1.5 CSO selection and contracting The Fund used a competitive grants process to determine which CSOs and projects to support. Selection was a two-part process. First, Australian and non-Australian CSOs working in WASH in the Fund’s target regions were invited to submit applications. A selection panel made up of staff from DFAT WSH, the DFAT NGO section, and an external WASH consultant assessed the applications. This initial assessment had a number of steps. For example, each CSO had to submit an organisational capacity statement. If this statement met a certain minimum standard the project-specific concepts submitted by the CSOs were then assessed. The 13 successful applicants from the first stage then entered the second stage, known as the ‘inception phase’. The purpose of this three month phase was for CSOs to develop detailed project designs, known as Operational Plans. CSOs and DFAT WSH entered into short term funding agreements, ensuring CSOs were provided with budget for their design work. An inception phase workshop was held in Canberra, bringing together CSOs, the FMF, the MERP and relevant parts of DFAT to support CSO design work. Once Operational Plans were approved by DFAT WSH, CSOs were invited to enter into a full funding agreement covering the life of their project(s).
1.5 CSO selection and contracting The Fund used a competitive grants process to determine which CSOs and projects to support. Selection was a two-part process. First, Australian and non-Australian CSOs working in WASH in the Fund’s target regions were invited to submit applications. A selection panel made up of staff from DFAT WSH, the DFAT NGO section, and an external WASH consultant assessed the applications. This initial assessment had a number of steps. For example, each CSO had to submit an organisational capacity statement. If this statement met a certain minimum standard the project-specific concepts submitted by the CSOs were then assessed. The 13 successful applicants from the first stage then entered the second stage, known as the ‘inception phase’. The purpose of this three month phase was for CSOs to develop detailed project designs, known as Operational Plans. CSOs and DFAT WSH entered into short term funding agreements, ensuring CSOs were provided with budget for their design work. An inception phase workshop was held in Canberra, bringing together CSOs, the FMF, the MERP and relevant parts of DFAT to support CSO design work. Once Operational Plans were approved by DFAT WSH, CSOs were invited to enter into a full funding agreement covering the life of their project(s).