Development Marketplace 2005: Innovations for Livelihoods in a Sustainable Environment

Introduction

Through the Development Marketplace (DM), the World Bank seeks to identify and directly support innovative development ideas. Since its inception in 1998, DM has awarded roughly US$25 million to more than 500 projects through Global and Country-level Marketplaces. These are small-scale projects that not only deliver results, but also have the potential to be expanded or replicated elsewhere

The next DM, to take place in 2005, will promote innovative ideas in environment-related areas. The objective is to engage the development community in productive environmental initiatives and inventive partnerships that will test new approaches and offer high potential impact in poverty reduction, economic development, and environmental sustainability.

Proposals are welcome from a range of development innovators—civil society groups, social entrepreneurs, private foundations, academia, private sector corporations, as well as, staff from the World Bank and other donor organizations.

Theme

In the past, Global DMs have supported a broad range of initiatives. Development Marketplace 2005 (DM2005) will set the stage for a new thematic approach. The idea behind this approach is to incubate solutions to some of the most demanding challenges in a particular sector and to use the results to inform the thinking and knowledge sharing within the World Bank and in the development community at-large.

This first thematic Global DM will be on the environment. The theme Innovations for Livelihoods in a Sustainable Environment reflects the World Bank's efforts to promote global, national, and local leadership to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner and minimize environmental degradation. While growth is essential to reducing poverty and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), growth at any cost is not sustainable.

Poor people are severely affected when the quality and quantity of environmental resources are degraded. The lives of the rural poor are highly dependent on natural resources—arable land and water, livestock diversity, fish and bushmeat stock, forest products, and biomass. Poor people in urban and rural areas lack access to clean water, sanitation facilities, reliable energy supply, and clean air. Forests, which account for nearly 90 percent of terrestrial biodiversity, and contribute to the livelihoods of many people living in extreme poverty, are shrinking in most countries. An estimated 5 to 6 million people die each year, many of them children, due to water-borne diseases, air, and water pollution. The DM2005 theme focuses on improving the quality of growth within developing countries by supporting ideas that demonstrate local leadership in promoting environmentally sound economic development.

Eligibility Criteria

DM2005 is open to all, including Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), multilateral and bilateral development agencies (including the World Bank), private foundations, universities and schools, private sector groups, individuals, and local and municipal governments. Proposals will be screened to ensure that they conform to the following criteria:

• Implementing organization and partnerships: Proposals must be submitted in partnership with at least one other organization. DM is particularly interested in proposals from local organizations working in developing countries. Proposals from international organizations will be considered eligible only if their implementing partner is a local organization. Private businesses and individuals must include a non-profit partner such as NGOs/CSOs, multilateral/ bilateral development agency, foundation, university/school, or government. Municipal and local government agencies are eligible to apply in partnership with at least one of the other organizations mentioned above. Youth groups and organizations working with indigenous communities are encouraged to apply.
  
• Implementation time frame: Proposed activities must be completed within two years of receiving initial disbursement from Development Marketplace.
  
• Results: The output or results outlined in proposals should be measurable and demonstrate a direct impact on improving the environment and addressing poverty. Projects with the sole final output of research such as, publications or conferences/forums with no directly verifiable results will be ineligible.
  
• Maximum award size: The maximum award size in DM2005 will be US$150,000. Awards to winners vary in size according to the needs outlined in their proposals. In past years, typical awards were between US$50,000 to US$100,000.
  
• Past winners and ongoing country DMs: If your project is already being funded by the World Bank Group or the Global Environment Facility or if you are a past DM winner (Global or Country-level), you may submit a proposal that is significantly different from the project or idea for which you have received funding. You may not submit the same idea or project. If you have submitted a proposal to any of the current country-level DMs (Argentina/Chile/Paraguay/Uruguay, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi/Zambia/Zimbabwe, Mexico, Nepal, Lebanon and Turkey) you may not be eligible to send a proposal to DM2005. If you have any questions, please contact the Development Marketplace team at DMinfo@worldbank.org.
  
• Language: Proposals must be submitted in English. If you are unable to submit a proposal in English, please contact World Bank Beijing office Public Information Center (PIC) for a referral service at telephone number: 010-58617852. Please note that the PIC offices will not pay for the cost of translation services.

Assessment Criteria

Proposals will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Sustainability of use, management, or protection of the environment and natural resources
  
• Innovation
  
• Realism and Results
  
• Sustainability (organizational, financial, economic as relevant)
  
• Replicability and Scaling up

How to Apply

PROPOSALS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE WEBSITE. For instructions and detailed information on how to apply, please visit our website at www.developmentmarketplace.org. If you are unable to access the internet or the website, please contact the DM team at (202) 522-2042 by fax or send an e-mail to: DMinfo@worldbank.org. THE DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE TEAM MUST RECEIVE YOUR PROPOSAL BY 6 P.M. (WASHINGTON LOCAL TIME OR 23:00 GMT) ON JANUARY 21ST 2005.

DM2005 Timeline and Key Steps

Development Marketplace process is guided by the values of inclusiveness, diversity, fairness, and transparency. The overall process is described below.

November 19, 2004 – January 21, 2005: Call for proposals
All proposals for DM2004 should be submitted through our website (www.developmentmarketplace.org).

January – March 30th, 2005: Review of proposals
Proposals will be assessed against the assessment criteria mentioned above.

March 30th, 2005: Announcement of finalists
Assessors will select roughly 50-60 finalists.

April 1st-April 29th, 2005: Finalists' proposals
All finalists will be asked to submit a more detailed proposal by April 29th.

June 6-7th, 2005: Environment Development Marketplace 2005

The Environment Development Marketplace will be held on June 6-7, 2005 as one of the World Bank's major contribution to the World Environment Day (June 5th). At the Marketplace, an independent jury comprised of World Bank staff and leading individuals in development outside the Bank (academia, civil society, foundations, government, other donor institutions, and the private sector) will evaluate each proposal and select about 20-30 winners.

To take advantage of the presence of a variety of actors in development in one place, DM convenes a Knowledge Exchange to expose and engage the development community in productive and inventive partnerships and networks. Here, finalists have the opportunity to meet with other representatives of the development community and exchange ideas and form networks.

Awards

The World Bank Group expects to provide roughly US$3 million in Development Marketplace Awards to the winners selected by an international jury. Other award categories maybe announced at the event, or in the run-up to the event.

For more information, please visit the Development Marketplace homepage.