Grant Management Guidelines

Grant Management Guidelines

August 2008
Ghana Research & Advocacy Programme
G - rap Ghana Research & Advocacy Programme
GRANT MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
AUGUST 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction 4
1.1 Background 4
1.2 Objective 4
2.0 Grant-Making Procedures 5
2.1 Introduction 5
2.2 Eligibility Criteria 5
2.3 Expression of Interest Process 6
2.4 Application Process 6
2.6 Evaluation/Self Assessment Process 6
2.7 Assessment Reporting 7
2.8 Approval of Assessments and Allocation of Grants 7
2.9 Contracting 7
3.0 Financial Management Assessment 8
3.1 Budgeting 8
3.2 Accounting 8
3.3 Internal Control 9
3.4 Funds Flow 9
3.5 Financial Reporting 10
3.6 External Audit 10
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
The Ghana Research and Advocacy Programme (G-rap) is a donor pooled funding
mechanism for supporting the institutional development and effectiveness of
indigenous Civil Society Organisations undertaking Research and Advocacy for pol-
icy development (RAOs) and Think Tanks in Ghana. G-RAP offers core funding to
RAOs and technical assistance to the larger community of RAOs.
G-RAP is an important opportunity for donors to support a counterbalance to the
Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS), aimed at strengthening civil society institu-
tions to play the legitimate role that the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy
(GPRS) of Ghana affords them. The programme supports RAO capacity to conduct
research and analysis of social, economic, political, gender equality and security
dynamics, and to monitor and contribute to the implementation of government
policies. It therefore constitutes an important mechanism for broader participation
and debate as well as evidence based policy advocacy. G-RAP enhances RAO auton-
omy from government and donors and assists to broaden awareness of public pol-
icy options, thus promoting an active community of RAO networks. DFID contracts
a service provider who puts in place a project management team (PMT) to provide
project management services: grants management, capacity building, and techni-
cal assistance.
The PMT collects information on applicants, conducts assessments and prepares
the outcomes of these processes in an advice to the Grants Sub-Committee (GSC)
of the Programme Board. An independent assessor, appointed by the Programme
Board also evaluates and prepares an advice on each grant proposal to the Grants
Sub-Committee. The GSC meets to award various levels of funding. Following
approval by the Programme Board and grantees agreeing to the terms of a contract
with the PMT, funds are disbursed.
1.2 Objective
The key objective of these guidelines is to provide a framework of approved stan-
dards and procedures that will inform stakeholders of the administrative, financial
management, organisational assessments, selection and grant management proce-
dures.
These guidelines are not intended to replace any Project Manual, Project Handbook
or relevant Technical Document. It is meant to complement existing documenta-
tion to ensure efficient and effective use of resources made available during the
implementation of the programme.
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2.0 Grant-Making Procedures
2.1 Introduction
G-rap funds shall be offered to RAOs, selected on a competitive basis. The two
types of grants are: Core grants to cover institutional overheads and Special
Project Funds for advocacy undertaken by Coalitions and Networks.
2.2 Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for G-rap funding, organisations must meet the following criteria:
1. Track record of active public policy engagement
Organisations must have a track record of active engagement with public
policy-making processes, including the monitoring of national policies.
Ultimately, activities should support Ghana in achieving the targets of the
Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
2. Acquired competence with a relevant focus
G-RAP focuses its funding on research and advocacy in the following areas:
Economic justice policy
Social development
Human rights and good governance
Gender equality
Peace-building and security
3. Organisational systems and procedures
Organisations must be in existence for at least two years and be able to show a
growth path with clear milestones. In addition, organisations must provide the
following documentation:
1. A five-year organisational/institutional development strategy that shows
the growth path of the organisation and an accompanying budget.
2. A three year program/activity strategy and an accompanying budget.
3. Two previous annual statements of accounts, audited by a suitably certi-
fied person or entity; Financial and administrative systems should be
capable of reporting on the total budgets of the organisation
4. Copy of legal registration in Ghana
5. Overview of governance structure including contact details of board
members and an organisational chart, policies and procedures manual
6. Annual activity report for the preceding year
For coalitions or strategic alliances to submit a proposal, at least one member,
the "convenor" or the "administrator" should meet the above qualifications.
