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Development Donors:

Development Donors:. who they are, what they want and how to deal with them IRI Seminar, May 2003. Development Donors. Who They Are. Types and Numbers. Three main types of donors, providing grants for international research and development: Bilateral Multi-lateral Foundations

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Development Donors:

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  1. Development Donors: who they are, what they want and how to deal with them IRI Seminar, May 2003

  2. Development Donors Who They Are...

  3. Types and Numbers • Three main types of donors, providing grants for international research and development: • Bilateral • Multi-lateral • Foundations • Approximately 50 major donors; perhaps 25-30 interested in IRI-type work

  4. Where do donors get their funds? • Bilateral (public) • all funds from treasury of one country • Multilateral (public) • funds from treasuries of many members • Foundation (private) • funds from endowments formed by companies or rich individuals

  5. Potential IRI Donors • Bilateral • USAID, DfID, SIDA, CIDA, Norad, AusAID • Multilateral • IFAD, AfDB, ADB, IADB, EU • Foundations • Rockefeller, Packard, Toyota, Gates

  6. Where are they? (a) Multi-lateral HQs • AfDB moving from Abidjan to Tunis • ADB in Manila • IADB, WB in Washington • IFAD in Rome • EU in Brussels

  7. Where are they?(b) bilateral donors • Headquarters are in national capitals • Field offices in the capitals of host countries • Large bilaterals often have regional offices • e.g. Nairobi, Accra, Bangkok, Delhi, Santiago • Multi-laterals and large foundations also have field and regional offices

  8. What sort of people? • Public donor personnel are civil servants -- mostly educated generalists, good at pushing paper • Large agencies employ a few scientists and/or contract with scientists to review proposals • Donor personnel are outward looking -- interested in other countries, other cultures, seeing development happen

  9. More on people... • Donor people don’t think of themselves as funding sources, but as development workers. • Donors like to be considered partners in development projects -- with valid ideas and experience. • Donors want to see more than dollar signs in your eyes!

  10. Donors aren’t scientists! • Timing: Donors think in 2 - 4 year projects (you will have to phase longer projects) • Output: Donors want impact, not results (you will have to think beyond results) • Politics: Donor work is very political (you will have to keep up with the news)

  11. Development Donors What They Want...

  12. Donor Goals • To differing extents, all dev. donors want: • poverty alleviation • protection of the environment • food security • improved quality of and access to: education, health, information, and communications • bio-diversity • For specific donor goals, see web sites, annual reports

  13. Donor interests depend on politics, national culture, history • Scandinavians like projects on environment, gender, equity. • US likes projects involving private sector. • French usually strong in francophone ex-colonies; UK in anglophone ex-colonies. • Swiss like mountain countries, like Nepal • Dutch like drainage and water projects

  14. Donors want impact • Impact = measurable improvements in currently bad conditions, such as: • increased incomes for poor families • increased nutrition of infants and mothers • universal access to clean drinking water • reversal of soil degradation and erosion • decreased incidence of infectious diseases

  15. Donors like topics that… • are sufficiently important to be worth doing • are internally approved (i.e. fit within your strategic plan) • are seen as a priority by your beneficiaries • are “managable” (i.e. there’s a good chance you’ll achieve your objectives in the project life, with the project budget)...

  16. They also like projects that... • have the right balance of risks and returns • attract strong research partners that have a comparative advantage to carry out the project • fit with the donor’s interests and grant portfolio • are within the donor’s budget

  17. An Important Topic... • An important topic for a donor is one which can make a real difference in the well-being of disadvantaged people in the countries where they work. • The more difference, and the more people helped, the better. (Remember, some donors take the bottom line and divide by the number of beneficiaries!)

  18. Which will they choose? • Projects can be strategic (done in a lab or office, opening up scientific doors) or applied (implemented in the real world, applying strategic results for beneficiaries) • Which do you think a development donor would more likely want to support and why?

  19. Answer... • Because donors are interest in development impact, they are likely to prefer applied research topics -- closer to the beneficiaries. • But, donors do recognize the need for strategic research to yield results that can be applied in the real world.

  20. So... • If you select a strategic research topic for external donor funding, you need to show, in detail, how and when the results of your work will ultimately make people better off. [Demonstrate impact.]

  21. Large or small? • Project size can be defined by the budget size. • Large and small are relative to the type of project. In ag research, roughly: small = under $150,000/3years medium = $150,000 - $350,000/3 years large = over $350,000/3 years

  22. Answer... • Donors like to make as many grants as possible to spread risks, increase linkages, get more impact. (Favors small topics) • But, grants mean lots of paperwork, meetings, decisions -- same effort for small or large projects. • So, it depends -- donors will not necessarily choose one or the other!

  23. 1- 2 objectives handful of sites limited number of partners Several objectives several sites in many countries several partner groups Simple or Complex?

  24. Which will donors like? • A simple project is more likely to succeed: • fewer things can go wrong • easier to manage • easier to achieve outputs • But donors like to maximize participation -- like many partners • So donors may support either type of topic!

  25. Imagine you are a donor, and must choose among... • A project to find a vaccine for AIDS • A project to build 100 schools in rural Cameroon • A project to grow substitute crops for opium in the Golden Triangle • A project to train scientists in how to write convincing proposals

  26. Taking into account... • Importance of the topic to you as donor • Priority to beneficiaries • Manageability • Risks and returns • Any other considerations… Which do you choose? Why?

  27. Dealing with Donors...

  28. Donor Intelligence ... • Needs gathering by as many spies as possible • Needs sharing with everyone with a need to know • Must constantly be updated • Must be managed (RMO) • Involves managers and scientists, so become a 007 in your field

  29. There is no substitute for personal interaction… • You can learn from colleagues • Or from the web, donor profiles, annual reports, etc. • But personal interaction is still the best way of arousing donor interest.

  30. This means visiting donors yourself... • When traveling to conferences, on home leave, to visit projects… • Take an extra day or two to visit donor offices for a get-to-know-each-other visit. • You will need to set this up in advance, take support materials, and follow up afterwards. • DON’T ASK FOR MONEY ON THE FIRST VISIT

  31. How to have a good first visit to a donor • Remember you are there for information, not money • Don’t take along draft concept notes • Do listen more than talk • Do treat the donor as an intelligent layperson, and a potential partner • And read Marian’s handout first!

  32. If you have some donor interest, from a previous visit, or in response to an RFP… • Design a project attractive to that donor • Write it up as a concept note • Get it approved internally • Get partners on board • Send it to a donor

  33. Only write a full proposal • If a donor is attracted by your concept note and asks for more details, or • If you are responding to a competitive grants program • A full proposal takes far more time, money and effort for you to write, and the donor to read.

  34. If the donor likes your proposal... • You will go into negotiations -- you need to prepare in advance • Be ready to cut your project to suit your donors needs • If the donor can give less than you asked for, you will need to cut your objectives • Nothing is so frustrating than an under-funded project!

  35. If you get a grant agreement… Maintain good donor relations by: • reporting regularly and honestly • telling bad news as well as good • encouraging donor visits to project • sounding out possible follow-on grant well in advance

  36. Future training -- how to: • Design a fundable project • Prepare a good concept note • Write a convincing proposal • Review and improve CNs and proposals • Negotiate with donors • Understand how donors review proposals, what turns them on and turns them off!

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