SW&FS Seed Money Facility - Call for proposals

Aim of the fund

The Facility is meant to support projects and activities that will contribute to the collective ambition of the SW&FS Partnership. Secondly, the Facility is aimed at activities that will trigger and financially (co)finance initiatives proposed by partnership members and with partners elsewhere.

The Facility is not meant to finance pilots or implementation projects, but it can help to initiate or develop or scale up proposals which can attract additional funding elsewhere.

Type of projects

We accept proposals for the following types of projects:

• Pilots/demonstrations;

• Projects geared towards advocacy, communication, and policy dialogues activities

• Projects aimed at strengthening local networks, partnerships and knowledge sharing

Project budget

The fund can provide financial support between €10.000 and €30.000 (including all relevant taxes) per eligible project. Project costs covered can include: staff costs, travel costs, training/workshop and other material costs. Overhead costs cannot be covered. Own investment (e.g. in-kind) can be included to close a project budget (and can also serve as an indicator of the need for the project, see Evaluation Criteria below).

The seed fund is managed by the NWP & NFP as convening partners of the Saline Water & Food Systems Partnership. The budget will be commissioned and contracted by NFP.

Focus countries

The Seed Money Facility will focus on the current Partner and Focus Countries for the Netherlands in development collaboration: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam and Yemen. 

Requirements to apply for the fund are the following:

• Activities need to take place in at least one of the focus countries, or in a combination of countries

• Projects assess and build upon the local context. Projects involve relevant LMIC stakeholders in the target country/region.

• On consortium composition and governance:

  • The consortium’s lead applicant is a LMIC-based organization.

  • At least one of the partners in the consortium is a Dutch entity

  • Public sector, private sector, NGOs and knowledge institutes can apply (on behalf of a consortium)

• Project activities do not directly benefit a single organization, but contribute to collaborative partnership building and pre-competitive project development.

• The budget of the project is between €10.000 and €30.000 (excl VAT).

• No replication of earlier projects or resubmissions.

• Projects are finalized (including submitting a final report) before 15 December 2024.

Projects preferably:

• Have a plan for the promotion and wide-spread dissemination of project results

• Constitute public-private partnerships.

• Are endorsed by the Embassy of the Netherlands in the target country/region.

• Seek complementarity with other or earlier initiatives.

Proposal assessment

As explained above, initiatives proposed by partnership members can be financially supported through this Facility. Proposals should be developed and submitted to the Partnership conveners. A committee of external evaluators will evaluate the proposal.
SW&FS's convening partners NFP and NWP are authorized to make decisions about these investments and are accountable to the donor (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

The criteria outlined below will serve to evaluate proposals and make well-argued decisions about whether to make funding available.

Administrative checks

• Proposal submitted completed and according to the template.

• Activities take place in shortlisted country/countries

• Budget is clear and complete

Evaluation criteria

A. Problem definition and contribution (20 points)

• Description of objectives and implementation activities, how to address salinity challenges

• Clear positioning of the initiative on the salinity ‘spectrum’ (adaptation/mitigation)

• Connection with partnership scope, objectives, vision and/or contribution to the main functions of the SW&FS Partnership

• Description of anticipated deliverables (direct outputs / longer term outcomes)

• Timeline including milestones
  
  

B. Consortium (10 points)

• Quality of the project implementing partnership; involving partners in the target country/region and the right Dutch/international partners.

• Consortium/partnership track record/portfolio
  
  

C. Budget (10 points)

• Argumentation about need for financial support including own investment or co-funding arrangements

• Reality check budget

• At least 10% of the time capacity should be allocated to the follow-up phase of the initiative (so after the formal project completion date)
  
  

D. Future prospects (10 points)

• Description of communication and dissemination plan about the results to other partners of SW&FS and if appropriate a wider audience

• Follow-up plan about scalability / driving follow-up of the initiative, including financing options

Publication of proposals and project results

Approved project proposals and final project results will be published on the interactive platform NFP Connects and on the website of NWP. In case of sensitive information, in agreement with the NFP and NWP, specific project information may be kept confidential. 

Timeline

Activity	Timing
Deadline for proposal submission	30 June
Informing applications on selection results	15 July
Project implementation	July - 30 November
Project reporting	15 December
Communication of project results	15 December

Proposal application

Proposals (see the application form at the top) can be submitted to Babette Bodlaender and Martijn van Staveren until the 30th of June.  

More information

More information and examples of previous Seed Money Projects can be found on the links below: 

• https://www.nfpconnects.com/conversations/regenerative-farming-and-digital-tools-for-salinity-control-in-egypt-iraq-and-jordan

• https://www.nfpconnects.com/conversations/developing-the-salinity-transition-approach-for-progress-stap

• https://www.nfpconnects.com/conversations/report-on-the-saline-agriculture-and-halophyte-agro-ecologies-conference

• https://www.nfpconnects.com/conversations/dealing-with-the-global-challenges-of-salinisation-drivers-challenges-and-solutions

• https://www.nfpconnects.com/conversations/wasag-international-forum-presenting-dutch-expertise-on-saline-agriculture