically defined as the process of influencing the development and implementation of public policies that affect the business sector, whether at the national, regional, district or local government level.
It is also the process by which an actor (Association, Union,…) tries to influence another actor/ body within the private sector to remove barriers and bottlenecks that hinder their development (for example SME associations may use it to convince bankers to improve their access to loans).
A similar process aiming to improve the image of the Private Sector in the eyes of the General Public is also seen as typical of advocacy for the Private Sector.

II. GOAL, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF BUSAC FUND

Thegoal of BUSAC fund is “to facilitate the development and growth of a competitive and vibrant private sector by improving the environment in which businesses operate”.

The purpose of the Fund is to enhance the capacity of emerging and established business, trade unions and business media (BATUBMs) associations to advocate effectively for change and engage in public/private, private/private and private/general public dialogue.

The objectives of the Fund are:

To enhance engagement of the private sector in public policy formulation and implementation at national, regional and local levels;
To strengthen the capacity of private sector representative organisations to engage in advocacy to promote pro-private sector reforms, thereby, supporting the Ghanaian economy and reducing poverty in the long run;
To improve the management of private sector activities by providing assistance to remove bottlenecks at all levels of public administration and within the private sector itself; and
To broaden public understanding of the role of business and private sector in society.

III. THE PRESENT CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The dates of the present ninth(9th) call for applications are:

Opening: MondayJuly 16th 2007
Closing: ThursdayAugust 16th2007.

The overall amount made available for all the present call for applications is US$800,000.00.

The BUSAC Fund will aim to ensure that a minimum of 30% of grants is given to weak and

emerging business associations and groups.

The BUSAC Fund Technical Board reserves the right not to award all available funds.
If you cannot prepare your application in time, the next call for application is planned for

November2007.

Applications from organisations outside Greater Accra, including local organisations which are branches of a larger organisation; business women’s organisations, etc.; and organisations representing micro and small businesses in the informal sector are particularly encouraged to apply.

IV.HOW TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

The details on how to complete the application form is given below. The form is divided into eleven (11) parts A –K with three (3) annexes – L. Please ensure that you strictly follow the instructions on how to complete the application form as contained in this guideline. If the instructions are not strictly adhered to, the application form could be rejected.

A] Application Data Sheet

The data sheet (A)is the summary of information on the applicant and the funds required to implement the action. It is divided into seven parts (A, 1-7). The following instructions pertain to each of the 7 parts

1)The title of the action: This should be concise and straight to the point. (It should not exceed 10 words).

2)Here the applicant should provide information on their contact person(s) for the implementation of the action. The information should include the postal and residential address where applicable. The contact telephone numbers should include both landline and mobile numbers where applicable. The e-mail address of the contact person(s) must also be provided (if available).

3)This partof the application form applies to the Service Provider(s) – who supported the development and preparation of the application and/or is proposed to support the implementation of the action. The name(s), contact telephone numbers and the e-mail addresses must be provided.

4)This part refers to the area where the action is originating and where the action will produce direct benefits and should be so stated. In the electronic copy of the application, click on the issue box, a list will pop up and you select the appropriate item selected.

5)This part deals with the sector of the action and those being targeted by the action. In the electronic copy, a list will pop up when clicked, select the appropriate item.

6)This part deals with cross-cutting issues. The action may impact on other issues that are not directly targeted by the action but may be addressed indirectly. If this is the case then a click on the subject pop up list and select the appropriate issues.

7)This part deals with the summary of the budget. Only figures can be inserted in this part of the table. Type the exact figure “13025000” (not 13 million or rounded figure). Do not use commas. The figure will automatically turn into 13,025,000.00. The figures must also be consistent with your budget in the annex.

Please Note: The information on this data sheet will be used to undertake the administrative screening of the application. Any discrepancy with the actual data and non-compliance to administrative criteria could lead to rejection of application e.g.the total budget is more than the equivalent of 100,000 US$ or request from BUSAC Fundis more than 90% of the budgeted action, or the self financingis less than 10% or any mistake is made inthe calculations etc. The information will be encoded in the BUSAC Fund’s data bank without verification against other parts of the application form. It is thus the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the data provided on this face sheet is correct.

*The exchange rate for call #9 is set at ……………………………….

B] The Applicant

In this section, (parts 1-5) you (the applicant) need to provide some information about your association or group:

1)Indicate when the association or group was created and its objectives.

2)Provide a brief description of your members, the total number and the number of male and female, how many are active,etc.

3)List the main activities of the associationand what its financial resources are used for.

4)Here, provide information about your executive committee members who managethe association. List their names, their profession, and position on the committee and the number of years on the committee, in the table provided.

5)Here the applicant is expected to provide information on the financial capacity of the association which is proposing to implement the action. The information will enable us to evaluate the capacity of the applicant to undertake the proposed action. It will also be cross-checked during due diligence if the application is selected for funding,A process that verifies all the information on your application.

C]Service Providers(SP)

This section must be completed for each Service Providerincluding the preparation of the application and/or implementation of the action.

1)Here the Service Provider(s)who prepare the application and/or implement the action provide brief information about themselves, indicating their capacity which they think enhances their capacity to undertake the present action. The information although brief, should be detailed enough to enable the Fund Management to determine the capability of the SP(s) to support the action.

2)In this part, the SP(s) provides the contact address, telephone numbers and e-mail address to allowfuture contacts with respect to the action.

D] The Advocacy Action

This section of the application form is very important and key to the success of the application. The applicant is expected to state the goal and objectives of the action, and also provide a detailed description of each of the activities of the advocacy action. Note that the action must fall within the objectives of the BUSAC Fund (refer to page 3 of these guidelines).

