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Proposal to FOODS RESOURCE BANK (revised May 22, 2012)

Program Title: ___________________

Location: ___________________

Start Date: __________________ End Date:____________________

I. PARTNER SPECIFICS

FRB Member Organization:

Address:

Member Headquarters Contact Person:

Email:

Telephone:

FRB Member Field Contact:

Email:

Telephone:

Local Partner (if applicable):

Other Funding Partners:

Target Areas:

NOTE:

This proposal format is suggested but not required for use by FRB members. If your

organization prefers its own format, please use it, and include the information

requested in this form.

There is no page limit; however try to be concise and try keep your proposal to 10

pages or less. FRB does not wish to create a lot of work for its members.

This form has been revised to increase our focus on results in FRB programming. We

welcome your questions and/or suggestions to bev@foodsresourcebank.org.

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Program Abstract:

Provide one paragraph description of the proposed project, including objectives to be achieved,

key strategies and activities that will be used to achieve the objectives, the location of the

program target area, and a short summary of the budget including the total amount of funding

requested from FRB.

II. CONTEXT

Define the geographic target area. (Insert map showing target areas if possible)

Describe existing food security conditions in the target area, including:

Availability: Amounts and types of food available in the target area throughout the

different seasons of the year

Access: People’s ability to access the food needed to meet the daily calorie and

nutrition needs of their household. (For instance, describe what typical meals consist of

and how many meals are consumed each day, hungry season vs. harvest time.)

Utilization: Whether people are utilizing food for good health. (For instance, provide a

rough estimate of the rate of malnutrition among children under five in the community

– usually available from the local government health center; patterns of consuming and

or selling nutritious food crops, etc.)

Resource Sustainability: What people are doing to take care of environmental resources

in their community (water, forest, soil, etc.).

Resiliency: In what ways are these communities able to cope with shocks and changes

(e.g. drought, flooding, changes in agricultural commodity/cash crop prices, climate

changes, conflict and insecurity)?

Important Note: It is not expected that members will undertake baseline surveys before writing

this section of the proposal. The information provided in this section can be based on staff

knowledge and experience in the program area.

As you are able, please indicate whether the most vulnerable people in the community,

especially children under five and women who are pregnant or nursing, are able to access and

utilize the foods they need for proper nutrition. If not, what are some of the factors affecting

their food security?

III. PROGRAM DESIGN

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Program Objectives:

In Section II (Context), you described the current situation. In this section, please describe the

preferred future situation. What is the change you expect to see by the end of the 3- 5-year

program? The sample results framework in Attachment 1 may be helpful for thinking through

short-term, medium-term, and long-term changes that are desired.

For example: The goal of this program is to increase food security for [specify target population]

by achieving the following objectives by the end of the [specify number] -year program:

Program Participants:

Year # Communities /

Villages # Participants # Beneficiaries

1

2

3

Cumulative Over 3 Yrs

What criteria will be used to select direct program participants?

In this program, how many of the participating farmers are expected to be women and

how many men? How will concerns for promoting gender equality be integrated into

the design of the program? Besides the number of men vs. women participating in the

program, consider how the program will improve relationships between men and

women and create equitable work loads and decision making.

“Participants” are individuals who will be directly involved in program activities.

“Beneficiaries” are people other than the participants who will directly benefit (for

instance, other members of the participant’s household/family as well as those in the

wider community who will benefit). Explain how you estimate the number of

beneficiaries and how these individuals will benefit from the program.

What are the roles of the participants and/or other members of the community in

designing the program and selecting activities?

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Implementation Plan:

Describe the methods and activities that will be used to achieve the program objectives.

Explain how this program has been designed to address the food security needs and

constraints identified in Section II (Context).

Describe how the participants and other members of the community will make

contributions (monetary, in-kind, labor, etc.) to the program.

What is your rationale for why you think this method, rather than another, will be

effective? If there were relevant lessons learned from a previous program, mention

them here.

Note: Any activities described in this section of the plan should be included in the budget.

And vice versa, any activities included in the budget should be described in this section of

the proposal.

Timetable:

Provide some narrative to describe how the various activities will be sequenced. If there

are activities that will be performed in year two or three but not in year one, explain

this.

Complete the table in Attachment 2 summarizing the planned activities for year one of

the program and the timeframe in which they will be implemented.

Assumptions:

Indicate those factors (geographical, sociological, etc.) which you expect will impact

program activities and results.

Risks:

Identify potential risks to the successful completion of the program and briefly describe

the actions planned to minimize them.

IV. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

Background on [name of FRB member organization]:

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Provide one descriptive paragraph, including:

When operations/programming began in the target country

Partnerships in targeted area or region

Type and scope of programming

Experience and capacity to do programs similar to the one being proposed

Background on Local Partner(s):

Provide one descriptive paragraph on each local partner including:

When operations/programming began in the target area or region

Type and scope of programming

Experience and capacity to do programs similar to the one being proposed

Other partnerships

Past Performance

Describe the accomplishments and lessons learned from the previous FRB-funded

program in the same area (if this is an ongoing program) and/or other similar programs.

