News story: British Embassy Vientiane, Laos – Call for bids 2019/20

The British Embassy Programme Fund (BEPF) is issuing a call for bids for projects in line with the UK government’s foreign policy objectives in Lao PDR during financial year 2019/20.

The BEPF project bids will be shortlisted and approved by the British Embassy Vientiane’s Post Programme Board. To apply for funding, interested organisations must submit a project proposal and activity budget plan to the British Embassy. This will provide the basic information required to enable the Post Programme Board to make an assessment on whether or not the bidder will be invited to submit a full project proposal.

All projects submitted must directly support at least one of the following priority objectives for the British Embassy Programme Fund: 1. Promoting Education. Preference will be given to projects related to:

  1. Promoting a safe and enabling environment for good governance, rule of law and human rights. Preference will be given to projects related to:
  1. Promoting a safe and enabling environment for operating business in Lao PDR by raising awareness and enhancing capacity of both private and non – private sectors. Preference will be given to projects related to:

  • Tourism and Hospitality

  • Anti-money laundering

  1. Environment and Conservation. Preference will be given to projects related to:
  • Illegal Wildlife trade (IWT)
  1. Promoting culture and sports, including the development of media, social media, film and other creative arts. Preference will be given to projects related to:

The BEPF will fund projects from £5,000 upwards. It is strongly recommended that projects supporting these priority objectives must under £10,000.

All British Embassy Vientiane Programme Fund projects must clearly demonstrate how they will:

  • support at least one of the above priorities

  • deliver value for money (VfM)

  • meet OECD criteria for Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding and

  • demonstrate that they are able to complete 90% spend by December 7, 2019

The assessment criteria will be based on the following:

Managerial and Financial Aspects

  • any organisation can apply for funding. We do not accept project bids submitted by individuals.

  • please note that we cannot make pre-payments; the successful bidders should make the payment and then ask us to reimburse these expenses. The implementer must have an active bank account in the name of the organisation to which we can electronically transfer reimbursements.

  • organisations must prove that they are able to manage the project sum in a satisfactory manner; the Embassy may request reports by auditors.

Exemptions We regret that we are unable to fund:

  • academic courses

  • charitable activities

  • commercial activities

  • infrastructure or construction projects, or

  • humanitarian aid co-financing

Evaluation of project bids

  • the aim of the project should be concise, feasible and sustainable

  • the expected outcomes should be measurable and

  • the target group should be clearly defined and involved in project implementation

Approval and reporting We will invite the implementer to submit a full Project Proposal and Activity Based Budget Plan and the full conditions of grants will be outlined once final decisions have been made by the Post Programme Board. The Embassy will require monthly financial reports/meetings and quarterly project progress reports from implementers. The first payment will be made upon the receipt of a monthly financial report. When the project has been completed the implementer shall prepare and send a final report to the Embassy within the period specified in the contract. Implementation time frame

Process: Please complete the following documents attached:

Successful applicants will implement their projects under the condition below:

  • Duration of the Project: June 10, 2019 – February 15, 2020.

  • All payment requests and reporting should be finalised by March 15, 2020, with 90% of funding spent by December 7, 2019.

  • Budget must be 100% spent by February 15 2020.

Contact Completed concept notes should be sent by email to anongly.phimmasone@fco.gov.uk by 27 May 2019.