Japan Social Development Fund

Briefing Session FY10

Yolaine Joseph, CFPTO

October 13, 2009

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JSDF Briefing Overview

Introduction JSDF Regular Program:

Purposes Grant Types Country eligibility Changes /Highlights in FY10 GFR Application Form Selection Criteria Ineligible Activities/Expenditures Pointers – what to remember when working on the proposal Japanese Visibility Common Reasons for Rejection of Proposals

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JSDF Briefing Overview (cont’d)

Concept Note JSDF Seed Fund Case Studies of Approved and Rejected

Proposals Most Common Issues and Bottlenecks in

Project Design and Implementation Example of Well-Designed Projects in Other

Regions Reference and Contact Information

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Introduction

The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) was established by the Government of Japan and the World Bank. It is an untied grant facility providing grants in support of innovative social programs to help alleviate poverty in eligible client countries of the World Bank Group.

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JSDF Regular Program – PurposesJSDF projects are expected to: Encourage the testing of innovative methods that are new

or alternative approaches at the project, country, or regional level, or that facilitate new partnerships or assist new target groups.

Support initiatives that lead to developing sustainable outcomes through the adoption or scaling-up of the pilot project.

Directly respond to the needs of marginalized, vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. Marginalization may be a function of location, gender, age, ethnicity, physical fitness.

Build ownership, capacity, empowerment and participation of local communities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society groups

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JSDF Regular Program – Grant Types Project Grants:

Small-scale projects, which may be scaled up to benefit the poorest;

Use of innovative and demand-driven methods to encourage participation.

Capacity Building Grants: Strengthen local communities, local governments, local

institutions and/or NGOs; Promote collaboration between local governments and

communities; Improve decision-making and accountability of local

communities.

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JSDF Regular Program – Country Eligibility All low-income countries and lower middle-income

countries, as defined in the 2009 World Development Report, are eligible for both Project Grants and Capacity-Building Grants.

Upper middle income countries are not eligible for JSDF grants.

The revised list of countries eligible for JSDF grants appears on the JSDF website. It was also distributed to the TF Coordinators following the issuance of the call for proposals.

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JSDF Regular Program – Changes/Highlights in FY10 Allocation available in FY10: US$60 million, including US$20

million for Africa Three special allocations for Africa – including North African

countries, are for: Agricultural development Participatory school management, and Enhancement of health management and health

services An increase in Incremental Bank Costs from 5% to 9% of the

total grant amount Technical Reviewers can charge up to ½ day for every proposal

reviewed Maximum grant size remains at US$3 million

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JSDF Regular Program – GFR Application Form Grant Funding Request (GFR) proposal is used to submit JSDF proposals GFR can be accessed by typing “GFR” in the URL (GFR website) GFR windows:

4907 – Regular Program Recipient-executed grants 4908 – Regular Program Bank-executed grants (for Incremental Bank Costs)

GFR includes: Basic data tab; Description tab (Grant development objectives and grant-financed activities); Outcomes tab; Components tab; JSDF Specific tab; Processing tab; and Allowed Expenses

Grant supplementary information includes: Incremental Bank costs; Rationale and participatory approach; Sustainability; Safeguard issues; Country/sector background.

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JSDF Regular Program – GFR Application Form (Cont’d) Linkage to RE code is not mandatory at the time of

proposal submission. It is, however, mandatory after donor approval.

Cost Table is a mandatory attachment to the GFR, and template is to be made available in the application.

Risk Assessment Sheet is a mandatory attachment to the GFR, and template is to be made available in the application.

If Incremental Bank Costs are requested, a separate GFR needs to be prepared, but not submitted until donor approval.

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JSDF Regular Program – GFR Application Form (Cont’d) Linkage to Bank operation/strategy; Grant implementation arrangements; Consultation with Other Development Partners; Monitoring and Evaluation; Risks affecting grant implementation; Financial arrangements; Disbursement arrangements; Additional obligations; Cost table includes procurement method; Technical reviewers’ comments.

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JSDF Regular Program – Selection Criteria Direct benefits to the poor using innovative mechanisms; Direct participation of community groups, local

governments and/or NGOs in grant preparation and implementation to encourage long-term sustainable development;

Exit strategy and mechanism for long-term sustainability; Outcome/impact indicators, including mechanisms to

monitor progress and measure outcomes; Programs which complement Bank-financed project(s),

either under preparation or implementation; and Commitment and ownership of the Recipient.

