Evidence-Informed Policymaking Call for Proposals Supporting African Policy Research Institutions to Advance Government Use of Evidence Frequently Asked Questions as of May 11, 2018 Questions Regarding Eligibility for Organizations Which countries count as East and West Africa? Are other countries in Africa eligible to apply? We recognize that there are several ways to define the regions of East and West Africa. For the purposes of this call for proposals we defer to the regional lists for East and West Africa as defined by the Africa Development Bank. For East Africa this includes: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. For West Africa this includes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Organizations from African countries outside of these regions may not apply as lead or single organizations, but may participate as partners in collaborations led by eligible organizations from within these regions. Why is there a $1 million annual budget minimum for eligible organizations? Organizations are not necessarily required to have a $1 million annual budget. They are required to meet three of the four following criteria. They do not need to meet all four. Has been in operation for at least three years. Has had annual operating budget of at least $1 million in each of the last three years. Has received at least one grant from a U.S. private foundation, bilateral donor (including research councils), or multilateral development institution in at least one of the last three years. Is a registered charity in its home country. While we understand there are many high-impact policy research organizations that do not meet at least three of these four criteria, the criteria are in place for this initiative to ensure that candidate organizations have the capacity and experience necessary to meet the compliance and legal requirements of working with a US private foundation. These criteria apply to lead and 1
single organizations, not to other partners in a collaboration. If an organization uses a consortia/collaborating approach would their combined annual operating budgets be considered for eligibility? No. Each lead and single organization must meet the eligibility criteria on its own. What does it mean to be a registered charity in home country? This refers to an organization having a formal status as a not-for-profit entity. While the precise terms and eligibility requirements vary by country, typically this means the organization has applied to the relevant government agency, and has been granted by the government a status recognizing its work as having a public purpose rather than generating a profit. Generally, this also includes being given an official government document that can be shared with funders. Are Africa-based/registered offices of an International NGO or international research network with headquarters outside of Africa eligible to respond to the call? These are not eligible as lead or single organization applicants. However, they may serve as a partner in collaborative projects. Please provide more clarity on the criterion that the candidate organization has received at least one grant from a U.S. private foundation, bilateral donor (including research councils), or multilateral development institution in at least one of the last three years. This could include receiving funding from U.S. private foundations (e.g. Hewlett, Gates, Ford, Rockefeller), bilateral donors from other countries (e.g. DFID, IDRC, NORAD, SIDA) or multilateral development institutions (e.g. World Bank, AfDB). If an institution does not meet the USD $1 million operating budget criterion, can it consider having a fiscal sponsor to take care of that criterion? No. A lead or single organization must meet the eligibility criteria on its own, without a fiscal sponsor. As noted above, the $1 million budget criterion is one of four criteria; organizations need only meet three of these four. 2
Are East and West African members of networks based in other countries (e.g. African Research Universities Alliance, Africa Portal, etc.) eligible? An East or West African member organization is eligible to apply on its own behalf (if it meets other eligibility criteria), or as a lead organization in a collaboration. It may not apply on behalf of a network headquartered outside of these regions. However, a network headquartered outside of East or West Africa could be part of a partnership that is led by an East or West African policy research institution. Are UN agencies eligible to apply? UN agencies are not eligible to apply as lead or single organizations, but may be partners in a collaboration led by an eligible policy research institution based in East or West Africa. Can we apply for a single-organization and multi-organization grant? May a single organization be part of multiple teams that will submit proposals? Applicants may submit both one proposal as a single organization, and one proposal as a lead organization of a collaborative, but may not submit multiple proposals in either category. An organization may serve as partner on as many proposals as it believes it has capacity to execute if awarded, even if it has also submitted a proposal(s) as a lead and/or single organization. Please be mindful of institutional capacity to manage multiple projects, if approved. An organization that is applying for multiple projects must be sure the proposals are totally distinct. Each proposal will be considered on its own merits. How many organizations can participate in a collaborative project proposal? No more than three organizations may participate in a collaborative project, including the lead organization. Can current Hewlett Foundation grantees apply? Yes. Both organizations that have been awarded a grant from the Hewlett Foundation and organizations that receive funding from IDRC under the Think Tank Initiative are welcome to apply. Hewlett grantees should NOT apply to simply scale up activities Hewlett is already supporting. All applications will be reviewed on their own merits. A previous relationship with the Hewlett Foundation does not favor an application. 3
