British Embassy San Jose: call for bids 2020/2021

Call for bids

The British Embassy in San Jose is now accepting project and activity proposals for the 2020/2021 financial year (15 May 2020 – 28 February 2021).

Thematic areas

This year, the British Embassy is seeking to support projects and activities in Costa Rica and Nicaragua that focus on the following thematic areas:

human rights and democracy – for example: strengthened democratic governance and rule of law; increased equality and non-discrimination for women and disadvantaged groups and strengthened freedom of the press
inclusive and green growth – for example: fostering economic inclusion; improving the business environment; supporting green growth and resilience to climate change

We are looking for projects and activities that deliver real, measurable outcomes in support of development in the country and are particularly interested in proposals aimed at the following outcomes:

Increased accountability and transparency, demonstrated, for example, through improved Transparency or Integrity Index scores or stronger mechanisms for checks and balances in institutional frameworks, leading to greater alignment of policies and practices with international standards
Reforms and implementation of policies aimed at promoting conditions for open markets, green growth and mitigation to climate change, such as, but not limited to: promoting competitiveness, streamlining processes to facilitate trade, reducing the potential for illicit trade; and facilitating the transition to decarbonisation
Greater economic inclusion through entrepreneurship and innovation, especially for women entrepreneurs and other vulnerable groups such as migrants
Decrease in reported gender-based violence, discrimination and harassment towards women, members of the LGBT community and other marginalised groups
Reduction in reported harassment of and violence against journalists; improved enabling environment in which freedom of the press is protected and respected

Kindly note separate guidance for activity bids and project bids

Activity bid guidance

activities are one-off interventions (not a fully developed project) that take place at a specific time in the financial year between 15 May 2020 and 28 February 2021, with no expectation of continued funding beyond the initial activity or period
maximum activity budget limit: $10,000 (please note that in the past, most bids approved in this category were typically between $5,000 and $6,000)

Activity bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

alignment with the above-mentioned thematic priorities and outcomes
outcomes that are achievable within the funding period
activity design that includes clear evaluation procedures
activity design that includes risk and financial accountability procedures
the organisation’s safeguarding policies ensure protection of beneficiaries
overall value for money

Project bid guidance

projects are funded for a single financial year running from 15 May 2020 to 28 February 2021, with no expectation of continued funding beyond this period
minimum project budget limit: $10,000
maximum project budget limit: $20,000

Project bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

alignment with the above mentioned thematic priorities and outcomes
outcomes are achievable within the funding period
project design includes clear monitoring and evaluation procedures
project design includes risk and financial accountability procedures
evidence of sustainability – demonstrating that project benefits continue after the funding ends
the organisation’s safeguarding policies ensure protection of beneficiaries
overall value for money
administration costs for delivering a project should not exceed 10% of the total project budget

Things not covered by funding

purchase of capital equipment
communications strategies or campaigns

Bidding process

Proposals must be submitted using the relevant bid form and activity based budget template provided below
All proposals must be received by midnight on 15 April 2020. Late proposals will not be considered
Proposals must be submitted to Denise.Lewis@fco.gov.uk
Successful bidders will be notified by 15 May 2020.

Additional information and documentation

All implementers will be expected to sign a standard FCO contract or grant agreement with the Embassy. The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.

All projects are expected to have achieved 85% spend by end December 2020. Proposed budgets must reflect this requirement.

Contact: Denise.Lewis@fco.gov.uk

Published 17 February 2020
Last updated 5 April 2020 + show all updates

5 April 2020
We have extended the deadline for receipt of projects to 15 April 2020.
17 February 2020
First published.

Bellwin Scheme activated in storm-hit areas

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has today (17 February 2020) activated the government’s emergency financial assistance scheme for areas affected by Storm Dennis.

Under the Bellwin scheme, local authorities dealing with the effects of the storm can apply to have 100% of the eligible costs they incur above a threshold reimbursed by the government.

The scheme has been activated for qualifying areas in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Herefordshire which have seen significant impacts over the weekend following Storm Dennis.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

I’d like to praise the work of all emergency responders this weekend as well as local authorities and key agencies for working around the clock to keep us safe.

The government is doing everything it can to ensure communities are supported in recovering from flood damage, and by activating our emergency financial assistance scheme, we are making sure that those places hit the hardest will be able to access funding to help them deal with the aftermath of the storm.

The government continues to monitor the risk of flooding and is working closely with police, fire and rescue, local authorities, local resilience forums and partners to keep communities safe and to support their recovery.

Over 900 Environment Agency staff are on active incident duty and teams have put up more than 3.5km of temporary flood barriers across the country.

The Environment Agency continues to operate flood defences and flood storage reservoirs. Flood defences have so far protected more than 14,000 properties.

The government urges people to check the flood risk in their area and remain vigilant.

Bellwin is a scheme of emergency financial assistance to help local authorities meet uninsurable costs they incur when dealing with the aftermath of an emergency in their area.

When the scheme is activated each local authority can claim for eligible costs above a set threshold.

Bellwin is regularly activated in times of emergency to make financial assistance available to local authorities.

The public can check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation at www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or following @EnvAgency on Twitter.

Yellow Label Service moratorium extension

Since September 2018, there has been a moratorium on technical and applied qualifications being approved for inclusion in the performance tables, in order to allow a pause during the review of qualifications at level 3 and below. The moratorium will last for at least 2 years.

The qualifications review may lead to changes in the qualifications offered by awarding bodies to students. It may also be the case that some qualifications continue to be offered, but are no longer funded by the Department for Education, in which case it would not be appropriate for them to be covered by the Yellow Label Service contract.

