Guidelines For Application Of Profor Funding

Guidelines for Application for PROFOR Funding

Profor is a multi-donor trust fund supported by:

This document is a product of the PROFOR Secretariat. It does not necessarily reflect the views of PROFOR’s donors.

Table of Contents

I. About PROFOR.............................................................................................3 Overview of the Four Thematic Focal Areas ............................................................3 Donors and Advisory Board.....................................................................................4 Project Portfolio .......................................................................................................4

II. Activity Cycle and Criteria for Eligibility ...................................................5 The Application Process ..........................................................................................5 Criteria for PROFOR Engagement ..........................................................................5 Establishment of Agreement and Disbursement of Funds .......................................7

III. ANNEX 1 – Activity Concept Note Form ...................................................8 IV. ANNEX 2 – Activity Reporting Form .......................................................11

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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I. About PROFOR PROFOR is a multi-donor partnership formed to pursue a shared goal of enhancing forests’ contribution to poverty alleviation and sustainable development through improved knowledge and approaches for sustainable forest management (SFM). To this end, PROFOR encourages the transition to a more socially and environmentally sustainable forest sector supported by sound forest policy and institutions that take a holistic approach to forest management. To this end, PROFOR generates knowledge on topics critical to four key thematic areas: forests’ contribution to the livelihoods of the rural poor, forest governance, innovative financing for SFM, and crosssectoral cooperation. PROFOR is hosted at the World Bank within the Sustainable Development Network (SDN). Through partnerships, PROFOR forms a flexible network with governments, international organizations, leading policy research institutions, and non-governmental organizations working toward the common goal of a sustainable forest sector.

Overview of the Four Thematic Focal Areas PROFOR’s work is guided by four broad thematic focal areas. Each year, PROFOR selects a few topics critical to these themes upon which to focus its work. A livelihoods approach to poverty reduction Meeting subsistence needs, reducing vulnerability, overall poverty reduction, and increased participation in market activities are all important in the approach taken in this area. A livelihoods approach seeks to identify the main contributions that forests can make to the livelihoods of the poor, including subsistence products from forests that complement what can be produced from the household farm, income from employment in public or industrial forestry or forest product processing, and household or small-scale activities in the informal sector. Through data collection and the development of analytical tools, PROFOR aims to contribute to a better understanding of forests as a source of livelihoods and to develop awareness of potential adverse impacts some policies or initiatives may have on forest livelihoods. Promoting good forest governance Forest governance encompasses topics relating to how forest resources are managed, ranging from how decisions about forest use are made and who is involved in the decision-making process, to the enforcement of forest laws and policy on the ground. PROFOR aims to enhance accountability in the forest sector and to align government, private sector and civil society interests and responsibilities to establish more equitable forest use decision-making practices. It seeks to facilitate improved forest sector governance and reform through analysis and sharing experiences to inform such processes and by providing opportunities for dialogue among stakeholders. Through data collection and analytical research on governance and forest law enforcement challenges, PROFOR aims to improve understanding of this complex and highly political issue, and to identify tactics and tools to address corruption and forest crimes. Innovative approaches to financing SFM Creating a sustainable forest sector requires innovation in both the practice and financing of forest management. A particular area of interest is reform of market structures to make sustainable forestry more profitable than unsustainable forest exploitation. This will involve assessment of potential forest revenue generation from both traditional and innovative financing options, including the restructuring of existing economic and fiscal instruments, and the development of markets and mechanisms to capture the environmental services provided by forests, such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and watershed protection. It will require investigation of what is needed to encourage governments to adopt policies that create enabling conditions for investment in SFM, and for the private sector to engage such investments. Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-466-2424 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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Guidelines for

Funding

Through stakeholder consultations, PROFOR supports dialogue to resolve conflicting interests in forest markets and to create opportunities for private sector-community partnerships that encourage equitable distribution of benefits.

Cross-sectoral cooperation Sustainable forest management practices and goals are sometimes influenced by shifts in macroeconomic policy or activities in other sectors such as agriculture, energy, mining, and transportation. Through support to national forest programs or similar multi-sectoral participatory and analytical processes, PROFOR works to identify cross-sectoral policies that support the goal of sustainable forest management. Additionally, PROFOR contributes to the development of mechanisms for management of macroeconomic policy changes so as to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts and maximize positive forest outcomes. Knowledge and tools for a sustainable forest sector PROFOR activities build experience and generate knowledge in the four thematic areas through a combination of research and analytical work, project support, and knowledge and learning events. The type of product that result from PROFOR activities include toolkits, case studies and synthesis reports, policy recommendations and publications.

