 Â The Small Grants Program in Lebanon - 2005
 The World Bank Lebanon Office launched on January 17, 2005 the Small Grants Program to Civil Society Organizations.  The Small Grants Program (SmGP) was created in 1983 to complement and facilitate the social development agenda of the World Bank by providing grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) through Country Offices with a focus on civic engagement. Civic engagement is defined as citizens, either individually or as organized groups, interacting with the public sector to strengthen mechanisms for inclusion, accountability, and participation in order to enhance and influence development outcomes.   Outcomes of Civic Engagement  Civic Engagement can... Promote public consensus and local ownership for reforms and for national poverty reduction and development strategies by creating knowledge-sharing networks, building common ground for undertsanding, encouraging public-private cooperation, and sometimes even diffusing tensions; Give voice to the concerns of primary and secondary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalized populations, and help ensure that their views are factored into policy and program decisions; Strengthen and leverage impact of development programs by providing local knowledge, identifying potential risks, targeting assistance, and expanding reach, particularly at the community level; Bring innovative ideas and solutions to development challenges at both the local and global levels; Improve public transparency and accountability of development activities, contributing to the enabling environment for good governance.
 The purpose of the SmGP is to support the empowerment of citizens to have greater ownership of development processes, thereby making these processes more inclusive and equitable. The SmGP support activities that promote dialogue, dissemination, and linkage among organizations. Through these projects, the SmGP reaches out, directly or indirectly, to groups that have traditionally been marginalized or excluded from civic participation. It is important to distinguish between direct service delivery (which the SmGP does NOT support) and activities that foster new relationships, and ideas about civic engagement.   THE FY2005 ROUND OF THE SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM IN LEBANON  The Fy2005 allocation made by the Small Grants Program Committee to the Lebanon Country Office is of $US34,000.   BEFORE YOU APPLY  The World Bank Small Grants Program is able to fund only a very small percentage of the requests it receives. Many requests are declined, not because they lack merit, but because they do not match either the current objectives, or the criteria of the Small Grants Program as closely as the selected proposals. Your activity may fall within the objectives and criteria, but the demand far surpasses the availability of funds.   WHO CAN APPLY? Civil society organizations based in a developing country and working on issues of development can apply for a grant. Civil society organizations must be in good standing and have a record of achievement in the community and record of financial probity; Priority will be given to organizations not supported by the Program in previous years (organizations are not eligible for more than three grants from the Small Grants Program within a five-year period).
 WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES ARE SUPPORTED?  The Small Grants Program supports activities whose primary objective is civic engagement. In addition: Activities may include, but are not limited to workshops and seminars to enhance civic engagement skills and/or knowledge; appropriate communication campaigns to influence plocymaking or public service delivery; or innovativenetworking efforts to build the capacity of the particular sector. The activity should be completed within one year of the date the grant is awarded. Priority shall be given to organizations that have not been supported by the Program in previous years.
 WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES ARE NOT SUPPORTED?  Small Grants cannot fund: Research programs, formal academic training programs, operational projects, provision of basic services, ongoing institutional core support (such as equipment), scholarships, fellowships, study programs, individuals applying on their own behalf, or non-legal entities. proposed activities should not compete with or substitute for regular World Bank instruments; the activity should be clearly distinguishable from the Banks' regular programs.   WHAT SIZE OF GRANTS ARE AWARDED?  Most grants are in the range of $3,000 to $7,000 with a maximum of $15,000. The Small Grants Program rarely funds more than half of the proposed budget for an activity, and therefore prefers that its grants help leverage additional contributions from other sources. Applicant organizations are asked to describe how a grant from the World Bank might help them to raise matching funds from other donors.  HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT?  The Small Grants Program is administered out of the Lebanon Country Office. The FY2005 round was launched on January 17, 2005. Interested CSOs are invited to submit their proposals, along the sample application form provided below. The SmGP Committee makes decisions only once a year. Applicants are advised to read the criteria and the application form carefully before submitting an application. Applications are screened and reviewed to ensure that the criteria are met. The Small Grants Program gives full consideration to all proposals.  APPLICATION PROCESS  If you intend to apply to the SmGP, we will expect to receive from you a preliminary one-page draft summary proposal by February 18, 2005. This draft proposal should cover the following points: Your final proposal should be submitted as per the attached Sample Application Form in hard copy to the World Bank Office by March 24, 2005.  Sample-Application-Form.doc  The SmGP Country Office Committee will screen and review applications to ensure eligibility criteria, and grants awarded will be announced by the end of April 2005. Disbursement of the grantss must be completed by May 15, 2005.   THE SMGP IN LEBANON  The Lebanon Country Office has been part of the Small Grants Program for five consecutive years now.  The Country Office normally contacts a selected long list of NGOs and civil society organizations--potential applicants whohave the ability to submit relevant proposals. usually, about 25 to 30 organizations are contacted, based on a survey of NGO sector in Lebanon, and which gave a clear idea of their capacity and line of work and potential role in poverty reduction in the country.  Since Lebanon is a small country, most NGOs work in a variety of community based initiatives. So while you can find few NGOs that are specialized in gender or disability for example, most NGOs work in many community based activities in order to be viable organizationally and address all the needs at the grassroots level. Therefore, we don't forget thematic NGOs as such, although w edo select NGOs based on themes, such as gender the first round of proposals in 2001, and empowerement during the second round in 2002 and disability in the third round in 2003.   