Seminar on developing an internationally accepted standard for good financial grant practice (GFGP) Venue: The Wellcome Trust, London Date & time: 6 October 2015, 10:00-16:30 Invitation and purpose of the seminar The International Financial Governance and Mango wish to invite you as key stakeholders to a seminar on 6 October 2015 to be held at the offices of The Wellcome Trust in London. The purpose of the seminar is to explore how key stakeholders can more effectively collaborate in the development of an internationally accepted standard in Good Financial Grant Practice. Opportunity There are many organisations who are seeking ways to improve confidence in international grant management processes, through which billions of funds are granted and spent annually. Recently, an international working group of funders of research and development in Africa have been approached to fund a new initiative called Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) which will be hosted at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in Nairobi, Kenya. The GFGP project will have three main deliverables: 1. Development and publication of an international standard for GFGP 2. An assessment tool to enable fund recipients to assess their capabilities against the GFGP standard 3. A small secretariat at the AAS which will enable Funders to have a shared data base of the financial competence of recipients and to facilitate access to funds for capability and capacity development of recipients. The Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council have agreed to provide funds for the first key deliverable which is the development and publication of a new standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP), which will be developed in partnership with the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO). The new GFGP standard will be pan-african and the objective is that it will become a standard for adoption globally by both funders and grant recipients. Accordingly, the working group behind the GFGP project wish to collaborate with Mango and other key stakeholders to draw on established best practice in grant management in order to ensure the new standard is as broadly applicable as possible.
Aim of the seminar The aim of the seminar is to engage with key stakeholders who could help improve the content, quality, effectiveness and utility of the GFGP standard and the GFGP project more widely. Agenda Participants are invited to arrive and enjoy coffee from 9:45 a.m. 10:00 1. Welcome and introductions Abdoulie Barry, Director, Finance & Administration, European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), who will chair the seminar 10:15 2. Need for internationally accepted standards in GFGP 2.1 Potential benefits for funders and recipients of improving GFGP Catherine Cameron, Director, Agulhas Open Knowledge 2.2 Why NGOs need a standard for good financial grant practice Tim Boyes-Watson, Executive Director, Mango 2.3 Overview of the key issues in GFGP that need to be addressed Dr Michael Kilpatrick, Senior Advisor to the GFGP program, African Academy of Sciences 2.4 Participants perspectives and group discussion 11:30 Break 11:50 3. Recent developments that may facilitate the landscape for introducing GFGP 3.1 The Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) Dr Tom Kariuki, Director, AESA, African Academy of Sciences 3.2 USAID Forward and changes in grant-making practice and approaches to capacity development Alison Smith, Chief Executive and President, & Tom Dente, Chief Operating Officer, InsideNGO 3.3 Progress made towards developing international guidance and standards for financial reporting for not-for profit organisations Anne Davis, Technical Manager Charities, CIPFA 3.4 Participants perspectives and group discussion 13:00 Lunch will be provided
13:45 4. What might a new standard in GFGP look like? 4.1 The role of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and the development process for a new pan-african standard in GFGP. Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, Secretary General, ARSO 4.2 Outline of the scope and content of the GFGP standard Dr Michael Kilpatrick 4.3 Participants are invited to share ideas and knowledge that could assist the development of the new standard 15:00 5. Future plans and opportunities for stakeholder involvement 5.1 Overview of how funders and recipients can become involved in the creation of the new pan- African standard in GFGP Dr Michael Kilpatrick 5.2 Discussion of potential roles and ways participants and other stakeholders could be involved 16:00 6. Actions agreed and next steps 16:30 Close of the seminar and buffet reception Participants are invited to stay and enjoy a buffet reception so as to allow more time for networking and informal discussion Good Financial Grant Practice An International Financial Governance (IFGC) was founded in January 2012 by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the Wellcome Trust (WT). Attendees at the meetings have expanded to include many of the International funders of research and development in Africa. The objectives of the working group were to find ways for a more integrated approach for dealing with some of the financial management challenges faced by both funders and recipients in research institutes in Africa and other Low to Middle Income Countries.
The solution which is commencing development as the GFGP program will involve: a) Develop an international standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) b) Development of a Financial Management Assessment Tool (FMAT) to be used by all funders and recipients c) Development of a mechanism for sharing financial information between funders d) Facilitate financial capacity development e) Deliver an integrated programme of financial training f) Encourage audit companies to develop and seek accreditation for their GFGP certification process. Mango Mango is the globally recognised leader in strengthening the financial management of not-for-profit organisations. Mango is collaborating with a range of other stakeholders to pursue a strategic objective of establishing an internationally accepted standard in financial management for not for profit organisations. InsideNGO is the leading international membership organisation that is focused on developing operational excellence in NGOs, with hundreds of members from across the world. Bond is the network organisation for UK NGOs and has worked with support from the UK s DFID and its members to create a widely respected effectiveness framework for NGOs. Agulhas have supported a range of standards work: Admit, the first adaptation standard, as part of a wider consortium of CSOs with Comic Relief; the development of a new product, Climate Positive for unicef; and strengthening the Gold Standard for Café Direct. Agulhas work with a wide range of donors and civil society organisations supporting improvements to effectiveness. These capacity development specialists plan to contribute their expertise and intellectual property to work with standard setting organisations to develop a standard and accreditation process for organisations.
Seminar invitees Medical Research Council Mango The Wellcome Trust African Academy of Sciences EDCTP African Organisation for Standardisation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation British Standards Institute (BSI) UK Government s Department for International Development (DFID) Bond USAID InsideNGO Irish Development Aid Agency Concord Swedish International Development Aid Civicus Belgian Government Department of Development Cooperation, NGO Federatie, ACODEV. Glaxo Smith Kline CIPFA, ICAEW, ACCA and other national accounting standard setting organisations attending a seminar on international financial reporting for Not-For-Profit organisations on 5 October 2015 UK Charities Commission Deloittes Agulhas: Open Knowledge PWC Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine KPMG Comic Relief ESSENCE Save the Children Fund Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Royal Society Swiss TPH European Commission Planet Earth Institute Fondation Merieux Danish Aid - Building Stronger Universities CHS Alliance