Donors and Advisory Board PROFOR is funded by the governments of Finland, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Union. An Advisory Board provides strategic guidance to PROFOR and helps to set the annual priority topics to guide development of the PROFOR portfolio. The Advisory Board holds one formal meeting each year, maintaining an active role through correspondence and informal meetings in the interim.

Project Portfolio PROFOR’s portfolio is diverse, comprising activities related to the four thematic areas at the international, regional or country level. Projects are demand-driven by governments and other stakeholders, and to the greatest extent possible take the form of multi-partner, larger-scale initiatives rather than stand-alone activities. PROFOR gives special emphasis to projects with high potential for lesson learning and significant gains in knowledge that are transferable and relevant to a wide range of situations. The complete criteria are in Section II below.

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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Guidelines for

Funding

II. Activity Cycle and Criteria for Eligibility The Application Process PROFOR will have two “windows” for submitting applications: (i) request for proposals on priority topics (RFP) and (ii) rapid response. The RFP will be focused on priority topics associated with the four thematic areas of PROFOR. At present, the timing for the RFPs is on a periodic basis, with at least one request per calendar year. Rapid response proposals are accepted on a flexible basis for very special instances where there is a unique opportunity to contribute to an urgent forest sector policy matter(s), typically through targeted analytical work. Independent of the proposal submission “window”, interested entities should complete a concept note for a proposed activity (Annex 1), including an activity schedule and detailed budget, and submit it to the PROFOR Secretariat. The concept notes are screened by the PROFOR Secretariat to verify that the criteria (see below) for funding are fulfilled. The proposals are then circulated to issue area experts for feedback. Subsequently, qualifying activities are assessed by a quantitative evaluation methodology to determine and document which activities will be funded based on highest relevance to PROFOR’s objectives and resources available. The completed concept note should be submitted to: PROFOR Secretariat The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, MC5-514 Washington DC, 20433 USA Tel: +1-(202)-458-4822 Fax: +1-(202)-522-1142 E-mail: [email protected]

Criteria for PROFOR Engagement In order to be eligible for PROFOR funding, any activity must meet the criteria set out in Table 1 below. In short, these criteria assure that an activity meets PROFOR’s strategic objectives, is relevant to one or more of the priority topics and/or thematic areas outlined above, and fits into PROFOR’s funding envelope and timeframe. Table 1: Criteria for PROFOR engagement Criteria

Components

Relevance to PROFOR’s thematic areas and objectives

Clear relevance to one or more of the four thematic focus areas: • Potential of the activity to contribute to economic development and livelihoods of forest dependent households and communities (especially regarding extreme poverty and indigenous groups) • Potential to address governance-related issues and challenges in the forest sector that seriously limit the sector’s contribution to broader sustainable development objectives and strategies (e.g. decentralization,

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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Guidelines for

Funding

major conflicts of interests between various actors, accountability problems) • Potential to improve internal revenue generation and attract investment in improved forest management • Potential to contribute towards cross sectoral and macroeconomic development objectives and strategies through forests Feasibility, significance and sustainability of the work

• Concept is unambiguous, with a clear focus and an attainable objective

Reputation and capacity of applicant organization

• Applicant organization is a recognized / legitimized entity in the development community or by the host country(s)

Strong national/ international demand and political will for partnership with PROFOR (for proposals with country or region specific elements)

• Indication of the initiative’s sustainability (follow-up strategy, fund leveraging, integration, likelihood of upscaling, etc.)

• A high degree of confidence that the initiative’s proponent will deliver on the outputs and outcomes described in the concept note • Strong capacity and willingness of the involved country(s) to promote exchange of experiences in forest related regional or sub-regional fora for direct • Sufficient political commitment to address/engage in a constructive dialogue on the issues and constraints identified as key for PROFOR engagement • Willingness to initiate necessary policy reviews and strategic planning processes focused on identified issues • Willingness to set up appropriate structures and mechanisms for stakeholder participation (e.g. consultative mechanisms, participatory planning processes, conflict resolution mechanisms etc.) in analysis and dialogue on the issues •

Willingness to share information at national and international levels

• Integration within identified national forest program (nfp) activities and country priorities • Priority given to the PROFOR thematic issues in the nfp process/sectoral policies/sectoral plans and programs Relevance to donor priorities

• Compatibility with donor priorities and, where relevant, developing possible synergies and leverage from linking PROFOR activities to donor programs in-country

Relevance to broader World Bank country programs, to take advantage of access, leverage and synergies which will result from such coordination

• Activities which complement on-going economic policy and country dialogue, and major structural adjustment or programmatic operations which may impact on the forest sector or be influenced by potential developments in forests

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

• (and/or) Activities which complement on-going or planned forest sector lending or forest related issues-based lending, IFC activities, other activities of the Bank’s Global Partnership Programme, and/or major GEF

