FAQs for Cycle Five
Q: Would one grant be given to one organization per selected district?
A: Yes one organization within each district would be the recipient of one grant
Q: How will the Local Support Organizations ensure that all the certification requirements are met especially DUNS no and Environmental Impact Assessment?
A: Please refer to the advertised RFP (page 16 & 32 of the advertised RFP- Section 6 & Annex 4 respectively)
Q: How can interested organizations apply for a sub-grant and where can they get the proposal format from?
A: Please refer to the advertised RFP (page 10 & 11 of the advertised RFP- Section 5.3 & 5.4)
Q: Can organizations apply for one or more tehsils in a district?
A: Organizations are required to cover all tehsils in a particular district.
Q: Would the grant money be used for bearing NADRA registration fee as well as transportation charges of women to NADRA centers?
A: Expenses on transportation of women to NADRA centers/ project camps for getting them registered would be covered under the grant. Other expenses will not be covered through the grant money.
Q: What are the names of targeted districts?
A: Please refer to advertised RFP (page 8)
Q: What is the allocated amount for grants under cycle 5?
A: All 19 grants within cycle 5 are Tier-1/2 grants (Up to $ 20,000 – 35,000). Grant money, however, will be in Pak rupees.
Q: Can one organization be eligible to apply for GEP support in more than one district? In such case would one proposal be required or separate proposals are to be submitted for each district.
A: Yes, an organization can apply for more than one district provided it meets the criteria. However a separate proposal would be submitted for each district applied for.
Q: What are the eligibility criteria to apply for cycle 5 grants?
A: Please refer to the advertised RFP (page 10 of - Section 5.2)
Q: Are the grantees of previous GEP cycles’ eligible to apply for cycle 5 grants?
A: Yes, they are eligible to apply.
Q: Can a consortium of organizations eligible to apply for a particular district/s?
A: Yes, local or district based organizations can form alliance/consortium/networks to apply for GEP grants.
Q: What are the guidelines for proposal writing for this specific cycle?
A: The orientation workshops are designed to assist organizations willing to apply under the grant cycle. All queries regarding proposal writing will be answered during these workshops.
Q: Will a new RFP be floated under cycle 5 to cover more districts apart from the ones mentioned?
A: As of now the sub-grants 97-115 are the only districts organizations can apply for. (Please refer to page 8 of the advertised RFP).
FAQs for sub-grant 96
Q: When and how can we apply for Cycle 5 sub-grants (districts) mentioned in the RFP for sub-grant: 96?
A: Cycle 5 district sub-grants will be announced soon. Please keep checking the GEP webpage:
http://af.org.pk/gep/
Q: What are the sub-grants for which an organization can currently apply?
A: Proposals may be submitted for sub-grant 96 (Please refer to the RFP available on the GEP webpage for details and deadlines: http://af.org.pk/gep/).
Q: What are the eligibility criteria to apply for sub-grant 96?
A: Please refer to page 9 of the advertised RFP.
Q: Are the sub-grantees of previous GEP cycles eligible to apply for sub-grant: 96?
A: Yes, previous GEP sub-grantees are eligible to apply.
Q: Can a consortium of organizations eligible to apply for sub-grant: 96?
A: Yes, local or district based organizations can form alliance/consortium/networks to apply for GEP sub-grants. Please note that consortiums are required to submit a Memorandum of Understanding and a detailed budget with the activities of all consortium members clearly marked. (Please refer to page 13 of the advertised RFP – Section E).
FAQs for Cycle Four
Q: Does an applicant have to cover all the districts mentioned in the district cluster or it can be for any one or lesser under the sub-grant head 78-94?
A: Applicants are required to cover all districts given in a cluster.
Q: Would one sub-grant be given to one organization per selected cluster?
A: Yes. Only one sub-grant will be awarded per every cluster.
Q: Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply? Who is eligible?
A: For-profit organizations are eligible to apply for sub-grants 73-77:
- Sub-grant 73: Management, coordination and support for the activities under the four months campaign at the Federal level, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and monitor and supervise the four provincial coordinating sub-grantees of the campaign (1 sub-grant up to $85,000)
- Sub-grant 74-77: Coordination and support for the activities under the four months campaign at the provincial level (4 sub-grants up to $55,000)
Q: How can an organization apply for a sub-grant?
