Global Grants: Moving from Good to Great

2016 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Global Grants: Moving from Good to

Great!

Sushil Gupta, Moderator and Trustee

Basu Dev Golyan, DRFC

Abby McNear, Rotary Grants Manager

• By the end of this session:

– You will understand the components of a high quality global grant project

– You will understand how global grants can support scholarships

– You will understand the importance of monitoring and evaluation to the success of a global grant project

– You will be prepared to start your global grant application

– You will know about some lessons learned from grant model evaluation

OBJECTIVES

OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL GRANTS

• Large, long-term projects

• Sustainable, measurable outcomes

• Alignment with areas of focus

• International partnership

• $30,000 minimum budget

• World Fund match

GLOBAL GRANTS

SCHOLARSHIPS

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution

• Disease prevention and treatment

• Water and sanitation

• Maternal and child health

• Basic education and literacy

• Economic and community development

AREAS OF FOCUS

GLOBAL GRANT – HUMANITARIAN PROJECT

GLOBAL GRANT – VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAM

GLOBAL GRANT – SCHOLARSHIP

GLOBAL GRANT SCHOLARSHIPS

• Graduate-level

• Study period 1-4 years

• Alignment with the areas of focus

• $30,000 minimum budget

• Host and international sponsors

GLOBAL GRANT SCHOLARSHIPS

• Applications accepted on rolling basis

– Submitted at least 3 months before study start date

• Clubs and districts may wish to set internal deadlines

TIMELINES

SAMPLE TIMELINE

Month Activity

January Club and district leaders agree on internal procedures (application cycle, communication)

Publicize opportunities (internally and externally)

February Clubs and districts recruit outbound scholars

Connect with partners about inbound scholars

March Clubs and districts interview candidates

Make preliminary decisions about which candidates to support and waitlist

April Clubs inform district of candidates and ask for district support (including DDF, if desired)

May Clubs and districts make final decisions about which candidates to support and waitlist

Submit global grant applications online

June Ongoing application submission, review, approval

July Earliest that a 2016-17 scholar could receive payment

• Setting expectations with sponsors and scholars

– Club and district priorities for scholarship types

– Possible approval/denial by TRF

COMMUNICATION

• Partnership with local universities

• NGOs (Habitat for Humanity, Americorps Vista, etc.)

• Establish and support an Alumni Association

• Use returning scholars as recruiters

IDENTIFYING SCHOLAR CANDIDATES

• Predeparture orientation

• Scholar payment:

– Setting payment expectations with sponsors

– Completing online payment requirements

– Authorizing the legal agreement

– Paying scholar prior to departure

PREPARING FOR SCHOLAR DEPARTURE

• Reports include:

– Financial documentation (copies of receipts and bank statements)

– Summary of research and how studies aligned with the area of focus

• Overdue reporting can impact application approvals

• Staying involved as alumni

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

• When you measure success, you can show that you made a difference

• Quantifying project impact makes it easier to publicize accomplishments

• Knowing the change you intend to measure is key to designing a sustainable project

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Here’s how to get started:

• Consider the outcome you want your project to have in the community

• Determine how that positive change can be measured

• Refer to Global Grant Monitoring and Evaluation Supplement

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

• Be specific about who will benefit from project and what benefits they will receive

• Establish baseline data

• Set benchmarks to measure progress during and after the project

• Specify measurement methods

• Create a timeline

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Sample monitoring and evaluation plan:

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Measure Measurement method Measurement schedule Target

Number of people with access to improved

sources of drinking water

Surveys/questionnaires Every six months 2,500+

Number of people with access to improved

sanitation facilities

Surveys/questionnaires Every six months 2,500+

Number of communities with a functioning

governance committee in place

Public records Every six months 1-19

Number of individuals trained Grant records and

reports

Every six months 100-499

• Monitoring and evaluation expenses should be included in every global grant budget

• 5-10% of total project budget

– Local travel

– Services rendered by individual or agencies

– Supplies

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

GETTING STARTED

You’re interested in applying for a global grant. Where do you begin?

GETTING STARTED

• Updated in December 2015

• Formerly Grant Management Manual

• Comprehensive information about global grants

• Best place to start!

GUIDE TO GLOBAL GRANTS

F E W M A N T R A S O R T I P S

F O R M O V I N G G L O B A L G R A N T

F R O M G O O D T O G R E A T

1. Project has to be need based and process led. Beneficiary has to be on the focal point.

2. Project should not be imposed as well as donor driven. Imposed project will not be sustained as the beneficiaries take it as a free gift.

3. Additional criteria may be developed for club qualification. District 3292; it has made mandatory to pass the project in TRF Committee in the club and get endorsed in board of the club. This brings transparency.