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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Guidelines for

Funding

funding • (and/or) Activities which complement major on-going or planned investments in other sectors which may impact on the forest sector (e.g. mining, dams, roads, agricultural/rural development) Potential for: (i) significant gains in knowledge, (ii) high applicability to a wide range of situations, and (iii) high potential for effective dissemination Scale of impact of suggested activity on forest conservation and development outcomes

• Clear definition of problems where analytical work will have high likelihood of success in producing improved performance in the four thematic areas • Interest in promoting and facilitating a broad-based dialogue with all important groups of governmental and civil society stakeholders, and in special efforts to support the participation of marginalized groups (e.g. the rural poor) • Ability to generate tangible outcomes or results (analytical work, policy papers, tools etc.) •

Plan for effective dissemination of results

•

Potential for influencing broad/global policy dialogue

•

Potential for significant poverty reduction

• Potential for forest sector and/or forest governance reforms developed to be implemented in support of broader sustainable development goals •

Potential for leveraging new and innovative SFM financing

• Potential of suggested activities to protect or enhance key local and global environmental services or values through nfp processes Funding (including other funding sources) and detailed timeframe

• Description of counterpart funds and / or expected significant leveraging of counterpart or donor funds • Proposal stays within the indicative PROFOR funding levels (to not exceed 150,000 USD) and the implementation schedule coincides with an operating timeframe of typically less than two years

Establishment of Agreement and Disbursement of Funds For approved activities, a contractual agreement is established between the World Bank as PROFOR’s host institution and the implementing entity. The contract specifies a schedule for funds disbursement linked to product delivery. Recipients of PROFOR funds are required to submit periodic reports on the status of implementation of activities. A format for reporting every six months is provided in Annex 2.

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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III. ANNEX 1 – Activity Concept Note Form Activity Concept Note Form Activity title: (insert name of activity)

Instructions: The concept note must not exceed 2500 words. Additional materials may be annexed. Date prepared: 1. Geographical focus (specific country, specific region or global) 2. Objective (200 words) 3. Background and issues to be addressed (1-2 paragraphs on relevant background and problem statement) 4. Relevance to PROFOR thematic areas (Clearly state relevance to one or more PROFOR thematic areas: livelihoods, governance, financing SFM, and/or cross-sectoral cooperation) 5. Activity and outputs (3-4 paragraphs describing how activity will be implemented and expected outputs) 6. Activity timeline, key milestones and indicators for progress Activities Duration:

Activities

______________________

1

2

3

4

5

6

Months (in the Form of a Bar Chart) 7 8 9 1 1 12 Number of Months 0 1 …

Subtotal (1)

Subtotal (2)

Subtotal (3)

Subtotal (4) Reports Due : (flag on month timeline)

Key Milestones : (Please list with month expected) (also see Table 3-Estimated Disbursement Schedule in Budget section below.)

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

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7. Expected outcomes and impacts (3-4 paragraphs describing expected outcomes from the activity, including impacts on the ground, follow-up strategy, likelihood for up-scaling and integration into policy processes, and indicators for assessing impact) 8. Expected knowledge generation (1-2 paragraphs on the knowledge management and dissemination strategy) 9. World Bank, PROFOR Donor, national policy or other project activities supported by this proposal (For proposals with country or region specific elements, list the ongoing national processes or projects that this activity would support, and its relevance to broader World Bank or donor country programs. For global activities, list the relevance to donor and country priorities that this activity supports.) 10. Assumptions and Risks (List any political, economic or other assumptions underpinning this activity, and outline any risks or opportunites that could cause difficulties in implementation or changes in timeline). 11. Activity proponent(s) (List individuals proposing the activity and who will be responsible for preparing scope of work, supervising implementation and reporting. Include title and full contact information.) 12. The proponent’s comparative advantage in implementing this activity 13. Agreed-on collaborators and partners (List collaborators/partners in the activity.) 14. Total budget (Specify total budget, counterpart funds, funds requested from PROFOR and any leveraging of other funding sources, as well as detailed budget and disbursement schedule)

Table 1: Funding Overview PROFOR Funding Other sources (disaggregated by source) Total

$ $ $

Table 2: Detailed Budget (Please read the Notes below before completing this section) Sub-Activity 1 Description: Items

Unit rate (USD)

Total no. units (e.g., person days)

Estimated costs (USD)

PROFOR’s contribution (USD)

Other sources’ contribution (USD) (please specify source)

Staff Expenses (specify): Staff time Consultant Fees: International Consultant Fees: Local WB Staff time (if relevant) Travel (unit = no. of round trips) Per Diem/Subsistence Other Expenses (Specify): Capital investment costs Publications Dissemination Workshops ….