Questions Regarding Application Process Where do we submit proposals? Are there specific application questions? When you visit the proposal website (https://hewletteipafrica.fluidreview.com/) you will be asked to create an account. Once you create a user name and password you will enter the application process. You will have the opportunity to respond to the eligibility criteria, provide organizational information, submit responses to the proposal questions, and if relevant, list any partner organizations you plan to collaborate with. Is this a one-phase or two-phase proposal process? Submitting a first-round proposal by June 15 through the proposal website is the first step in the process. Hewlett Foundation staff will review first-round proposals and invite some applicants to submit more detailed second-round proposals. Hewlett Foundation staff will make final decisions about whether to support applicant organizations based on second-round proposals and a phone or in-person consultation with applicants. Do all organizations in a collaborative project have to submit proposal materials? Yes. For the first-round proposals, lead organizations will be responsible for submitting most of the content, in coordination with partners. Lead organizations will also be responsible for inviting partner organizations to respond to several questions specific to their organizations via the online application website. Must proposals be written in English? Yes. First-round proposals must be written in English. Questions regarding grants structure, size, term Why does the Call for Proposal not ask for a grant amount? What is the budget ceiling for grants? Our overall budget envelope for this call for proposals is up to $5 million. The size of each grant will depend on the number and range of potential grants, the size of applicant organization or project budget, and number of aligned proposals that are for single 4
organizations or collaborative projects. For organizations/collaborations invited to submit second-round proposals, we will invite proposals for specific grant amounts after discussion with Hewlett program staff. What is the expected duration of the awarded grants? Most grants will provide support for two years. In select cases, three-year grants may be available. The call refers to evidence-informed policy making as a long-term process. What is the measure of long-term? Achieving the three goals outlined in the call for proposals, particularly changing government capacities and motivations to use evidence, typically takes longer than the expected two-tothree year grant term. These timelines naturally vary by country and agency context, but for the purposes of this call for proposals, long-term means beyond the expected grant duration. This is why we ask applicants which of these longer-term goals they expect their work to contribute to, and to also articulate the specific outcomes they would seek during the grant period. How many applicants do you expect to fund? We expect to fund between 10 and 20 organizations through a combination of single organization and collaborative projects. Can the proposal be for the expansion of a project that has already received seed funding from another funder and if so, can the original funder be retained as a co-funder of the initiative? Yes, the proposal can be for the expansion of work previously funded by another funder. Yes, the project can be funded by multiple funders including Hewlett. Questions Regarding Goals and Eligible Activities What does it mean that stand-alone research projects are not eligible? This call for proposals is designed to support government use of policy research beyond a given research project, and even beyond a single organization s body of research. It is not designed to support individual research projects, even if they include a significant policy outreach 5
component. While research will be a part of proposed work, the primary purpose of this call for proposals is not to fund new research projects on specific topics such as a new paper or series of papers on regional trade integration, or urban growth patterns, or population dynamics for example. Are projects related to specific thematic (e.g. science and technology policy, demographic dividend) areas eligible under this call for proposals? As stated above, this call is not designed to support specific research projects. However, activities to advance evidence-informed policymaking often take place within specific sectors. Hewlett has no preference for which sectors applicants target. We do expect applicants to explain why they believe these sectors provide good opportunities to advance one or more of the three goals stated in the call for proposals. Can the project be subjected to a single country in East or West Africa or must we think about a combination of other countries in the same region? Proposed work may be focused on a single country or multiple countries. How many of the three goals should applicants focus on? Must applicants cover all components of a given goal? Applicants may focus on one, two or three goals though they should be mindful of the capacity, time and resources required to execute activities against multiple goals. The components described under each goal are illustrative, not required. Indeed, we are interested to see applicants ideas for advancing these goals. We look forward to seeing proposals for activities we have not yet considered or described. The call talks about strengthening capacities, motivation and processes necessary for government actors to use many forms of evidence. Could this then mean that the proposed programs could be a policy research, engagement and capacity building process? Yes, though this call for proposals is not designed to support individual research projects, even if they include a significant policy outreach component. Does the call allow for projects related to citizen-generated data from subnational levels? Yes. We do not have a preference for the kinds of data or evidence, or levels of government, 6
that applicant organizations work with. However, the project will only be eligible if it advances one or more of the three stated goals. 7