A: The proposal format and application procedures are available in Section 5 of the RFP available on the GEP website. Interested organizations are requested to follow the instructions in Section 5 closely while completing their application packages.
Q: What is meant by 16 days of activism?
A: The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an annual international campaign calling for the elimination of all forms of violence against women. The 16 Days run from November 25 to December 10 every year. The four month campaign under GEP will also cover activities focusing on advocacy on Gender Based Violence for the Pakistani Women’s Day (February 12, 2012) and International Women’s Day (March 8, 2012). Please see more details in the Terms of Reference given in the cycle 4 RFP.
Q: Which tier are the grants falling in, what is the allocated amount and what is the ceiling for grants under cycle Four?
A: Sub-grants advertised under Cycle Four have the following ceilings:
- Sub-grant 73: Up to US $ 85,000
- Sub-grant 74-77: Up to US $ 55,000
- Sub-grant 78-94: Up to US $ 35,000
All sub-grants for this cycle are tier 2 sub-grants. All sub-grants will be awarded in Pakistani Rupees.
Q: Are there any guidelines which may be shared regarding the project application format?
A: The RFP on the web-site includes details of all the processes and documentation required to apply. Orientation sessions are held in all regions for every cycle.
Q: Are the sub-grantees from previous GEP cycles eligible to apply for cycle four grants?
A: Yes, they are eligible to apply.
Q: Can a consortium of organizations eligible to apply for a particular cluster?
A: Yes, local or district based organizations can form alliance/consortium/networks to apply for GEP grants.
Q: Are only old partner organizations of Aurat Foundation/The Asia Foundation eligible for sub-grants or can new organizations can also apply?
A: All organizations that meet the eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply. Past engagement with Aurat Foundation or The Asia Foundation will not influence the selection process.
Q: What is the procedure for receiving an invitation for the orientation of 4th Grant Cycle?
A: Please contact your nearest Aurat Foundation regional office for information on orientation workshops. Please click on the ‘Contact’ tab on the GEP website for further information regarding details on how to get in touch with the concern Aurat Foundation office.
FAQs for Cycle Three
Q: Would one grant be given to one organization per selected district?
A: Yes one organization within each district would be the recipient of one grant
Q: Would the grant money be used for bearing NADRA registration fee as well as transportation charges of women to NADRA centers?
A: Yes expenses on transportation of women to NADRA centers for getting them registered would be covered under the grant. Where possible, NADRA will arrange mobile registration vans to reduce transportation costs. Other expenses will not be covered through the grant money.
Q: What are the names of targeted districts?
A: Please refer to Request for Proposal (RFP) page 8 – 10 for list of all 15 districts that will be covered under cycle 3 of the Gender Equity Program (GEP)
Q: How can an organization apply for a grant?
A: Proposal format along with process of application is given in RFP available on this website. Interested organizations are required to follow this format for submitting their proposals. Other instructions and steps involved in the process are also available on GEP web-site.
Q: What is the allocated amount for grants under cycle three?
A: All 15 grants within cycle three are Tier-1 grants (Up to $ 25,000). Grant money, however, will be in Pak rupees.
Q: Can one organization be eligible to apply for GEP support in more than one district? In such case would one proposal be required or separate proposals are to be submitted for each district.
A: Yes, an organization can apply for more than one district provided it meets the criteria. However a separate proposal would be submitted for each district applied for.
Q: What are the eligibility criteria to apply for cycle three grants?
A: NGO or a civil society organization having substantial years of relevant work experience in the concerned geographical area can apply. The experience can be at either the district/tehsil or union council level.
Q: Are the grantees of GEP cycle 1 eligible to apply for cycle three grants?
A: Yes, they are eligible to apply
Q: Can a consortium of organizations be eligible to apply for a particular district/s?
A: Yes, local or district based organizations can form alliance/consortium/networks to apply for GEP grants.
General
Q: Can one organization apply for more than one component or for all 9 components of cycle two?
A: Yes. Organizations may submit proposals for more than one sub-grant. Separate applications must, however, be posted in separate packages
Q: Could one organization apply for more than one geographical areas under one component?
A: Organizations can propose their geographical preferences in their proposals and may apply for multiple areas.
Q: Could you share the presentation of orientation meeting?
A: This will be made available online.
Q: What is meant by ‘Publication’ as mentioned in Application Form at S.No. 6?
A: Where available, this section requires a list of all previous publications made by the applicant organization.
