July 06, 2008 – Short listing Announcement for the Scale-fund Projects
In early June 2008 (from the 6th through the 12th) shiree published several notices calling for Expressions of Interest ( EOIs) in the local English and Bangla Press (including The Daily Star, Prothom Alo, New Age, The Daily Ittefaq and The Daily Star) for interested NGOs to present their background, experience and qualifications to us as a precursor for the Scale Fund. The Scale Fund aims to consider previous experience by large NGOs and capitalise on their successes of graduating the poorest from poverty. It aims to provide resources to NGOs to cover even more beneficiaries using tried and tested approaches and mechanisms. These notices called for competent and capable NGOs to demonstrate their ability and willingness to manage the delivery and implementation of one of their previous initiatives which demonstrated graduation of the extreme poor in a more significant manner. Shiree was specifically seeking to provide substantial grants (the shiree Scale Fund) to those NGOs who had proven experience in the graduation of the extreme poor so that, given the financial opportunity, NGOs could reach even more beneficiaries. Accordingly, interested NGOs were asked to apply online at www.shiree.org from 12th June through 3rd July 2008.
To clarify the objective and purpose of the Scale Fund, , shiree organised a knowledge sharing event called the Gyan Mela at the British Council. Over 200 delegates from 75 National and International NGOs participated and were encouraged to ask questions so as to further clarify the application procedures and priorities. The deadline for the Scale Fund EOIs was 3rd July 2008 at 1800 hours Bangladesh time. By this deadline, shiree had received EOIs from a total of 81 organisations. Some of these did not meet the initial eligibility criteria and were hence disqualified. From a total of 67 eligible organisations evaluated, the shiree Team now proudly announce that the following NGOs (in no particular order) have been selected for proceeding on to the next stage of the Scale Fund evaluation process:
- 1. ActionAid Bangladesh
- 2. Aid Comilla
- 3. CARE Bangladesh
- 4. Concern Bangladesh
- 5. Dhaka Ahsania Mission
- 6. Dushtha Shasthay Kendra (DSK)
- 7. Green Hill
- 8. Intercooperation
- 9. NETZ
- 10. Nijera Kori
- 11. OXFAM
- 12. Practical Action
- 13. RDRS
- 14. Save the Children UK
- 15. Uttaran
Those NGOs who were not successful at this time are reminded that there will be another round of the Scale Fund at some point in the future. Prospective applicants should also be aware that shiree will manage two other funds, the Innovation Fund as well as the Lesson Learning Fund, both of which will be well publicised on this website as well as in the local press.
Bidder’s Workshop at 3:00 pm on Wednesday 9th July 2008
Shiree will now invite two representatives for a Bidder’s Workshop at 3:00 pm on Wednesday 9th July 2008 at their office (House 5, Road 10, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212) in order to explain the next step of the Scale Fund selection and evaluation process. Shortlisted NGOs will be asked to prepare project concept notes, as well as provide documentary evidence of the responses cited in their EOIs. Field teams from shiree will visit each NGO to meet with their staff, partners and beneficiaries in an effort to gain a better understanding of the NGO and its capabilities.
June 2008 – The Economic Empowerment of the Poorest DFID Challenge Fund Invitation to Submit Expressions of Interest
Harewelle International (www.harewelle.org) has been awarded a contract by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to manage the £65.0 million (USD$130 million) “Economic Empowerment of the Poorest (EEP) Challenge Fund”. The fund aims to assist Bangladeshi and International NGOs in scaling up their activities to assist in the ‘graduation’ of over one million of the absolute and extreme poorest people from poverty by 2015.
The EEP is now commonly referred to as SHIREE: the Bangla word for steps. The acronym resonates DFID’s approach: stimulating household improvements resulting in economic empowerment. SHIREE is committed to working with those NGOs who are able to demonstrate their ability to target the economic bottom 10% of Bangladeshi households and show their experience in graduating these from poverty.
shiree will provide funding to NGOs via two funds:
- The scale fund: large-scale projects designed to bring rapid benefits to large numbers of poor people;
- The innovation fund: smaller projects designed to develop innovative approaches to reduce extreme poverty.
shiree now invites Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eligible NGOs for their scale fund activities. The NGOs applying for the fund should be formally constituted and registered with the office of the Director General, NGO Affairs Bureau and have an annual turnover (revenue) of at least 10 crore Taka in Bangladesh, excluding micro credit/finance activities. At this pre-qualification stage, only information about the NGOs and their current activities is required. If selected, NGOs will be asked for details about their proposed ideas related to the use of the scale fund at a later date.
In order to facilitate the application procedure SHIREE will only accept EOIs (in English) online. Interested NGOs are requested to apply online at www.shiree.org using the drop down menu under apply to us. Applications will be accepted from 12th June onwards. The final application form should be completed electronically and submitted online no later than 3rd July 2008 by 1700 hours, Bangladesh time.
shiree is organising an event celebrating the launch of the website: www.shiree.org and the Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the SHIREE Scale Fund on 12 June 2008 from 11:00 am-3:00 pm. at the British Council Auditorium ( 5 Fuller Road). Anyone interested is encouraged to visit the event and meet the SHIREE team for further clarifications on application procedures and priorities.
Visually or otherwise impaired persons may contact the office to make other arrangements for submission of EOIs. SHIREE will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred in connection with the preparation or delivery of the EOI whatsoever.
June 06, 2008 – SCALE Fund Appplication
The SCALE FUND is now open for application. Please click here to access the application form.