Working with Civil Society Organisations

Appraisal and Reporting Requirements

Funding Arrangement Lifecycle

Treasury Guidelines document the main stages in the life cycle of a funding arrangement. In summary these are:

Appraising a CSO Proposal or Request for Funding

All NZAID programmes should have a clearly stated, transparent and accountable process for receiving and making decisions on proposals, regardless of whether these are received on an ad hoc or contestable basis. Such process needs to be applied uniformly across the agency.

There are some key elements of which should be consistently required across the agency, though each funding window may have additional specific criteria and guidelines. This Guideline indicates the core information required when considering an organisations request for funding.

Note: If considering funding a New Zealand CSO, contact the KOHA-PICD Administrator¹ for information on whether the New Zealand NGO has an approved Organisational Profile before asking the CSO to provide detailed information which is already on file.

Information about the CSO

Brief history of the organisation including its aims and objectives; length of time the group has existed; membership/community links; mandate.
The management and governance structure including names of its trustees and office holders.
The organisation’s founding documentation.
Financial details including a description of the financial management system; income and expenditure over past 2-3 years.
Outline of programmes or activities undertaken internationally, or in the relevant country, by the organisation in past.
Evidence that the CSO meets the legal requirements in the country where it is based.

Information about the proposal

Purpose and objectives.
How the proposal contributes to the objectives of the NZAID Programme or Country Strategy.
Methodology to be used, and workplan for implementing the proposal including key dates and milestones.
Which groups within the community will benefit from, or be excluded from, the activities.
Support for the proposed activity from relevant community stakeholders.
What outcomes are expected and indicators of achievement.
Assessment of risks and possible constraints, and a risk management strategy if risks are significant.
Who will manage the funding and provide an acquittal, and their relevant skills/experience for this role.
History of the activity, including previous and current sources of funding
Describe other players working in this particular sector/field and whether there is potential for duplication or complementarity.
Experience of the organisation in working with similar sectors/activities, or how relevant expertise will be obtained.

What NZAID funds

NZAID does not usually provide funding for:

Capital expenditure (including vehicles and equipment) unless clearly an essential element of the overall Activity or programme

Recurrent activities (e.g. annual attendance at a vocational conference)

NZAID does not provide funding for:

Activities that are commercial or profit making for the CSO

Activities designed to promote or benefit a particular religious belief or group

Activities which are party political.

Drafting Funding Arrangements

The Contracts Team has a suite of templates for various types of funding arrangements. In addition, individually tailored instruments can be drafted to meet specific or unusual requirements. Additional guidance can also be found in other NZAID Guidelines and programme tools e.g. Designing In-Country Managed Funds.

No matter what type of funding arrangement is used it is critical that NZAID considers the risks, and plans, negotiates, manages and monitors the arrangement in such a way that NZAID can be held to account for its effective and efficient use of public funds.

Monitoring and Reporting

Reporting by CSOs should meet the expectations in NZAID’s Guidelines on Activity Monitoring and Guidelines on Activity Reporting which set out the principles and minimum requirements for partners’ reporting to NZAID on Activities that receive NZAID funding. They apply to the full range of aid modalities and contracting arrangements.

The frequency and content of reporting to NZAID should be dictated by the information needed for NZAID to meaningfully participate in its management role for the Activity. Frequency is also linked to the level of risk associated with the activity or with the organisation being funded, e.g. if the implementing partner is untested or has low capacity then more frequent reporting might be necessary to allow NZAID to quickly offer assistance or make decisions if problems arise. In some situations, annual reports plus a completion report suffice; in other situations, more frequent reports are needed to inform decision-making.

NZAID’s needs should be met in a way that is sensitive to the resources available and development context, and is proportionate to the assistance provided.

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