Investing For Impact Amon Mrutu Dixit Chauhan

1. Investing For Impact Amon Mrutu Dixit Chauhan

2. What is the Foundation for Civil Society? Foundation is an established non-profit company The Foundation was registered on 24th Sept, 2002 under Cap 212.

3. Why create a ‘Foundation’? To: • improve access to resources and capacity building and meet the diversity of needs within Civil Society • facilitate and open opportunities for CSOs to grow in stages and strengthen the critical mass of CSOs • Create space to explore and create alternative and innovative approaches to development via organisations as nurturers for new ideas .

4. Our new Mission To provide grants and other capacity building support to civil society organisations to enable citizens including the vulnerable and poor (economically disadvantaged) to: • Access information and understand their rights, laws and policies • engage effectively in policy, monitoring and dialogue on poverty reduction. • Contribute to social development and to constructively hold the Government, and private sector, to account.

5. How does it aim to meet its mission? • Allocate resources systematically and professionally • Providing grants of varying sizes • Providing organizational capacity building services • Strengthening dialogue between CSOs, Gov’t and the private sector through networking and coalition building efforts; and • Measuring the impact of its services, undertaking independent research and sharing the lessons.

6. Who funds the Foundation? Funders of the Foundation include: • Department for International Development (DFID) • Swiss Agency for Development Co-operation (SDC) • Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE) • Development Co-operation Ireland (DCI) • Royal Norwegian Embassy Other supporters include: • Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) (as Council members)

7. Structure of the Foundation Council of Members Board of Directors Standing Committees Selection Committees Secretariat Executive Director Development Dep’t Grants Dep’t Admin & Finance Dep’t

8. Who do we support? Open to all Civil Society organisations including: • Non Government Organisations • Community Based Organisations • Professional Associations • Trade Unions • Cooperatives and Community Enterprises • Media Organizations • Faith Based Organizations

9. FCS service/productportfolio • Grant making programmes • Capacity building initiatives • Research (learning and sharing)

10. Current grants programmes • Rolling Small Grants - Tsh.5 million per year • Medium Grants - Tsh.35 million per year (up to 3 years = Tsh.105 million) • Strategic grants (pilot) - Tsh 100 million per year. (up to 3 years = Tsh.300 million)

11. The Foundations thematic areas • The Thematic areas provide a social poverty focus for our grant-making. Our four current thematic areas are: • Policy Engagement • Safety Nets (for the vulnerable) • Governance • Advocacy and Network Strengthening

12. Application process • Pre- application information seminars. • Robust applications screening and selection process – • 1st screening - Grants officers • Assessment - External assessors • Selection of grant awards - Independent selection committee for each programme • Post award - new grantees training/set up meetings • Grants compliance monitoring

13. Journey of an application

14. What have we achieved?Grants Programmes

15. What have we achieved?Grants Programmes

16. Capacity Building current programme • Information sessions • New grant holder training • Public debates • Policy development (internal)

17. What have we achieved?Capacity building initiatives • Development Department – recently staffed. • 4 public debates took place in 2004 with over 450 people participating. • 8 training sessions for over 200 new grantees representatives held. • 9 pre application regional information sessions conducted with over 1,630 in attendance. • Development of new M&E systems • Clarifying and redefining the 4 Thematic areas

18. Informationsessions

19. Access to information • Application forms and supporting material and assistance can be found at the 1. Foundation for Civil Society offices - Dar es Salaam 2. at one of our 5 our local Foundation ‘information point’ offices in; • Mbeya (Caritas) • Singida (HAPA) • Zanzibar (Angoza) • Arusha (Mapambazuko Trainining Centre) • Mtwara (WABISOKO)

20. Independent Audit • 2nd audit exercise assessing the financial management and impact of awarded grants just completed. (1st exercise conducted in 2003) • Early indications show significant improvement in financial management by grantees in comparison to 2003 study. • 88% listed in the satisfactory - excellent categories.