Q: Can we review the suggested time period?
A: The suggested time periods are an approximation of the length each grant may require to meet its specified objectives. However, organizations can propose different time frames, slightly lower or higher, as long as these are sufficiently justified by their proposed work plans.
Q: Will the successful organizations put their interventions in 4 provinces and GB in the same budget against the “Organization” through national level sub-grants?
A: Yes. Funding under one sub-grant can be used to support activities in different regions and locations. The budgets of national-level grants are inclusive of related expenditures in the four provinces and GB.
Q: Where do we mention monthly expenses i.e. rent of office and utilities etc.?
A: Please use section 3.0 in the sample budget to detail all administrative costs.
Q: When and how the report will be submitted either on monthly basis or quarterly basis?
A: Reporting period will be determined with successful applicants at the time of grant award.
Q: 14th Feb 2011 is closing date to receive proposals or can we dispatch the hardcopy on 14th Feb which GEP can receive on 15 Feb?
A: The last date for applications to be sent out is the 14th of March, 2011. Envelopes post-marked up till that date will be accepted.
Q: What is meant by the following: Linkages with existing or previous work done, indicating the impact of that activity and details of any other opportunities for developing local or national linkages?
A: Applicant organizations are invited to give details of how their proposed project might have linkages with any existing or previous work activity or any potential linkages with initiatives at the local or national level.
Q: What is meant by the following: Other donors (donors who are either currently funding work related to this grant application or who have been approached for funding for the same grant?
A: Applicant organizations need to disclose whether the proposed project has funding currently from another source, or whether it has been used to donor funding in the past. Names of these donors need to be stated.
Q: What is the "Grant Title?" Is this the title of the Objectives given in the RFP? Or the title of the sub-grant?
A: You may adapt the sub-grant title to suit your proposal. Sub-grant numbers may not be changed.
Q: The method stipulates the project application to be not more than 10 pages; is this limit including the budget sheet and the sample work plan?
A: Sections A-C should not exceed 10 pages.
Q: What is the margin of flexibility in the defined scope and outcomes? Are these guidelines flexible or are they the bare minimums? Can the delivery mechanism be changed from what is specified in the suggested intervention strategy?
A: Weightage will be given to organizations meeting the terms of the RFP. You may propose additions where applicable.
Q: If the principal applicant intends to engage in any partnerships for implementation or back end support, is it mandatory to mention this in the proposal?
A: Yes. All partnerships must be described in detail in the sections titled Methodology (role of the partner) and Grant Partners (details of the partnership)
Q: Can a gender expert be part of different projects as external consultant or can s/he act in only one project.
A: Permanent staff may be hired for one project at a time.
Q: Can an organization that has coverage only in the district, be eligible to apply for a National impact based grants?
A: Sub-grants designated as national level sub-grants are expected to have widespread impact. Preference will be given to organizations that can demonstrate the capacity for national level outreach.
Q: Our organization wishes to apply for a sub-grant to train women councilors, professionals and teachers in field of basic IT and communication skills in Sargodha. Is it possible for us to apply for this grant with limited area like only a division?
A: Target beneficiaries have been clearly outlined for all sub-grants. Sub-grants labeled ‘National’ are expected to have extensive outreach all over the country. Where sub-grants are allocated per province, you may apply specific areas/Districts. Please see the assessment criteria in section 5.5. Weightage will be given to well thought-out proposals meeting RFP criteria.
Q: Will the Gender Equity Program award sub-grants in AJK?
A: AJK is not covered in the geographical scope of the Gender Equity Program.
Q: Where can we find the proposal format and RFP for the current cycle?
A: Please click on the link ‘Second Grants Cycle’ on the right hand corner of the GEP webpage http://af.org.pk/gep/ for information on the current cycle of sub-grants
Q: Can a group (more than one) of organizations form a consortium and apply for a sub-grant?
A: All eligible entities are encouraged to apply.
Q: How would the plan for sustainability be funded? And what exactly are you looking for in terms of sustainability of the project.
A: The organizations are expected to rationalize the project in terms of its future sustenance and relevance.
Q: Is there any flexibility in the proposal submission date?
A: No.
Q: Proposal Part 5 of Section C asks for information regarding how beneficiaries will be involved in the project cycle. Please clarify what is being asked for here.
