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The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund announces its call for proposals No. 2

PARAFF announces its call for proposals No. 2 from Vietnamese non-profit and non-governmental organisations.

From:
British Embassy Hanoi
Published
28 October 2013
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF)

The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF)

The Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF) announces its CALL FOR PROPOSALS No. 2 from Vietnamese non-profit and non-governmental organisations. PARAFF seeks to promote public participation and accountability in law-making and policy development processes by strengthening engagement of non-governmental organizations in these processes at national and sub-national levels as well as in monitoring the implementation of these.

Support Areas and selected themes

All proposals must lie within one or more of PARAFF’s Support Areas listed below:

  1. Research related to legislative and law-making processes, with a focus on themes relevant to poverty eradication, democratic governance and NGOs’ roles in promoting public participation and accountability (e.g. evidence based research on specific laws and bill; research on citizen’s participation in preparation of bills; research on participatory planning at local and provincial level; research on citizens’ supervisory rights on government agencies; research on measuring citizens’ satisfaction with service delivery, etc.);

  2. Raising Awareness of NGOs and key partners about the rights and opportunities provided under the present legal framework related to public participation and accountability (e.g. the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Ordinance on Grass-root Democracy, etc.);

  3. NGO lead-initiatives on monitoring and providing feedback to Government and Elected representatives on the implementation of laws, government policies, and budgets at national and sub-national levels (e.g. initiatives enabling citizens to exercise their supervisory rights on government agencies; strategies to make service delivery more accountable such as complaints mechanisms, public information campaigns, citizens report cards and score cards, community monitoring and social audits; budget transparency and accountability strategies, public expenditure monitoring, participatory auditing; initiatives to secure freedom of information and transparency, including initiatives focused on making revenues from natural resources more transparent);

  4. Networking among NGOs and other stakeholders for enhanced engagement in legislative and law-making processes, in policy dialogues with the National Assembly and the People’s Councils, and Government agencies at various levels.   Furthermore, proposals for consultations should relate to one or more bills from the legislative agenda of the 13th tenure of the National Assembly. PARAFF’s 2nd Call for Proposal will give priority to the bills listed below:

Consultations:

  1. Law on the Organization of the National Assembly (amendment);

  2. Law on the Organization of the Government (amendment);

  3. Law on the Organization of the People’s Court (amendment);

  4. Law on the Organization of People’s Procuracy (amendment);

  5. Law on Social Insurance (amendment);

  6. Law on Housing (amendment);

  7. Law on Real Estate Business (amendment);

  8. Law on Enterprises (amendment);

  9. Law on the State Budget (amendment);

  10. Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vocational Training;

  11. Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on enforcement of civil judgments;

  12. Law civic identity;

  13. Law on Elections to the National Assembly and People’s Councils;

  14. Law on Vietnam Fatherland Front (amendment);

  15. Law on Organization of People’s Councils and People’s Committees (amendment);

  16. Law on promulgation of legal documents;

  17. Civil Code (amendment);

  18. Law on Labour safety and Hygiene;

Monitoring:

  1. Law on People with Disabilities;

  2. Law on Consumers’ Rights Protection;

  3. Law on Petitions;

Thematic monitoring: 1. Thematic monitoring of the Implementation of economic restructuring in the area of public investment, state-owned enterprises and the banking system under Resolution No. 10/2011/QH13 of the National Assembly on the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2011-2015.

What kind of grants do PARAFF offer?

II.1- Small Project Grants: Applicants may apply for grants of up to VND 600 million per proposal for a maximum duration of 12 months.

II.2- Research Grants: Applicants may apply for grants of up to VND 600 million per proposal for a maximum duration of 12 months.

II.3- Core funding/Large Project Grants: Applicants may apply for grants of up to VND 1,500 million per proposal for a maximum duration of 18 months. Core funding/large project grants are geared towards organisations in continuous support of one or more of the support areas of PARAFF. The core funding/large project grants are provided in support of organisations with a well-established track-record in research and policy advocacy.

Core funding/large project grants generally include various activities, perhaps within different localities, to meet the objectives of an organisation’s strategic plan.

Who can receive a PARAFF grant?

Target groups are Vietnamese non-governmental organizations, mass organizations, socio-political organizations, professional associations, and community based groups.

Applicants who apply for small project and research grants will be expected to meet a set of minimum criteria as follows:

  • Established for Non-profit purposes;

  • Non-government and non-international;

  • Registered officially for more than one year by Vietnamese Authorities;

  • Have a legally binding set of rules that explains how the organisation operates;

  • Have a bank account operated by more than one signatory, and

  • Have the support of relevant authorities and/or elected deputies and/or local partners to the proposed project.

Applicants who apply for Core funding/Large Project Grants will be expected to meet a set of minimum criteria as follows:

  • All criteria for the small project and research grants presented above;

  • Have audited financial statements for the last fiscal year certified by a suitably qualified auditor and supported by bank statements for the same period; and

  • Have satisfactory internal governance structures and financial management capacity, systems and procedures.

How should applications be made, and by when?

Applicants should submit full project proposals with detailed budget break-down in Vietnamese language based on the application forms available at the PARAFF website. An application must include one (01) original and two (02) hard copies with authorised signature and stamp on each copy, and a soft copy on a CD. Applications may be sent by registered mail, messenger services or be delivered by hand to the PARAFF Secretariat at the address below:

Public Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund (PARAFF) Unit 303-B3, 3rd floor, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound 298 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: (+84) 04-6273 6531; Fax: (+84) 04-6273 6542 E-mail: office.paraff@gmail.com

The deadline for the submission of applications is Friday 06 December at 17:00 hrs. Any hand-delivered applications submitted after the deadline will be rejected. Applications postmarked or picked-up by a messenger service before the deadline but not received by the PARAFF Secretariat within five working-days will also be rejected although the delay is due to the postal or messenger service.

Please visit the PARAFF Website at http://www.paraff.org for more information about the selection criteria, application process and to download application forms.

PARAFF plans to organise events in different provinces and cities, aiming at raising the knowledge regarding the selected themes of this call for proposals, project writing skills, and any other issues and concrete requirements raised by applicants for formulating best possible project proposals. The tentative schedule of these field events is as follows:

  • From 06 – 07 November 2013: Can Tho City for organisations from the Mekong Delta Region.

  • From 08 – 09 November 2013: Ho Chi Minh City for organisations from the City and nearly provinces.

  • From 11 – 12 November 2013: Buon Me Thuat City for organisations from provinces in the Central Highland and the Central Region.

  • From 13 – 14 November 2013: Ha Noi for organisations from Ha Noi and the North-Eastern Region.

  • From 15 – 16 November 2013: Dien Bien for organisations from province in the mountainous North-Western Region.

Confirmation of attendance should be made to the PARAFF Secretariat at least five (5) days before the above-mentioned dates. Please kindly confirm your attendance by e-mail to office.paraff@gmail.com or by telephone to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet at 04-6273 6531.

How are applications assessed?

Grant applications will be screened according to the eligibility criteria and evaluation criteria available for download on PARAFF website. Short-listed applications will be considered by an independent Grants Fund Committee. Outcomes of the Call for Proposals and a list of successful organisations to be funded will be published on the PARAFF website in February 2014. PARAFF is available to answer any questions or inquiries about the outcomes from applicants at the above contact address.

Published 28 October 2013