Development Donors:

1. Development Donors: who they are, what they want and how to deal with them IRI Seminar, May 2003

2. Development Donors Who They Are...

3. Types and Numbers • Three main types of donors, providing grants for international research and development: • Bilateral • Multi-lateral • Foundations • Approximately 50 major donors; perhaps 25-30 interested in IRI-type work

4. Where do donors get their funds? • Bilateral (public) • all funds from treasury of one country • Multilateral (public) • funds from treasuries of many members • Foundation (private) • funds from endowments formed by companies or rich individuals

5. Potential IRI Donors • Bilateral • USAID, DfID, SIDA, CIDA, Norad, AusAID • Multilateral • IFAD, AfDB, ADB, IADB, EU • Foundations • Rockefeller, Packard, Toyota, Gates

6. Where are they? (a) Multi-lateral HQs • AfDB moving from Abidjan to Tunis • ADB in Manila • IADB, WB in Washington • IFAD in Rome • EU in Brussels

7. Where are they?(b) bilateral donors • Headquarters are in national capitals • Field offices in the capitals of host countries • Large bilaterals often have regional offices • e.g. Nairobi, Accra, Bangkok, Delhi, Santiago • Multi-laterals and large foundations also have field and regional offices

8. What sort of people? • Public donor personnel are civil servants -- mostly educated generalists, good at pushing paper • Large agencies employ a few scientists and/or contract with scientists to review proposals • Donor personnel are outward looking -- interested in other countries, other cultures, seeing development happen

9. More on people... • Donor people don’t think of themselves as funding sources, but as development workers. • Donors like to be considered partners in development projects -- with valid ideas and experience. • Donors want to see more than dollar signs in your eyes!

10. Donors aren’t scientists! • Timing: Donors think in 2 - 4 year projects (you will have to phase longer projects) • Output: Donors want impact, not results (you will have to think beyond results) • Politics: Donor work is very political (you will have to keep up with the news)

11. Development Donors What They Want...

12. Donor Goals • To differing extents, all dev. donors want: • poverty alleviation • protection of the environment • food security • improved quality of and access to: education, health, information, and communications • bio-diversity • For specific donor goals, see web sites, annual reports

13. Donor interests depend on politics, national culture, history • Scandinavians like projects on environment, gender, equity. • US likes projects involving private sector. • French usually strong in francophone ex-colonies; UK in anglophone ex-colonies. • Swiss like mountain countries, like Nepal • Dutch like drainage and water projects

14. Donors want impact • Impact = measurable improvements in currently bad conditions, such as: • increased incomes for poor families • increased nutrition of infants and mothers • universal access to clean drinking water • reversal of soil degradation and erosion • decreased incidence of infectious diseases

15. Donors like topics that… • are sufficiently important to be worth doing • are internally approved (i.e. fit within your strategic plan) • are seen as a priority by your beneficiaries • are “managable” (i.e. there’s a good chance you’ll achieve your objectives in the project life, with the project budget)...

16. They also like projects that... • have the right balance of risks and returns • attract strong research partners that have a comparative advantage to carry out the project • fit with the donor’s interests and grant portfolio • are within the donor’s budget

17. An Important Topic... • An important topic for a donor is one which can make a real difference in the well-being of disadvantaged people in the countries where they work. • The more difference, and the more people helped, the better. (Remember, some donors take the bottom line and divide by the number of beneficiaries!)

18. Which will they choose? • Projects can be strategic (done in a lab or office, opening up scientific doors) or applied (implemented in the real world, applying strategic results for beneficiaries) • Which do you think a development donor would more likely want to support and why?

19. Answer... • Because donors are interest in development impact, they are likely to prefer applied research topics -- closer to the beneficiaries. • But, donors do recognize the need for strategic research to yield results that can be applied in the real world.

20. So... • If you select a strategic research topic for external donor funding, you need to show, in detail, how and when the results of your work will ultimately make people better off. [Demonstrate impact.]

21. Large or small? • Project size can be defined by the budget size. • Large and small are relative to the type of project. In ag research, roughly: small = under $150,000/3years medium = $150,000 - $350,000/3 years large = over $350,000/3 years

22. Answer... • Donors like to make as many grants as possible to spread risks, increase linkages, get more impact. (Favors small topics) • But, grants mean lots of paperwork, meetings, decisions -- same effort for small or large projects. • So, it depends -- donors will not necessarily choose one or the other!

23. 1- 2 objectives handful of sites limited number of partners Several objectives several sites in many countries several partner groups Simple or Complex?

24. Which will donors like? • A simple project is more likely to succeed: • fewer things can go wrong • easier to manage • easier to achieve outputs • But donors like to maximize participation -- like many partners • So donors may support either type of topic!

25. Imagine you are a donor, and must choose among... • A project to find a vaccine for AIDS • A project to build 100 schools in rural Cameroon • A project to grow substitute crops for opium in the Golden Triangle • A project to train scientists in how to write convincing proposals

26. Taking into account... • Importance of the topic to you as donor • Priority to beneficiaries • Manageability • Risks and returns • Any other considerations… Which do you choose? Why?

27. Dealing with Donors...

28. Donor Intelligence ... • Needs gathering by as many spies as possible • Needs sharing with everyone with a need to know • Must constantly be updated • Must be managed (RMO) • Involves managers and scientists, so become a 007 in your field

29. There is no substitute for personal interaction… • You can learn from colleagues • Or from the web, donor profiles, annual reports, etc. • But personal interaction is still the best way of arousing donor interest.

30. This means visiting donors yourself... • When traveling to conferences, on home leave, to visit projects… • Take an extra day or two to visit donor offices for a get-to-know-each-other visit. • You will need to set this up in advance, take support materials, and follow up afterwards. • DON’T ASK FOR MONEY ON THE FIRST VISIT

31. How to have a good first visit to a donor • Remember you are there for information, not money • Don’t take along draft concept notes • Do listen more than talk • Do treat the donor as an intelligent layperson, and a potential partner • And read Marian’s handout first!

32. If you have some donor interest, from a previous visit, or in response to an RFP… • Design a project attractive to that donor • Write it up as a concept note • Get it approved internally • Get partners on board • Send it to a donor

33. Only write a full proposal • If a donor is attracted by your concept note and asks for more details, or • If you are responding to a competitive grants program • A full proposal takes far more time, money and effort for you to write, and the donor to read.

34. If the donor likes your proposal... • You will go into negotiations -- you need to prepare in advance • Be ready to cut your project to suit your donors needs • If the donor can give less than you asked for, you will need to cut your objectives • Nothing is so frustrating than an under-funded project!

35. If you get a grant agreement… Maintain good donor relations by: • reporting regularly and honestly • telling bad news as well as good • encouraging donor visits to project • sounding out possible follow-on grant well in advance

36. Future training -- how to: • Design a fundable project • Prepare a good concept note • Write a convincing proposal • Review and improve CNs and proposals • Negotiate with donors • Understand how donors review proposals, what turns them on and turns them off!