4. No conflict of interest shall be entertained.

5. Assign responsibility to all three members of the project contact team and the primary contact should copy all mail to other two members of the team. This will ensure continuity in the event the primary contact or other members of the team drop out for some reason

FEW MANTRAS OR TIPS FOR MOVING GLOBAL GRANT FROM GOOD TO GREAT

6. Proper stewardship is another key to moving from good to great. This will minimize overdue reporting

7. Need to understand that reporting affects the credibility not only of the club but of the district too.

8. Project overseeing by Rotarian is very important. Do not rely completely on the cooperating partners

9. Before applying for GG make sure to see all criteria are met to avoid frustrations if the GG is not approved or not authorized.

10. Do not take it for granted that if International partner authorizes your district should do it as well.

FEW TIPS FOR MOVING GG FROM GOOD TO GREAT

1 0 W A Y S T O I M P R O V E Y O U R G L O B A L G R A N T A P P L I C A T I O N

1. Conduct a thorough assessment of community strengths and needs

2. Based on community assessment, identify the mostappropriate area of focus

3. Provide a detailed project implementation plan that encompasses all aspects of the proposed project activity

4. Provide a detailed listing of the specific tasks that both the host and international Rotarians will carry out

5. Provide a detailed budget with vendor information and information about how these vendors were selected

10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR GLOBAL GRANT APPLICATION

6. Clearly explain specific sustainability components

7. Include detailed information for each training opportunity presented in application

8. Include MOUs for each cooperating organization

9. Include specific information related to monitoring and evaluation

10. Complete the entire application

10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR GLOBAL GRANT APPLICATION

Coming in the next few months….

• Significant updates to grant tool

– Updated look

– Streamlined process

ONLINE GRANT TOOL

• Guide to Global Grants

• www.rotary.org/grants

• Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinators

• Grants staff

RESOURCES

OVERVIEW OF GRANT MODEL EVALUATION

• Comprehensive evaluation of Rotary grants

• Studied:

– Satisfaction

– Training needs

– Grant cycle times

– Areas of Focus and programmatic issues

– Online application process

– Sustainability

– Beneficiary impact

GRANT MODEL EVALUATION

• 6,000 responses from 154 countries to 6 surveys

• 169 Rotarians participated in focus groups

• 63 Cadre conducted site visits of 109 grants

• User testing of online application system

• Sustainability check and beneficiary interviews conducted by Cadre and GfK, an outside consulting firm

GRANT MODEL EVALUATION

SATISFACTION

There is broad support for the current model and it is widely perceived

as an improvement

To what extent do you agree with the following?

Strongly Agree AgreeSomewhat

Agree

Somewhat

DisagreeDisagree

Strongly

Disagree

2015 30% 42% 18% 6% 3% 2%

2014 n/a 73% 22% 3% 2% n/a

2015 28% 36% 22% 8% 4% 2%

2014 n/a 63% 27% 7% 3% n/a

I support the current grant

model (the grant model that

launched 1 July 2013 for all

districts)

The current grant model is an

improvement over the former

grant model

90%

95%

86%

90%

GRANT ACTIVITY

868

1078

785

492 489442

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16* (as of 31 Mar 2016)

Global Launch (all districts)

Global Grants

District Grants

24% increase during

2014-15!

SUSTAINABILITY

All sustainability categories show marked improvement in site visit and

documentation scores over the comparable scores in 2012 pilot

On a 1-4 point scale (1 least sustainable and 4 most sustainable):

2012 (Abt and Cadre) 2015 (GfK and Cadre)

Global grants and matching

grants average of 1.75*

(below 2.50 midpoint)

*Estimated

3.30 (blended rate between

Cadre and GfK scores)

SUSTAINABILITY

Key Themes

Sustainability is an important improvement over the traditional grant model.

“We’ve always been a big matching grants

district. But they would be here, there and

everywhere. You go back in three years,

and maybe there’d be an old Rotary wheel

in the trash heap from a well that went

dry.”[Hawaii Focus Group]

“I think, if done properly, it

can make more impact in

the communities that we

want to help rather than

the old grant model, which

is not so focused on

sustainability.”[Philippines Focus Group]

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

• Perceived lack of sufficient training resources

• Lack of clarity about project eligibility in the ECD and BEL areas of focus

• Clubs not receiving sufficient support early in the design phase of their projects

• Data from technology research is being used to target areas of dissatisfaction with online tool

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

On 30 June, 63% of DRFCs and 84% of DGSCs

will turn over only 3 years after launch

30June 2016

63% DRFC

Turnover

84% DGSC

Turnover

NEXT STEPS

• Trustees studying results and collecting additional data to make adjustments

• April 2017 further reporting from grant model evaluation

• Committed to regular evaluation and seeking ways to improve the grant process for applicants and beneficiaries.

– You understand the components of a high quality global grant project.

– You understand the importance of monitoring and evaluation to the success of a global grant project

– You understand how global grants can support scholarships

– You are prepared to start your global grant application

– You are familiar with some of the lessons learned from the grant model evaluation

OBJECTIVES - REVIEW

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