International Small Grants Programme: review

Chapter 2: Overview of the Small Grants Programme

Background to the development of the Small Grants Programme

The Small Grants Programme was established in 2014 based on a proposal to the Scottish Government from the two international development networking organisations SMP and NIDOS (now renamed as SIDA). The proposal for a 'small grants programme [which] could be effectively run within the Scottish Government's International Development Fund (IDF)' responded to frustration within the sector that smaller Scottish organisations could not participate in the Scottish Government's IDF programme as the fund was distributed as large grants to a limited pool of large international NGO's.

The joint SMP/NIDOS proposal argued that there was an opportunity to build the capacity and support the growth of small and potentially impactful Scottish international development projects. It was also argued that this would develop a pool of stronger organisations headquartered in Scotland, that could then bid effectively for the main grants programme and make the main programme more dynamic and varied.

The proposal detailed the disconnect between the capacity of small organisations to deliver high quality development work and their capacity to bid for larger grants or manage larger grants. To address this, it proposed a Programme structure (feasibility, capacity building and small project grants) which was aimed at building the capacity of small development organisations to compete for other funding sources, with the objective of increasing the number of Scottish based organisations able to apply for/deliver projects under the Scottish Governments IDF programme

In 2013, the proposal was approved by Ministers for the establishment of the Small Grants Programme for a pilot period of three years, with a budget of £500,00 per year. The management of the Programme was outsourced. The tender for the management contract was won by the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland (now known as the Corra Foundation). The Programme was launched in 2014.

Purpose of the Small Grants Programme

The Small Grants Programme (hereafter referred to as the Programme) was developed within the context of the Scottish Government's International Development Policy. It intended to accommodate requests for small pots of funding i.e. up to £60K, which still needed to be spent in line with the current International Development policy and contribute to the overarching Scottish Government International Development outcomes.

As such, all funded activity had to 'enhance Scotland's contribution to the global fight against poverty through activity which is clearly designed to support the achievement of the MDGs (the Sustainable Development Goals after 2016), and economic growth in developing countries'

The stated purpose of the Programme was:

'to build capacity and upscale small international development organisations so they have the ability to bid for funding through the IDF, with awards of up to a maximum of £60,000 for project grants over a three year period or a maximum of £10,000 for feasibility and capacity building grants, over one year'.

At the time of establishment, the Programme had seven specific objectives (see chapter 4 for discussion of objectives). No indicators were set to test the original rationale of the pilot or to evaluate its success against these objectives.

Programme structure and priorities

The Programme provided grants for feasibility studies, for capacity building and for the delivery of small projects. The design anticipated that organisations would test ideas with feasibility study grants and develop project proposals based on well researched, needs-led project ideas. Capacity building grants could be spent on building the capacity of the Scottish organisation and its partner. The Programme offered:

• Project Grants of up to £60,000 over period of three years
• Feasibility and Capacity Building grants of up to £10,000 in one year

Individual organisations could apply for one of each type of grant per year.

The programme aimed to build on the long-term relationships that small organisations have in partner countries, so applications for feasibility studies and Project grants had to demonstrate that there was a local partner involved in the design and delivery of the proposed activity.

Project grants also had to address the following priority themes:

• education, health, sustainable economic development, civic governance and society, food security, renewable energy, climate change and water.

The geographic focus of the Programme reflects the geographic focus of the IDF:

• initially all funding applications focussed on the Scottish Government's seven partner countries in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia which were the priorities^[1] at that time.

The geographic priorities changed following the publication of the Scottish Government's new strategy in 2016 which a reduced the geographic focus of the IDF to four countries. This resulted in a change to the criteria for Small Grants Programme:

• Project grants (up to £60,000) could be awarded for work only in the three priority countries of Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda.
• Feasibility and Capacity Building grants (up to £10,000) could be awarded for work in any country which was identified as low or medium of the Human Development Index, but with priority given to Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda

Eligibility criteria for applicants included:

• Small Scottish-based charities with an annual turnover of up to £150,000 (this limit was increased to £250,000 based on learning from the Programme)
• All applicants had to be constituted bodies

The development of the Small Grants Programme

In 2016, the Scottish Government made a commitment to retain the Programme in its new International Development Strategy (published December 2016). A second pilot was agreed for the period 2017-2019.

The purpose and structure of the Programme remained unchanged in the second phase of the pilot. There were however some changes to the Programme's focus and priorities which reflected:

1. changes in the Scottish Government's International Development strategy,

2. developments in International Development policy and practice, and

3. learning from the Programme Managers.

1) Scottish Government International Development Strategy

The new International Development Strategy^[2] published in 2016 reduced the number of partner countries from seven to four, which resulted in a change to the criteria for the Programme as detailed above.

The new International Development Strategy reaffirmed Scotland's commitment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and all applications to the Programme had to demonstrate how they would contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal number 1: the alleviation of poverty.

Reflecting the Scottish Governments more programmatic approach to international development, the Scottish Government also sought to encourage a joined-up approach between small grants and the main IDF. New guidance gave weight to small grant applications which showed links with organisations delivering main IDF projects in Malawi, Zambia or Rwanda which was perceived as adding value to these projects.

2) Changes in international development practice on safeguarding

In 2018 the Scottish Government published its Safeguarding policy in reaction to the iNGO safeguarding scandal. This resulted in amendments to grant conditions for all grant holders, including the Programme. This amendment required all funded organisations to have robust safeguarding policies in place (and have carried out due diligence on their in-country partners). This increasing focus on accountability has also resulted in increased focus on financial due diligence.

3) Learning from the Programme Managers

The Scottish Government embedded a 'learning process' so that that the learning from the Programme management could inform Programme development. Annual learning reports produced by the Programme Managers identified issues which have resulted in a number of practical improvements to the programme processes such as:

• changes to the timing of the call for applications,
• improvements to application forms,
• changes to the Programme eligibility criteria (organisations with turnover up to £250,000, increased from the previous limit of £150,000).

In the second phase of the pilot, the learning reports have had a strong emphasis on improving accountability and aligning the Programme processes to reflect the changing policy and good practice environment in international development. The Programme Managers developed a scoring matrix to provide a robust basis for grant assessment and strengthened processes around:

• safeguarding
• financial accountability/due diligence
• monitoring and evaluation (including use of log frames for all Project grant applications)
• incorporating the recommendation to report on the gender split of beneficiaries.