GRANTEES OF THE SMGP IN LEBANON  In FY01, The World Bank Office funded innovative activities by NGOs in the amount of US$30,000.  Save the Children Fund (US$15,000) The Grant was used for conducting Training of Trainers on the Arab Women Speak Out (AWSO) model which is indigenous model that rests upon the presentation of documented success stories of Arab women who were able to induce change in their family and community. Through the exploration of the lives of those role models, AWSO is able to influence other Arab women's ability to act. The AWSO training modules include documentary films on women challenges and success stories, discussion guides, a training manual for self-empowerement geared towards staff and community partners and a case study publication. The training component of the project seeks to empower women at the grassroots.  Center for Research & Training on Development (US$15,000) Gender Relations Analysis (GRA) focuses on the program dimension of gender training to allow program planner, implementers and evaluators to use GRA to develop or evaluate effective development interventions. GRA is a systematic approach for assessing and understanding the different impact of development on women and men because of their different gender roles. As gender roles are defined in all aspects of living, effective gender relations analysis will cut across different gender interests within and outside the household, and different program emphasis, such as health, economic development, education and humanitarian assistance. Additionally as gender difference define individual identity from the eraliest stages of life, gender relations analysis must be applied to and is relevant to all ages.  The NGOs-IRIS project included the 4 following activity components: 1) Development and distribution of a Monthly NGO and Social Development Bulletin (re-named Al Majal); 2) Design and implementation of two short workshops on NGOs and Communication on Poverty and Social Development Issues; 3) Compilation and Publication of three special "Poverty & Social Development Dossiers"; 4) Developing a special interactive resources library on NGOs, civil society and social development.  In FY02, The World Bank Lebanon Office funded innovative activities by NGOs in the amount of US$35,000.  Imam Al Sadr Foundation (US$17,500) The purpose of the grant was to support the development of the Arabic Glossary of Development Terms which will address a major deficiency in the Arabic language, and will contribute to better understanding and access of local and regional NGOs as well as other stakeholders to the terminology used by most development organizations and international donors.  Amel Association ($17,500) The purpose of the grant was to support the empowerment and civic engagement of women ex-detainees or women members of families of ex-detainees living in the former occupied areas of South Lebanon, in order to promote their participation, engagement and decision - making capabilities.  In FY03, The World Bank Lebanon Office funded innovative activities by NGOs in the amount of US$45,000.  National Association for the Rights of Disabled People in Lebanon (US$15,000) The Grant was used for the preparation and publication of a mobility directory for people with physical disabilities and the blind. The directory would provide them with a guide to help identify the accessibility of various public and private complexes and buildings. The directory also aims at providing lobbying organizations with a tool in assessing the accomplishment and tardiness in the application of the Lebanese Law which was approved in May 2002 stating that the public spaces should be made accessible to the handicapped within a period of 5 years.  Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (US$15,000) The project involves the training of trainers of disabled people on HIV/AIDS/STD prevention education, as a preliminary step to reaching people with various disabilities (motion, visual, hearing and mental impairments). The project would create a core group of trainers on HIV/AIDS/STD for disabled persons, create and raise awareness among the disabled, involve the family members of the disabled, and engage disabled persons in peer education and awareness raising.  SESOBEL (US$15,000) The grant finances the production of a manual relative to the upbringing of the disabled child (mental, physical, behavioral disorder) within his family. The manual would provide a comprehensive that takes into consideration the disabled child needs in his family and his environment for a life of dignity from birth to death. The manual would cover the needs of the disabled child on four levels: Education, health, rehabilitation and social and familial environment. In each of the above listed levels, the needs and requirements of the disabled child as well as an evaluation of his/her progress based on clearly set indicators and monitoring indices will be elaborated along various categories of handicaps and age groups.  In FY04, the World Bank Lebanon Office funded innovative activities by NGOs in the amount of US$45,000.  Association for Volunteer Services (US$10,000) The grant's objective is to develop, publish and distribute a manual entitled: "Learning to Serve: Education, Volunteering and Community Service", in both Arabic and English editions, to guide schools and universities and their community partners in how to develop in them a lifelong spirit of civic engagement. The manual would initially target current faculty, staff and students of 120 public and private shools and 10 universities throughout the country, with a priority given to schools perceived to gather some of the most marginalized population groups.  Lebanese Development Forum (US$10,000) The grant is to support the production of a Compact Disc (CD) on the issue of Adolescence in the Arab World, based on the Report entitled "The Arab Adolescent Girls: Reality and Prospects" to be used as a reference training tool to increase inter-generation public awareness and promote effective networking. The product targets the Youth community at large, in addition to trainers, teachers, social workers, parents,...  Mouvement Social (US$10,000) The proposal calls for giving voice to the poor and showing the concrete living conditions of a large marginalized segment of the population through the production of a short film where the poor are role models and heroes, and based on it conduct workshops within the NGOs community to raise their involvement in development, and launch a public media campaign to develop civic engagement of citizens against poverty.  The Lebanese Association of Educational Studies (US$10,000) The grant is to support raising awareness about the right of marginalized school-age students, and provide educators and school administrators with the basic knowledge and tools to identify and attend to academic, emotional and social needs of marginalized students. The proposal targets about 400 staff among school administrators, program coordinators, teachers, support staff, counselors, social workers, educational researchers... in public and private schools.  For further information, contact: Zeina El Khalil, Public Information Associate zelkhalil@worldbank.org Tel: 01-987800 ext. 234              |
RSS