21. Impact audit • New audit on impact of grants conducted • Positive results received – “overall, organisations have seen an improvement in capacity since their involvement with FCS”

22. Identified Changes of CSOs and Beneficiaries The changes identified by CSOs and Beneficiaries were broadly categorised retrospectively into thirteen areas

23. Areas of impact13 categories

24. Identified Changes of CSOs and Beneficiaries • The most frequently recorded change has been in awareness • Other top frequent recorded changes include, Capacity, Behaviour change & Confidence • 11 recommendations from the impact study • All 11 recommendations anticipated and acknowledged previously and addressed within the Strategic plan 2005 – 2008

25. The Future 1. New Strategic Plan 2005 – 2008 2. Operational plan 2005 Key points:New grants/capacity building programmes: • Strategic Grants • Registration Development Grants • Applicant/Grantee training • Technical project/grant management support (grantees) • Network development / partnership development • Research – sharing the learning 3. Outcome Investor approach!

26. Our new Vision • To become a sustainable model of excellence that contributes to the development of a vibrant, creative, imaginative and effective civil society, that enables citizens to engage in the democratic process, to promote human rights and contribute to poverty reduction and a better quality of life for all Tanzanians.

27. Our Values • Fair • Integrity • Respect • Quality • Learning

28. In addition we hope to be: • Inspirational. We want to help create an imaginitive culture that inspires others to achieve through creativity and innovation. • Empowering. We will encourage and support civil society organisations to achieve sustainability and independence

29. In addition we want to be • Collaborative. We will encourage organisations to work together across sector boundaries for the greater good of all. • Agent of change. We will promote change, we will aim to change mindsets and cultures for the betterment of the disadvantaged, vulnerable and minority communities, and support access for all, to all available services.

30. Long term aims • The Foundation for Civil Society must have an impact way beyond its investments. • We want to be an investor rather than an arms-length funder, sharing risk with our investees and working together to ensure success. • We want to learn from the experience of our investments and then share the learning with others to achieve a wider impact.

31. Long term aims (cont) • We want to change people’s perception of the sector’s role and work through demonstrating excellence in our own service delivery. • We want to develop a more business-like relationship between the public, civil society organisations, the government, private sector and the donors, emphasising partnerships and service delivery based on quality and value for money.

32. OutcomeInvestor • Focus on proposed outcomes of investments - good ideas taking precedence over technical competence – what difference will it make? • Partnership approach to monitoring – joint responsibility for successful outcomes • Provision of capacity building, to support development of technical competence • Understand and take risks (managed) for innovation -where outcomes are potentially high and replicable • Reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy – overly long Forms etc

33. Outcome Investor • Adoption of principles not just rules • Decision making - Keeping an eye on the big picture • Policy - pragmatic (common sense approach) • Trust – Leap of faith (based on our experience) • Culture of learning from failure and successes.

34. What next? • Focus on: • Implementation of Outcome Investor (strategic) approach to grant making. • ‘Customer’ Care • Internal capacity development • Continue to build on our significant progress in 2004.

35. Foundations income and projected budget requirements Previous/Current Income • 2003 budget - Tsh. 3.6 billion • 2004 budget - Tsh. 4.2 billion • 2005 budget - Tsh. 4.2 billion Anticipated future budget requirements • 2006 - Tsh. 5.0 billion • 2007 - Tsh. 5.5 billion • 2008 - Tsh. 6.0 billion Budget Distribution • 80% for services and products • 4% for Board Expenditures • 16% for Administrative Expenses

36. What does all this mean for the you? • We believe that we are/have a unique opportunity • We believe that we can make a difference • We have the same objectives • We are a vehicle • We are not perfect…. yet …. but we are working hard on it!

37. Just in case you didn’t get it the first time What do we need from You? 

38. What does all this mean for the you? • We want you to see the big picture! • We want you to support the idea of the Foundation - not just what you see now, but what we have the potential to become and do in the future. • We need support now to get there. • Help us to help ourselves, to help you to help make a sustainable difference in TANZANIA!

39. END Questions?