FUNDING WINDOW FOR NGO TRAINING PROVIDER (S) TO CONDUCT CONSUMER EDUCATION WORKSHOPS IN RURAL AREAS Funding Window Guidelines 1 BACKGROUND TO BANKSETA The Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (BANKSETA) is a statutory body established through the Skills Development Act of 1998 to enable its stakeholders to advance the national and global position of the banking and microfinance industry. As guided by its mandate the BANKSETA is as such an agent of transformation and seeks to promote employment equity and broad-based BEE through skills development. 2 BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT The Credit Industry has been conducting or supporting consumer financial literacy programs in various ways for a number of years, but more specifically for the last 7 years, since the onset of the NCA. During this time credit providers have spent in excess of R200m on such initiatives. This spend by the Credit Industry has been focused and different from other normal marketing spend. Some of the specific topics that the Credit Provider industry has carried out cover educating customers on managing household finances, advising consumers on how financial products work, as well as the rights and obligations of consumers under the NCA BANKSETA seeks to appoint a suitably qualified training provider who is located in South Africa to facilitate training of Consumer Education Material to consumers in rural areas in one or more provinces in South Africa. 3 OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The credit industry has identified a clear need to improve the level of consumer credit education in South Africa. An industry workgroup was established to identify and address potential solutions to achieve this goal, which included the development of generic consumer credit education material that can be used by the industry in their current consumer-engagement and education strategies aimed at educating consumers on responsible borrowing behavior. The primary objective of this CE initiative is to enable the credit industry to provide borrowing information as a generic standard and message to consumers during the credit lifecycle, including the pre-borrowing and borrowing stages, which will provide consumers with the necessary knowledge and skills to make rational and informed decisions when they choose credit products and services.
BANKSETA is embarking on Workshops to consumers in rural areas. BANKSETA has designed and developed all the training material, which is available on the BANKSETA website. The 4 themes of consumer education that are highlighted are: Theme 1 Your Guide to Financial Health Theme 2 Making Credit Work for You Theme 3 Effective Query and Complaint Resolution Theme 4 Manage My Credit Responsibly 4 SCOPE OF THE WORK 4.1 The successful service provider will be responsible for: 4.1.1 Communicating the availability of the workshops in a particular area 4.1.2 Providing consumers with the date, time and venue for the training including managing the RSVP Process 4.1.3 The selected provider/s is required to arrange and pay for venues and for catering. Catering should include two tea/coffee breaks with a light snack and one lunch each day of the workshop. In order to compare costs, respondents are required to indicate in the Pricing Schedule the cost for the venue and total number of people per workshop. 4.1.4 Provide a detailed project plan for the facilitation and co-ordination of a 1 day workshop to consumers in rural areas. 4.1.5 Submit a report, according to BANKSETA Specifications on each of the workshops conducted, detailing attendance, evaluation feedback and future recommendations. 4.1.6 It will be expected from the provider to meet with the BANKSETA representative at agreed times, in order to discuss the delivery and progress of the project. 5. PRICING STRUCTURE 5.1 In the Pricing Schedule respondents are required to allow for all costs related to the workshops. These costs should include the following: 5.1.1 Fees of presenters/facilitators 5.1.2 All expenses to be incurred by the provider in conducting the workshops e.g. proxima, whitescreen, sound, etc. Please indicate the cost per workshop as well as the total number of workshops applied for and where the delivery is planned 5.1.3 All costs pertaining to the venue and catering 5.1.4 All costs pertaining to the printing and distribution of the training material.
BANKSETA has taken the decision to open a Funding window to fund Non Profit Organizations; Community Based Organizations or any Community Based Worker Initiatives in delivering Consumer Education workshops/training to the communities of rural areas. The purpose of this funding guidelines document is to establish the principles underlying the funding of the following initiative within the broader banking and microfinance sector: NPO / CBO Funding window 6 GUIDELINES Funding Offered BANKSETA will make funding of up to R100 000 VAT inclusive per training intervention/proposal by a registered Non-Profit Organization (NPO) or Community Based Organizations (CBO) registered with Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) or a ny other body which is a member of the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry). The NPO/CBO must state in their proposal/ application how they plan to deliver a Consumer Education workshop to the people in rural areas. Who Can Apply? Non-Profit Organization (NPO) or Community Based Organizations (CBO) registered with Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) or any other body which is a member of the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry). Allocation of Funds Funding is limited to the cost of the facilitation of training material designed by BANKSETA; venue hire catering and refreshments but excludes travel and accommodation of the learners and set up costs including capitalization of projects or infrastructure requirements. In the event that the available funding is oversubscribed, the BANKSETA will apply a first come first served basis principle, to ensure the widest spread. BANKSETA reserves the right to reduce the allocation per proposal. Application Criteria Project Coordinators or the manager of the NPO/CBO may complete and submit the application behalf of the NPO/CBO. Applicants agree to provide information as required by BANKSETA for the purposes of reporting to the Department of Higher Education and Training and other statutory stakeholders. Applicants
may be required to complete the information in a specific format and to submit to BANKSETA on a monthly / basis as will be determined by the project plan. Applicants may apply for one rural area or more than one area. Submission of Applications All Applications are to be submitted on the prescribed template (Annexure 1 Application form) Completed forms must be emailed to zaheedah@bankseta.org.za and cc madeleinep@bankseta.org.za. Please confirm receipt in all instances to avoid any misunderstanding. Submission Documents and Dates The following supporting documents need to be submitted by the indicated dates: By funding window closing date: Friday, 12 February 2016. Application form completed in full Itemised quotation of all costs that the NPO/CBO anticipates that they will incur Confirmed timelines of training initiative Proposed Project Plan Facilitation experience and qualifications Ability to communicate in the community Proven work experience in rural communities By 16 February 2016: Signed Memorandum of Agreement with the BANKSETA (BANKSETA to initiate this process). Approved Project Plan. On completion: Close out report of which template will be provided by the BANKSETA. Signed Attendance Registers for all the training days Proof of expenditure ie training venue, printing of material etc Funds Disbursement Upon approval of the application, the Applicant and BANKSETA will sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to formalize the application and to agree on the funding disbursement schedule (in line with the specific application). The first invoice to the BANKSETA must be accompanied by official proof of banking details, verification of being an NGO, signed off project plan.
The final invoice will be paid subject to all the project requirements being met, i.e. project report, attendance registers etc. Funding will be allocated according to the merit of the project and based on a successful track record. In all instances, BANKSETA reserves the right to approve/decline funding at its discretion. In all cases funding will be made subject to the availability of funds. Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment BANKSETA commits to providing basic project management support to Applicants to enable the smooth running of approved projects. The BANKSETA may at its discretion conduct a project review and/or site visits as part of its standard monitoring and evaluation processes. The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will assist in drawing up an M&E Plan that will be rolled out as soon as the training commences. Specific Exclusions The following costs will not form part of the funding: Capital and business set-up costs (including hardware and software) Salaries and directors fees Feasibility studies International costs are not covered.