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JSDF Regular Program – Ineligible Activities/Expenditures Scaling up of already piloted activities; Activities which are being or can be funded under

Bank Group loans/credits or from other sources; Activities normally funded under Bank Group budgets

or by other donors for preparation of Bank-financed projects, including technical assistance for these activities;

Preparation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers or other technical assistance for poverty monitoring

activities.

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JSDF Regular Program – Ineligible Activities/Expenditures (cont’d)

Academic research; Land acquisition; Purchase of motor vehicles; Government salaries; and Foreign training or study tours.

Note: UN agencies may not be direct recipients of JSDF grants

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JSDF Regular Program - Pointers

Make sure to discuss the proposal with the Japanese Embassy in the field.

JSDF activities should help the poorest and most fragile groups in the eligible countries.

JSDF activities should promote collaboration with civil society, local governments, NGOs, etc., strengthen partnerships with these groups, and learn/share experiences.

Steering Committee and GoJ pay particular attention to Participation, Innovation, Sustainability and Risks sections of proposal.

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JSDF Regular Program – Pointers (Cont’d)

JSDF activities should be compatible with the development objectives set out in the CAS, PRSP, and/or poverty reduction elements of Sector Strategies.

JSDF provides grant funds and, thus, should broaden the scope of Bank-financed projects (and not supplement Bank-financed projects or the Recipients’ budgets, including those provided by other donors for the preparation of loans/credits). Grants should pioneer new and innovative mechanisms which cannot be financed through loans or credits.

Write enough, but not too much. Limit background general information.

Always keep in mind the purposes of the JSDF while preparing the proposal: participatory preparation, demand-driven, bottom-up approach, assisting the target population as directly as possible.

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JSDF Regular Program – Japanese Visibility

Bank task teams are asked to help promote the visibility and local awareness of JSDF in recipient countries through the following types of activities: The logo (usually the Japanese national flag)

should be used; Encourage recipient to invite Japanese

embassy to grant signing ceremonies; Recipients should be encouraged to ensure that

JSDF-financed activities are well covered by local print and electronic media;

Press releases issued with respect to JSDF grants should refer to the financial contribution from the Government of Japan.

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JSDF Regular Program – Reasons for Rejection

Some common reasons for rejection of JSDF proposals: Proposal does not fit the JSDF criteria, e.g., participatory

preparation, innovation, direct assistance to marginal and most vulnerable populations;

Grant takes a top-down rather than a bottom-up, demand-driven approach;

Too much technical assistance (especially international) not related to training which assists beneficiaries directly;

Grant funds activities that can be funded from other sources, e.g., the associated Bank project, ongoing social fund or CDD operation in the country, other donors;

Grant-funded project would scale up activities already piloted elsewhere, rather than piloting them itself;

Funding requested for ineligible activities or items.

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JSDF Concept Note

Before starting the formal application, the TTL should seek preliminary feedback on proposals by submitting a Concept Note by email to the JSDF Unit, briefly describing the activities to be funded.

The deadline for the Concept Note submission is October 16, 2009.

The template for the Concept Note is available on the JSDF Website.

Upon receiving the note, the JSDF Unit will provide guidance to the task team on the consistency of proposed activities with JSDF criteria and make suggestions for improvement before the team commits its time to preparing a full-scale application.

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JSDF Seed Fund Objective: To support the preparation costs of proposals –

specifically for participatory discussions with civil society groups so JSDF proposals are designed for maximum effectiveness and sustainability.

Output: Well-developed JSDF Grant proposal. Country Eligibility: Same as JSDF Regular Program grant

eligibility. Maximum Amount: US$50,000. Implementation Period: Maximum 12 months from approval

(status report is expected within six months of approval). Submission: Requests should be submitted through GFR. GFR

window number for Seed Fund is 378.