SUB-TOTAL ACTIVITY 1 Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

[table continues below] 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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Sub-Activity 2 Description: Items

Unit rate (USD)

Total no. units (e.g., person days)

PROFOR’s contribution (USD)

Estimated costs (USD)

Other sources’ contribution (USD) (please specify source)

Staff Expenses (specify): Staff time Consultant Fees: International Consultant Fees: Local WB Staff time (if relevant) Travel (unit = no. of round trips) Per Diem/Subsistence Other Expenses (Specify): Capital investment costs Publications Dissemination Workshops ….

SUB-TOTAL ACTIVITY 2 TOTAL AMOUNT Notes for Completing Budget Table: • Please provide figures by sub-activity. • Please insert as many rows as needed to accommodate all grant activities. • Please insert as many columns as needed to accommodate all sources of funding other than PROFOR. • Staff expenses should be disaggregated by staff time, consultants (distinguishing international and national consultants), and when relevant WB Staff; • When specifying consulting fees please provide unit rate as USD per days and total number of units as the duration of the assignment (total number of days); • Travel and per diem/subsistence costs should be broken down by national/international consultant; • When expenses include workshop costs please provide the lump sum cost per workshop. In a footnote, please provide the projected duration of the workshop (number of days) and number of participants and experts involved

TABLE 3: Estimated Disbursement Schedule Estimated Disbursement Schedule1/ Total Amount requested from PROFOR: Months from Milestones: 1 2 inception of activity(ies)2/:

3

4

5

…

Footnotes: 1/ This disbursement schedule should be linked to the milestones specified in the concept note 2/ Please specify the months from inception when milestones will be achieved IMPORTANT PROFOR TFs can be extended only once based on concrete justification and satisfactory implementation status.

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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IV. ANNEX 2 – Activity Reporting Form Activity Reporting Form ACTIVITY: (insert name of activity) Project code: (insert PROFOR assigned project code)

Instructions: The outcome brief is limited to 1000 words pages, and should relate directly to Activity Concept Note. Additional materials may be annexed. Date prepared: 1. Geographical focus (specific country, specific region or global) 2. Objective (specify the original objective and if any aspect of the objective has changed) 3. Activity and output: progress to date (3-4 paragraphs describing how activity is being implemented and any initial outputs) 4. Findings (either preliminary or final) (1-2 paragraphs describing preliminary or final findings of activity) 5. Impacts (2-3 paragraphs describing any outcomes, and progress in mainstreaming or linking the activity with ongoing World Bank, PROFOR donors, or project activities and/or processes) 6. Progress against milestones and indicators (specify the original milestones and indicators and briefly describe progress against these and explain any delays and/or lack of progress against indicators) 7. Opportunities and/or obstacles/issues related to implementation of activity (1-2 paragraphs summarizing any opportunities and/or challenges that have affected implementation of the activity. Please refer back to assumptions/risks of Activity Concept Note) 8. Changes to original activity time schedule (Present original activity time schedule, and any changes and justifications for these changes. Please note that satisfactory implementation status and a concrete justification that describes how obstacles holding up the process have been/will be overcome is necessary for approval of proposed changes).

Activities Activity 1: (intended) (actual) Activity 2: (intended) (actual) Etc.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Months (in the Form of a Bar Chart) 7 8 9 10 11 12… Number of Months Subtotal (1) Subtotal (2)

9. Next steps (1-2 paragraphs describing proposed next steps, including follow-up activities and opportunities) Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

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10. Replication potential (1-2 paragraphs exploring replication potential within the same country, region or globally, or in other sectors) 11. Budget

Table 1: Funding Overview PROFOR Funding Other sources (list) TOTAL PROFOR Funds used to date Total Funds used to date

$ $ $ $ $

Table 2: Detailed Disbursement Specify calendar year Year 1 (i.e., 2008)

PROFOR funds used to date (by cost category and year)

Co-Financing funds used to date (aggregate)

Staff Expenses (specify): Staff time Consultant Fees: International Consultant Fees: Local WB Staff time (if relevant) Travel and Per Diem/ Subsistence Other Expenses (Specify): Capital investment costs Publications Dissemination Workshops ….

Subtotal Year 2 (specify) Staff Expenses (specify): Staff time Consultant Fees: International Consultant Fees: Local WB Staff time (if relevant) Travel and Per Diem/Subsistence Other Expenses (Specify): Capital investment costs Publications Dissemination Workshops ….

Subtotal Etc…

TOTAL

Program on Forests (PROFOR) World Bank

1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, 20433 email: [email protected] tel: +1 (202)-458-4822 Fax: +1 (202)-522-1142 http://www.profor.info

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