V. PROGRAM MONITORING PLAN

Describe how you will track your progress toward achieving the objectives outlined in Section III

above. You can use the following table to present your monitoring plan, if it is helpful:

Objective or

Result Statement

Indicator Data Source Responsible Frequency

Sample:

Increase the

practice of trickle

irrigation among

participating

farmers

Percentage of

participating

farmers who are

using trickle

irrigation

methods

Agriculture

Extension

Officers’

program site

monitoring form

Data collected by

Ag Ext Officers

and reported to

Program

Manager

Quarterly

Dates:

An indicator is something that can be measured (either numerically or in terms of quality) so

that you know whether you are being successful. Be sure to establish a baseline value for each

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indicator and a target for what the value of the indicator should be by the end of the project.

Use Attachment 1 if it is helpful for you.

Please indicate frequency and dates that progress reports will be submitted to FRB.

Note: It is important to plan for a baseline survey of your participant communities’ status. With

that it will be possible to measure progress happening in your program.

There are at least two purposes for collecting data about program performance:

The most important reason is to provide useful information for making program

management decisions. For instance, if you find that you are implementing all of your

activities and yet not achieving your objectives, it should be an opportunity to reflect on

whether revisions to the program design are required. Since funding from FRB is

awarded on an annual basis, there is an opportunity before the start of each new year

of the program to request changes to your program design.

A secondary reason is to be able to demonstrate to FRB and growing project supporters

the impact the program is making.

V. EVALUATION

Describe the kind of evaluation that will be done. Who will participate in it? What are the costs

associated with the evaluation? When will the evaluation be done and the report submitted to

FRB? FRB recommends evaluations that involve all stakeholders in the process, including, but

not limited to, community members, program beneficiaries, partner NGOs, professional

practitioners and member staff.

VI. BUDGET

Provide a detailed budget showing the total cost of the program including program costs in the

budget that FRB is not being asked to fund helps to provide context to the program and

increases transparency between all stakeholders. Use Attachment 3 if it is helpful for you.

Acceptable program costs include:

Percentage of personnel costs directly related to program implementation.

Travel and transportation costs directly related to program implementation, evaluation

and monitoring.

Baseline survey and evaluation.

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Program inputs.

Capital equipment is not generally included but cost sharing may be considered on a

case-by-case basis.

Member and local partner administration costs that pertain to implementing this

specific program. Please provide a breakdown for these items in your budget.

FRB does not require a separate audit for the specific program but may request a copy

of the organization’s regular audit.

VII. REQUESTED BY

___________________________________________ ________________

[Name of FRB Member Organization] Date ___________________________________________ ________________

[Authorized Representative] Date

Attachment 1: Results Framework for [Program Name] Program in [Country]

Short-Term / Intermediate Results (Outputs) (Early changes expected to occur as the direct result of activities; they need to occur before the Objectives can be achieved.)

End of Program Goal/Objectives (Outcomes)

(Desired changes expected by the end of the program. These are the ones in Section III of the proposal and are needed for Impact to be achieved.)

Long-Term Goal (Impact) (Internalized individual/community change

that may not occur until years after the program ends.)

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement:

Indicator: Baseline: Target:

Result Statement: Food security improves for [specify target population]

Indicator: Baseline: Target: Food security should be an impact of the program; otherwise the program doesn’t align with Foods Resource Bank program guidelines.

Attachment 2: Implementation Schedule for Year One Shade in the cells to indicate when activities will be performed.

ACTIVITIES Month 1:_______ Month 2: _______ Month 3: ______ Month 4: _______ Month 5: _______ Month 6:_______

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

ACTIVITIES Month 7:_______ Month 8: _______ Month 9: _______ Month 10:______ Month 11: ______ Month 12: ______

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Attachment 3: Sample budget

Cost Categories

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total

all

sources

FRB

all

sources

FRB

all

sources

FRB

all

sources

FRB

Personnel Costs

Position (annual salary x % level of effort)

Position (annual salary x % level of effort)

Position (annual salary x % level of effort)

Travel/Transport

Travel to program sites

Transport of inputs

Vehicle maintenance/fuel

Program Inputs

Seeds

Fertilizer

Tools

Training

Program Monitoring & Evaluation

Baseline survey

Program monitoring

Final evaluation

Total Direct Costs

Administrative costs for local partner

Administrative costs for member

Total Program Costs

Exchange Rate: ____ = 1 USD Notes:

Personnel costs are those directly related to program implementation i.e. the percentage of an individual’s time spent directly implementing program activities.

Administrative costs include support for rent, audits, supplies, administrative support staff, etc. Please provide a breakdown of these costs in the budget.

FRB does not purchase major capital equipment for administrative purposes. In cases where there is a specific need for such items as vehicle replacement FRB has participated in sharing costs with multiple funding sources.