Understanding IDEAL’s Program Improvement Award (PIA)October 1, 2019

Meet our Presenters

Austen MussoSmall Grants Manager

IDEAL

Kim JurczykSenior Communications

CoordinatorIDEAL

Diana PiconResilience and Adaptive Management Specialist

IDEAL

Laura ZillmerM&E Specialist

IDEAL

Agenda

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• PIA Review and Application Process

• Examples of TOPS PIAs

• Exploring the Content Focus Areas

• Recommendations for the PIA Application Process

• Q&A

IDEAL Small Grants Program

• Facilitate the creation and dissemination of new tools and best practices throughout the emergency and development communities to improve food security program outcomes

• Support IPs in conducting applied research, testing innovative approaches, and organizing knowledge sharing events

• Advance learning particularly related to the seven Content Focus Areas (CFAs)

Micro Grants vs. Program Improvement Awards

Micro Grants (Deadline: November 1, 2019)• <$50,000• Fixed Amount Award • Primarily tools and knowledge

sharing events• Food security community

contribution• Dissemination to all audiences• Biannual reporting• One stage application

Program Improvement Award• <$100,000 • Cost reimbursable • Wider array of possible project• FFP Learning Agenda (2019) or

FFP Strategy Contribution (2016)

• Dissemination targets FFP/OFDA implementers

• Quarterly reporting• Two stage application

PIA Review and Application Process

• Scoring Criteria listed in Sections E and F• 4 - 6 months Subaward timeline

Concept Note submissionFive pages (max)

Technical review/scoringInvitation to submit full

application (with recommendations from IDEAL)

Ten page narrative (max)Budget and Budget Narrative

12-Month Work PlanDonor Reference Request

PIA Review and Application Process

• Q&A Period Deadline: Tuesday, October 8 • Round 1 Deadline: Friday, October 25• Round 2 Deadline: Friday, December 13• Five page Concept Note with Budget Summary

submitted to: IDEAL_PIA@savechildren.org

PIA Review and Application Process

“These projects will address a gap in knowledge or skill capacity that is of importance to the larger food and nutrition security implementing partner community. Successful applications will demonstrate the potential to build capacity within and beyond the implementing organization, and generate significant knowledge related to one or two of IDEAL’s content focus areas…and the FFP Strategyand FFP Learning Agenda.” (Section B2)

PIA Review and Application Process

• Potential Project Types (Section B3)• Piloting a promising practice• Evaluating projects/datasets to fill gaps in evidence• Developing guidance, eLearning courses, or other

capacity building tools • Establishing a training of trainers curriculum to

increase capacity beyond an individual activity/organization

• Eligibility Criteria (Section C)

• Multi-stakeholder Involvement Encouraged (Section E4)

TOPS PIAs: Summary

• 5 years

• 21 awards

• 20 organizations

• 14 countries

• $1.9 million

Example: Developing Guidelines to Improve Agriculture Demo Sites

Capacity gap: limited empirical evidence of what makes demo sites effective

Product created: benchmarking guidelines for effective management of demo sites

Dissemination: webinar, TOPS Knowledge Sharing Meeting

Example: Increasing Numeracy in Rural Communities in Karamoja, Uganda

Capacity gap: low literacy levels among rural communitiesProduct created: animated numeracy courses for farmersDissemination: products shared with USAID’s M&E Unit in Kampala and at the UNFAO Food Security Cluster Meeting

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Integrated activity design and implementation

Sustainability and planning for exit

Strengthening the quality and impact of emergency programming

Data collection and analysis for improved program design and impact

Adaptive management and application of learning

Social and behavior change

Equity, empowerment, social cohesion and social accountability

Content Focus Areas

Importance and Urgency: Program Perspective

Integrated Program Design & Implementation

What does integration mean?

Sustainability & Exit Planning

Sustainability Frameworks

Rogers, B et al. (2016) Sustaining Development: A Synthesis of Results from a Four-Country Study of Sustainability and Exit Strategies Among Development Food Assistance Projects, adapted from Coates and Kegode (2012) “Kenya Exit Strategies Study Round 2 Report”

Sustainability Matrix

A. Outcome B. Services or inputs that

must continue beyond

the LOA

C. Post-activity provision of

inputs/ services

D. Public sector

accountability and

quality

F. Monitoring strategy

A. Post-activity

service and input

providers

B. Provider motivation C. Resources D. Capacity E. Participant motivation

A. Behavior or

practice that must be

sustained

B. Capacity C. Resources D. Motivation

Service and Input Provision

Participant Adoption

Integrated activity design and implementation

Sustainability and planning for exit

Strengthening the quality and impact of emergency programming

Data collection and analysis for improved program design and impact

Adaptive management and application of learning

Social and behavior change

Equity, empowerment, social cohesion and social accountability

Content Focus Areas

Projects must generate applicable knowledge or learnings

Focus on addressing knowledge or capacity gaps in one Content Focus Area (CFA)

Dissemination and application of learning for the FFP and/or OFDA community

Watch out for Capital Assets and other restrictions (Section B2)

Q & A Session

Photo Credit: Jonathan Hyams / Save the Children

This presentation is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Implementer-led Design, Evidence, Analysis and

Learning (IDEAL) Activity and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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