A: It means how beneficiaries would be involved in different activities of the project. Proposal would be marked for innovations given in this regard
Q: Is there any difference between implementation plan and schedule.
A: No.
Q: Does the sustainability plan need to be submitted separately or as a part of the overall Section C form?
A: It can be answered as a part of section C
Q: In which currency financial proposal be submitted, US Dollars or in Pak Rupees?
A: Financial Proposal should be submitted in Pak Rupees. It is however, preferable if a column is added for conversion into US $
Objective One:
Q: For the sub-grant for supporting women to join law enforcement and judicial systems, can the applicant organization be registered in the target province?
A: No. GEP only requires organizations to be registered in Pakistan.
Q: Must the trainings be held in the target province?
A: Yes. All trainings for sub-grants for a particular province must take place in that province.
Q: Must the law chambers/firms be in the target province?
A: Yes. All project activities must remain within the geographical scope outlined in the RFP.
Q: What does a 'renowned' law chamber/firm entail?
A: A renowned law chamber means a law chamber of repute.
Q: Do we need to fill up the performa related to Initial Environmental Examination Form? If so, how do we determine the risks in the above mentioned area of work?
A: All applicants are required to fill in the attached certifications. Please fill your project impacts where applicable.
Objective Two:
Q: What is ‘Training of Grantees’ and who are these grantees? What is the actual meaning of it?
A: 3 sub-grants in cycle 2 have been designed to address capacity building needs in GEP’s first cycle applicants. These grantees include successful organizations that were made grant awards, as well as those whose applications were unsuccessful.
Q: What is Pretesting and knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP) surveys?
A: Please refer to the RFP. This detail is provided in Sub-Grant 49.
Q: What is ‘Training of Grantees’ and who will conduct this training?
A: These grants have been designed to address capacity building needs in the cycle 1 applicants. Organizations are invited to send proposals for the conduction of these trainings.
Q: Our organization is setting up a campus for vocational training, home economics and business education for women in Sargodha district. Can we apply for a sub-grant to purchase building and labs material from this grant?
A: No, only Solicited proposals will be entertained under the second grant cycle.
Objective Three:
Q: Are organizations expected to submit separate proposals for different media related sub-grants?
A: Yes.
Q: Is there any preference that the media baselines should be qualitative or quantitative?
A: Organizations are expected to propose qualitative or quantitative tools for the baseline and will be evaluated on the basis of the most suitable and responsive methodologies.
Q: Would the applicants expected to do a baseline in addition to the pre-testing and KAP survey in the sub-grant?
A: No. The pre-testing and KAP survey will suffice.
Q: Will the Cartoon/talk show be in Urdu or any local language?
A: The cartoon series and talk shows will be in the national language i.e. Urdu.
Q: Will the talk shows/cartoon series be provincial or national?
A: The talk shows and cartoon series are national sub-grants; therefore, they are expected to have a nation-wide focus.
Q: Can firms/advertising agencies also apply for the media sub-grants?
A: Yes media firms including advertising agencies are eligible to apply for the sub-grants on talks shows.
Q: Would any stimulus material be provided for the pre-campaign evaluation?
A: Stimulus will only be provided for pre-testing of the cartoon series while, organizations will be expected to design their own tools for the Knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) survey.
Q: Could it be possible to provide us a tentative schedule for launching the media campaign
A: The schedule will be conveyed to the organizations at a later stage.
Q: Kindly elaborate on the target audience. Among girls, boys, mothers and fathers, what age bracket are we looking at?
A: As mentioned in the RFP, the age bracket for girls and boys is 10-12 years. Please refer to section 3.3.3.6 of the RFP for details.
Q: Will the organizations applying for cartoon series sub-grants be expected to provide a monitoring and evaluation plan. If, yes, what would it entail?
A: In case of the cartoon series sub-grants, work plan with detailed activity plan would be sufficient.
Q: What is expected from the media campaign and what are the requirements of the sub-grants?
A: Please refer to section 3.3.3 and 4 of the RFP.
Q: Are organizations applying for media campaign sub-grants on GBV eligible for applying for pretesting and KAP Surveys or, would the later be implemented through a third party?
A: Organizations are eligible to apply for more than one sub-grant. However, the KAP survey/pretesting will be awarded to a third party.
Q: Which private and terrestrial TV channels would the cartoons/talk shows be aired on?