1)Here, state the problem, barrier or constraint to be addressed through the proposed advocacy action. The description of the action should not be vague; it should be clearly stated (straight to the point). (This should not exceed 100 words in total).

2)State the overall goal of the action – (This should not exceed 35 words)

3)State the overall objectives of the action – (This should not exceed 25 words)

4)In this section you are to provide a detailed description of the activities which make up the advocacy action. List the major activities and sub-activities in the order bywhich you plan to implement them to achieve the objectives and goals stated above in D 2-3.

The information provided in this section[D] should be consistent with the justification of the action onpage 6of the application form.

Notethat:

Discrepancies and ungrounded promises may weaken the application.
The activities depend on the type of advocacy action being undertaken. These activities may be subdivided into sub-activities, if the process for implementation is complex.
The first activity for any action whether simple or complex,is the preparation of the application. Do not forget, this part of the action has a cost element that should be included in the budget. This first activitymay be followed by research, awareness raising/training on “how to advocate” (where applicable) dialogue negotiation, dissemination of information, follow-up, internal monitoring etc.
The titles of the activities and sub-activities should be same as in the work-plan and the budget.
The description of the action should not be confused with the activity implementation plan described on page 6 of the application form.

3)Implementation plan

The implementation plan is indicative, therefore it should not mention real dates, but must simply show months “1”, “2” etc. Applicants are advised to make the time table of their action plan flexible to be able to accommodate any contingency. Ensure that the activities and their titles match the titles listed in D 4. Activity 1 – preparation of the application has already been described in section D-4. It is therefore not necessary to include it in the implementation plan, since it has already occurred.

On the implementation plan the second column is marked (*) the third column is marked (**).

In the columns indicated, (*) insert the title of activities only, not their complete or summarised description; in the column marked (**),titles of the sub-activities should be indicated, if necessary, to help us understand how the action will flow.

Note:

It is recommended that you use “X” rather than fill cells with colours to show the duration of activities and sub-activities because they are not visiblewhen copies are printed in black and white here at BUSAC Fund for review .

E]Methodology of Proposed Action

Here, you are to describe the action in a convincing manner. The methods and tools to be used to convince the targets of your action should be carefully selected to really to be able to persuade the targets to take the favourable decision you want them to take.

1)State convincingly, how you plan to implement your activities and related sub-activities (where applicable) (This should not be more than 250 words in total).

2)List the institutions /people (your target audience) you intend to convince to be able do something about the identified problem, constraints, or barrier (not more than 20 words in total).

3)Indicate who the direct beneficiaries of the action will be (not more than 30 words).

F]Justification for the Action

The BUSAC Fund needs to understand why this issue is importantto you, and to clearly understand how and why you tailored the action the way you did.

1)Clearly and unambiguously state the reasons for deciding to address this particular problem, barrier or bottleneck (not more than 75 words)

2)List the people and institutions as indicated in E-2 above (not more than 50 words)

3)In this section, the applicant should try to match the relevance of the action with the ability of the association in terms of material and human resources to undertake the action.

G] Expected Results, Impacts and their Indicators

To be acceptable, results should be “objectively measurable” and this is done through the use of relevant “indicators”. For each of the indicators used you should define/list the value before, you should then define/list the indicator of the action or step taken and the intended value of the indicator after. The success of our activities contained within your overall your overall action will need to be measured. The success of your action will be evaluated against these indicators. The classical way of doing it is to set objectives and indicators that are realistic and easy to measure. The resultsyou wish to attain are linked to your objectives and activities and indicators of results must be must be realistic and measurable and not only show the effects of your advocacy Action, but they also have to be in line with BUSAC Fund objectives. It is therefore necessary, to establish the value for indicators at the beginning of the action. This initial value will then be compared with the value of the indicator at the end of the action. This will greatly facilitate the ability to show clearly where you started and where you ended. One should not over-estimate the results and impacts of an action and its implementation, showing how you plan to measure. Impact isa key section of the application form and is dependent on your ability to clearly quantify where you started and where you end.

Indicators have to be quantitative: initial and expected figures cannot be qualitative “very good” or “successful” or show a score that reflects a subjective appreciation
The expected result of each activity, which is indicated in D] 4) above, should be mentioned. It will be used to monitor the progress of the implementation plan, should the action be funded.
The last activity should be about internal monitoring and reporting. This is essential not only to track the progress toward success which allow correction of shortfalls over the life of the action, but also presents the reports that are necessary for subsequent disbursement of funds from BUSAC Fund.

1)ExpectedFinal Results

The expected results are the achievements of your action. The results of the action are usually gathered in the last part of the action. The latest results should be when your action closes out. Indicate that in the table; - the expected results, the quantifiable indicators to be used, to establish the initial and end value for each indicator i.e. the value before the action and the estimated value to be reached after the action.

2)Expected Impacts

Here, state the expected impact of the action in the post-grant period (not more than 50 words).

“Impacts” are the consequences, and the effects of the final results. Most impacts (which are the effects of the final result of your action) usually need some time to develop, thus happen after the close out of the advocacy Action. In other words we want you to define what the expected consequences of the results you achieved at the various levels of your action are: for the beneficiaries,for the target group, your district and region of Ghana. Summarise these expected impacts. The instruments for measuring impact are also called indicators. These are measurable quantities e.g. income levels, number of members, etc. Indicate the values now and what is expected after the action. Here also, values expressing your own qualitative appreciation shouldn’t be used (“very good”, or “successful”or be a score “2/10 before 9/10 after”. Do not confuse activities and the results/these activities during your action with the impact of the results once your activities are completed.