Given the uncertainty about future changes to the system, a moratorium has been imposed on including new technical and applied qualifications in the Yellow Label Service until the performance tables moratorium ends.

The Yellow Label Service moratorium does not apply to GCSE, GCE and Functional Skills qualifications, which will still be considered as normal.

Published 17 February 2020

Latest results published in current account customer satisfaction survey

The latest independent survey results are available via the links below:

• BVA BDRC

• Ipsos MORI

Customers who have personal and small business accounts were asked various questions, including how likely they would be to recommend their provider, and its online and mobile provisions.

The survey aims to provide people with better quality information about their banking provider and what is on offer within the sector, to help people decide which provider is best for them. Work on the survey began in 2016 following the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) market investigation into the retail banking sector.

Since the first set of results for the largest providers were published in August 2018, these banks are required to display the results of the survey clearly in branch, on their websites and apps. The results show customers how their provider ranks on quality of service and should help people easily compare banking providers. By shining a light on banks’ relative performance, the survey aims to drive up competition between providers, resulting in a better overall experience for people. From August, the survey results will also feature new banks Monzo and Starling.

Adam Land, Senior Director at the CMA, said:

The power is increasingly in customers’ hands when it comes to banking services – it is now easy and safe to switch provider if you feel you can get a better deal elsewhere. The results of this survey should help with that. We want people to ask themselves: am I happy with the service I am getting, or could I be getting better treatment from someone else?

The fact that providers have to publish this data in branch and on their websites means that there is nowhere to hide – providers should always feel the pressure to climb the league table by improving their services to attract more customers.

The main current account providers are also required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to publish details of available services and relevant helplines, and figures on how long it takes to open current accounts and replace debit cards, as well as about major operational and security incidents they have experienced. The latest figures are available now on providers’ websites, and links to them are collected on the FCA website.

Notes to editors:

The CMA and FCA cannot comment on the performance of individual banks. Journalists should speak to the individual banks for further explanation.

Santo Domingo: call for activity and project proposals 2020/2021

This year, the British Embassy is seeking to support activities up to DOP 565,000.00, or equivalent in USD, that deliver real, measurable outcomes in support of socio-economic growth and development of the Dominican Republic focusing on the following themes:

Girls’ education and gender equality: in particular, projects aiming to address teenage pregnancy and raise awareness of women’s and reproductive rights. Including, but not limited, to public campaigns and events, workshops, conferences, school and mobile teaching.
Climate change and green finance: projects related to climate change and tackling green issues through education, training, campaigns, public awareness raising, and other initiatives related to the causes and impacts of climate change. These projects can revolve around subjects such as oceans preservation, renewable energies and the reduction of single use plastic. In this category, we are also looking for projects that focus on Green Finance (sustainable finance, green bonds, blue bonds, among others) be it through trainings, workshops and conferences. We will particularly welcome proposals that are linked to or build around COP26 (UN Climate Change Summit) and its objectives.
Media freedom: we are looking for projects that will help promote and/or strengthen media freedom through targeted training and workshops. Projects in this category can include inviting journalism experts from the UK to the Dominican Republic. We welcome projects by Dominican journalists who have identified short-term, focused training opportunities or conferences related to journalism in the UK.
Innovative technologies, cyber security and artificial intelligence: in particular, projects around workshops, conferences or training seeking to support the socio-economic growth and development of the Dominican Republic through the application of new technologies, cyber security and artificial intelligence.
Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy: in particular, strengthening democratic governance and rule of law; increasing equality and reducing violence and discrimination against women and vulnerable groups such as the LGBTI community; raising awareness on border migration and tackling modern slavery.
- For this strand only, we may be able to fund one project for DOP 1,135,000.00 (one million one hundred and thirty five thousand Dominican pesos) or equivalent in USD. This project will educate on one of the former subjects, should lead on impactful behavioural changes and will set out key actions to be undertaken by project implementers.

Bid guidance

You must submit the proposal using the Activity bid form (ODT, 31.7KB). If you wish to submit a project Proposal of over DOP 1 million, which is only available for the Human Rights and Democracy strand, use the Project bid form (ODT, 192KB).
Projects are funded under a reimbursement scheme for a single financial year, with no expectation of continued funding beyond this period.
Project must be completed by 31st December 2020. Projects with finishing dates of 31st January 2021 can be considered as long as 85% of the budget is executed by 15th November 2020.

Assessment

Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

alignment with the above thematic priorities and outcomes
achievable outcomes within the funding period and sustainable after the funding ends
clear project design which includes monitoring and evaluation procedures
identified risks and planned mitigation
demonstrated value for money in the activity based budget
the organisation’s safeguarding policies that ensure protection of beneficiaries

Process

Activity and project proposals must be received by 23:55 (Santo Domingo time) on Sunday 13th March. Any proposals received in a format different to the one requested, in a language other than English, or submitted after the set date and time will not be considered.
Proposals must be submitted using the attached forms only. (Activity or Project Proposal and Activity Based Budget).
The Activity Based Budget needs to be in the same currency as the bank account where funds reimbursements are to be received.
Proposals must be submitted to UK.InDominicanRepublic@fco.gov.uk. In the subject, you must include: FCO Programme Funds 2020-2021, followed by the name of your organisation.
Proposals selected for further consideration will be notified by the end of April 2020. If you are not contacted by this date, the Embassy has decided not to pursue your proposal. Due to the high number of bids we receive, we are unable to provide feedback to unsuccessful bids.
The British Embassy Santo Domingo aims to sign grant agreements with successful project implementers by 15th May and to begin activities immediately after signing the agreement.

Additional information and documentation

All implementers will be expected to sign a standard FCO contract or grant agreement with the Embassy. The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.

Published 17 February 2020