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Case Studies

Four Case Studies: Approved Proposals:

Case Study 1: Colombia - Empowering Young Women Affected by Violence in Colombia: An innovative approach towards sustainable socioeconomic inclusion

Case Study 2: Yemen - Promoting Socioeconomic Inclusion of a Marginalized Community

Rejected Proposals: Case Study 3: Nicaragua - Innovations for the Economic

Empowerment of Rural Women Case Study 4: Cameroon - Producer Organizations

Market Information System (PROMIS)

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Case Study 1 - Overview

Case Study 1: Approved Proposal

Colombia - Empowering Young Women Affected by Violence in Colombia: An

innovative approach towards sustainable socioeconomic inclusion

Amount: $1.56 million

Type: Capacity Building

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Case Study 1 - Grant Objectives

This project’s main objective is to help young women (ages 15-25) affected by violence in Colombia to re-establish a normal and productive life by introducing an innovative model that combines training with financial assistance to give young women basic tools to become socially and economically independent. It is called the Swallow project because as swallows announce Spring, and with Spring a new fertile season, this project aims to bring about flourishing change in the life of young women who most need it.

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Case Study 1 – Participatory Approach

This proposal comes from: The interest of local authorities elected in early 2008 and central

government institutions that want to support vulnerable women with psychological and medical assistance to give them an opportunity for social and economic inclusion;

The initiative undertaken by the Corporación Galán, an institution associated with the Education for Peace Partnership, which has supported initiatives for women in need in Colombia, to organize meetings in different regions to consult with women, local authorities and enterprises on the model concept. Escuela Galan has worked in a participatory fashion at the municipality levels, adjusting some of elements of their model based on consultations and feedback from the targeted population groups.

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Case Study 1 - Innovation

Innovative features include: Holistic (all dimensions of the person) and sustainable

(through training, mentorship and financing) approach of the young women and of their challenges that seeks to develop life skills and fund productive activities in the context of communities affected by violence, where independent, empowered and productive women have a larger positive impact in alleviating poverty in their families and their communities than other population groups;

Multidimensional partnerships relevant and coherent with the local context (public and private sectors, universities, the local private sector); and

Financial and technical support to help women implement their ideas while asking them to give back to their community.

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Case Study 1 - Sustainability

Solid main implementing agency which is a public-private partnership, independent from changes in government and with a robust reputation for working with women affected by violence;

Both design and implementation are based on local partnerships which guarantee the relevance of the activities/their impact on the ground;

Local municipality administrations will have agreed to formulate policy guidelines for the future;

The local private economic sector in targeted regions has expressed interest in participating in the project;

All the beneficiaries will receive tools, learn competencies, and gain self confidence to change their lives; and

The grants winners will receive financial and technical support to implement their business plan, entering the productive labor force and giving them the opportunity to strengthen their communities and to mentor other young female entrepreneurs.

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Case Study 2 - Overview

Case Study 2: Approved ProposalYemen - Promoting Socioeconomic

Inclusion of a Marginalized Community

Amount: $1.96 million

Type: Project

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Case Study 2 - Grant Objectives

This project aims to: 1) To give the Akhdam community the means to contribute to their well being pro-actively and to enhance their socio-economic integration within the existing urban settlements; (2) To respond to capacity building needs of the communities, with a specific focus on women and youths, to move towards sustainable livelihood, skills-development, and income generation; (3) To foster the professionalization and strengthen the role of Akhdam community-based organizations (CBOs) to be development actors within these communities, (4) To strengthen the relationship between these communities, the local government and other relevant entities to enable them to have some voice.

The proposal was approved by the SC with some comments.

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Case Study 2 - Participatory Approach

JSDF seed fund was used to involve communities and local CBOs in the preparation of the JSDF proposal. Several months of consultations (incl. workshops) with 9 slum communities, Akhdam CBOs, NGOs, microfinance institutions, foundations, training institutions, and the local government took place, and the proposal was prepared in consultation with these communities.

Participatory rapid appraisal was also carried out with communities by a group of local field workers/ Akhdam CBO members.

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Case Study 2 - Innovation

This is the first project of this kind in Taiz to empower poor urban communities, in particular members of the Akhdam community, to be actors in their own development, as opposed to simple recipients of charity.

First time these communities were consulted in a comprehensive fashion.

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Case Study 2 - Sustainability

Emphasis on skill-building and income generating projects will enable communities to sustain themselves.

Microfinance component is to be channeled through existing microfinance institutions, most of which have not yet had the opportunity to work with the Akhdam communities.

Additionally, efforts to involve local actors, including local charities and government, can contribute to project's financial sustainability, particularly in terms of allocating zakat (religious tithe), often a source of funding going to the poorest communities.