A: Organizations are expected to suggest the appropriate TV channels along with budget for airing the talk shows.
Q: Can other donors and sponsors co-fund projects? Can we involve corporate sponsors in the media sub-grants?
A: No.
Q: Are the 15 episodes for talk shows suggested per channel or altogether for the sub-grant?
A: 15 episodes is the minimum suggested number per channel. However, weight age will be given to proposals with higher number of outputs.
Q: What would be the time duration of the talk show?
A: Organizations are expected to propose the appropriate time duration for the talk shows.
Q: What are the desired time bands that the client is looking in for?
A: Organizations are expected to propose the time bands for the talk shows.
Q: What would be the breakup for the episodes (cartoon/talk shows) during the grant period?
A: Organizations are expected to propose this.
Q: Should the geographical coverage for the media sub-grant baselines be few urban centers only or national representative picture is required?
A: Organizations are expected to propose the most suitable baseline sample for these national-level sub-grants.
Q: Which Graphics animations are desired for the cartoon? 2d or 3d for Cartoon serial?
A: 3 D Animation
Objective Four:
Q: With regards to the sub-grants on training, how many partner organizations will be considered for training?
A: Nearly 200 participants would be trained in 10 workshops, each workshop to have 20 participants. Number of women organizations would range from 15 - 20
Q: Could we know about the geo location information of partners
A: Location information for all trainings is available in the RFP.
Q: Target group (number and description of direct and indirect beneficiaries), how would they benefit from the grant and be involved in the project cycle?
A: Prospective target groups have been described in the RFP. For training specific sub-grants, these include recipients of GEP sub-grants and other prospective applicants.
Q: What are the duration and location of these sub-grants
A: Information regarding location and duration of all sub-grants is available in the RFP.
Q: Could you please tell us that in one interactive 3 days training workshop, either we have to train all the sub grantees in a joint workshop session or individually to each sub grantee according to the requirement of the project in three days workshop?
A: Sub-grantees have to be trained jointly.
Q: Who will select the women organizations? In case the applicant organization will select the women organizations, what will be the criteria? Although scope of work is clear, what will be the criteria regarding size (number of staff/outreach/funding), duration of existence etc?
A: GEP will identify the organizations that need to be trained
Q: Who will select the women organizations?
A. Applicants will be expected to propose the organizations. However, list of organizations would require prior GEP approval.
Q: Would background documents be provided to develop modules?
A: PCM is a very common subject and already there are lot of modules available on internet, therefore GEP would not be providing and background documents in this regard, however for Financial Management, some guidelines might be share, which cater to GEP specific financial requirements
Q: Who will identify the participants for workshops?
A: GEP will identify participants for workshops.
Q: Will Gilgit Baltistan be a separate location or has to be clubbed with other?
A. Gilgit/Baltistan would be a separate location apart from four provinces
Q: It needs to be clarified whether the Consultant has to “conduct training of the sub-recipient” or whether the Consultant has to “Develop systems for reporting, monitoring and evaluation of project activities and to ensure the implementation of such systems” and “develop financial procedures that could ensure a viable and transparent use of GEP sub-grants”. Is it the intention that the Consultant also develops such systems which can be subsequently used as a template / manual by the sub-recipients? Or is it the intention to train the sub-recipients in the understanding of such systems?
A. It has been clearly mentioned in RFP that the purpose of grant is to train grassroots level NGOs which have received GEP grants on Project Cycle Management as well as Financial Management. Nothing has been mentioned in RFP regarding development of systems in this regard.
Q: Whether the budget mentioned for PCM and FM trainings which is US $90,000 covers all costs including out of pocket expenses such as arrangement of venue, logistics, etc. and per diem of the field visits. Whether such out of pocket expenses i.e. travel, boarding & lodging etc. are reimbursable?
A: The organization who is awarded this grant would also have to make all logistical arrangements for such trainings. The amount of $90,000 includes the cost of such arrangements, including travel.
Q: What is the target group, grant location and duration for PCM and FM trainings
A: Target group would be grassroots level NGOs that have received GEP grants and also those NGOs which have applied for grants, but were not successful. It is expected that after getting trained, target group would be in a position to better manage different projects on the lines of PCM approach. Total duration of this grant is 6 months at central locations in all four provinces as well as Gilgit/Baltistan.
Q: Are the organizations also responsible for making logistical arrangements for trainings?
A: Yes.