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Case Study 3 - Overview

Case Study 3: Rejected Proposal

Nicaragua - Innovations for the Economic Empowerment of Rural

Women

Amount: $2.31 million

Grant Type: Project

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Case Study 3 – Grant Objectives

This initiative seeks to support pilot activities combining training, technical assistance and business grants to increase Nicaraguan poor rural women capabilities for sustainable productive activity and income generation.

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Case Study 3 – Components Description Component 1: The objective of the training component is to

provide women with key tools to make decisions about their economic activities and to empower them. Training modules will be designed and delivered by the implementing NGO to small groups of women in the communities.

Component 2: All beneficiaries will receive a business grant of US$200 to start-up their economic activity (seed funding). In addition, technical assistance to develop a sound business plan or labor market insertion strategy will be provided.

Component 3: A follow-up survey will be conducted to analyze pilot impacts once the intervention has terminated. Income generation, productive outcomes, poverty levels, and other indicators will be measured for beneficiaries/non- beneficiaries to be able to compare and isolate program impacts.

Component 4: Knowledge sharing of project design, training modules and results with participant NGOs and other stakeholders will take place at the end of the implementation and evaluation.

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Case Study 3 – Reasons for Rejection

Project not innovative, not well designed. SC has serious concerns about microfinance

component since Nicaragua has a history of providing microfinance to poor people without requiring repayment.

Why can’t project be financed under Broad-based Access to Finance Loan? Or under the Gender Action Plan?

Proposal not considered suitable for JSDF funding and not cleared for submission to Japan.

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Case Study 4 - Overview

Case Study 4: Rejected Proposal

Cameroon - Producer Organizations Market Information System (PROMIS)

Amount: $1.62 million

Type: Project

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Case Study 4 - Grant Objectives

To improve rural farmer livelihoods by (i) piloting use of technology to deliver market information to vulnerable producers; (ii) empowering and building capacity among individual farmers and producer organizations (POs); and (iii) identifying successful Information Communication and Technology (ICT) methods to improve livelihoods of disadvantaged farmers.

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Case Study 4 - Components Description Component 1 (Creation of agricultural market

information system for rural producers): will pilot the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to deliver real-time market information to vulnerable agricultural producers. The component entails the creation of a market information system using a mix of GSM, Internet and Radio targeting rural farmers.

Component 2 (Sensitization and capacity building of beneficiaries and producer organizations): will make beneficiaries aware of the project through a sensitization campaign and develop the capacity of producers and their organizations to (i) generate the information needed to maintain the system and (ii) make effective use of the technology and the information available through PROMIS.

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Case Study 4 - Reasons for Rejection

SC did not consider the project innovative as proposed activities have been done under other Bank projects. Why can’t activities be financed under the existing Bank project?

Project is not targeting poorest and most vulnerable groups and risk of elite capture is high. This kind of intervention will help all farmers who are marketing goods, and the bigger, more entrepreneurial farmers, who produce higher proportions of output for the market and can afford better access to technology - hence the high risk that most of the benefits will be captured by the elite in the areas focused upon.

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Most Common Issues & Bottlenecks in Projects Design & Implementation

Insufficient buy-ins at time of project design resulting in lack of consensus among stakeholders

Important for objectives to focus on outcomes Miscalculations of project costs Avoiding elite capture Adequate formulation of KPIs measurement Designing an effective M&E system

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Most Common Issues & Bottlenecks in Projects Design & Implementation

Need to change legal base of organization or legislation (e.g. Tsunami project which never became effective).

Highly complex institutional arrangements when projects are cross-sectoral.

Coordination among ministries and agencies.

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Examples of Well Designed Projects in various Regions

Turkey – Youth Development and Social Inclusion

Indonesia Creative Communities Fund Indonesia - Poverty Reduction and Women's

Leadership: The "PRIME" Project Yemen – Healthy Mother Project

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CFPTO Website and Contacts

Bank Intranet Website Address:www.worldbank.org/jsdf

Annual Policy Document and Visibility Guidance Note

JSDF Processing Procedures Eligible Countries List Case Law Seed Fund Guidelines Seed Fund processing

procedures JSDF Concept Note Technical Review Frequently Asked Questions Processing and Implementation

of Japanese Trust Fund Grants GFR Preparation Instructions

CFPTO Contacts: Yolaine Joseph (x32389) Bermet Sydygalieva (x89357) Roberto Tarallo (x32413)