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2.3 Expression of Interest Process
a) This stage will involve placing advertisements in some of the leading news-
papers e.g. The Daily Graphic inviting eligible Research & Advocacy
Organisations to send expressions of interest for G-RAP funds.
b) RAOs will have 14 days to respond.
c) Expressions of interest are assessed using the core eligibility criteria out-
lined in 3.2
2.4 Application Process
a) Shortlisted organisations will be sent application forms. Application forms
collect baseline data on organisational competencies and systems and their
effectiveness
b) Applicants will be expected to submit completed application forms to the G-
RAP office within one month.
c) Organisational self evaluation and interviews with the PMT. Applicants would
have conducted self assessment using tools provided by the PMT before
attending the interview.
d) The PMT will summarize all application information into a Proposal
Assessment Sheet (PAS). The PAS also contains the PMTs opinion on each
application. This is submitted to the grants management committee
2.5 PMT Assessment of information
PMT will review all documents submitted to deepen their understanding of the
organisation and also enable them to form an opinion of the organisation with
respect to the capacity elements being evaluated. These documents will include:
o Certificate of Registration;
o Audited Financial Statements (two prior years);
o Programme Strategic Plan & Budget;
o Organisational/institutional development plan and budget
o Accounting Manual;
o Programme/Project Reports;
o HR Policy;
o Structure;
o List of Board Members
2.6 Evaluation/Self Assessment Process
The Evaluation/Self Assessment Process provides the RAOs and PMT the opportu-
nity to rate RAOs on a variety of capacity elements. These elements are grouped
into twelve areas of organisational capacity, namely: Research; Advocacy; Strategy;
Human Resources; Programme Design and Evaluation; Organisational Structures;
Information Technology; Financial Management; Financial sustainability/ fundrais-
ing/income generation; Legal Affairs; Marketing & Communications; and
Collaboration.
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a) This process will be initiated by e-mailing the Organisation Assessment
Table to applicants at least two days before the Evaluation/Self Assessment
process to enable them acquaint themselves with the contents of the ques-
tionnaire and complete it.
b) On the day of the assessment, the PMT will take applicants through the tool
to ensure they understand what is required of them.
c) Based on review of information from application forms, the PMT will discuss
RAOs scores with representatives
2.7 Assessment Reporting
a) The results of evaluation/self assessment by the RAOs representatives and
the PMT are summarised into an Organisation Assessment Table (OAT) along
the 12 organisational capacity areas identified in Section 3.4.
b) The PMT will summarise the results of the evaluation on the OAT by trans-
ferring directly the results from the OAT into the capacity rating column, and
thereafter compute the capacity rating and capacity rating weighted averages
of the elements under the various organisational capacity areas.
c) The PMT will also indicate the Capacity Area Priority Rating and their obser-
vations in the appropriate column in the OAT table.
d) The PMT makes recommendations for the approval of grants to the grants
sub-committee and the independent assessor who is privy to all information
submitted
2.8 Approval of Assessments and Allocation of Grants
a) The PMT will submit all assessment reports and an application dossier on
each applicant to an Independent Grants Specialist for his opinion.
b) The Independent Grant Specialist is appointed by the Program Board.The
PMT will submit all assessment reports and the opinion of the Independent
Assessor to a Grants Selection Sub-Committee of the programme board for
final decision on grants
2.9 Contracting
a) Following the allocation of grants by the Programme Board, the PMT will pre-
pare Contracts (Grant Agreements) between the Grantee and the PMT.
b) The contents of the Grant Agreement will be determined by the type of fund-
ing allocated to the Grantee. The Grant Agreement will generally provide
information such as:
Purpose of the Grant Agreement;
Definitions;
The Grant;
Reporting;
Continuous Improvement;
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Co-operation with PMT;
Annual Assessment;
Warrantee;
Special Provisions;
c) The Grant Agreement will be supported by annexes. These annexes will
include:
Annual budgets of the organisation
Narrative reporting templates
Financial Reporting templates
3.0 Financial Management Assessment
3.1 Budgeting
a) Project plans and budgets must be realistic and based on valid assumptions
and developed by knowledgeable individuals.
b) Procedures must be in place to plan project activities and prepare related
budgets, and to collect information from the units in charge of the different
components of the budgets.
c) Budgets must be prepared for all significant activities in the monthly or
annual work plan in sufficient detail to provide a meaningful tool with which
to monitor subsequent performance.
d) Variations from the budget must be properly approved by the appropriate
authority
3.2 Accounting
a) The organization must adopt recognized and acceptable national and inter-
national accounting standards in the recognition, recording and disclosure
of its transactions.
b) The organisation must have written policies and procedures covering all rou-
tine accounting and related administrative activities.
c) The accounting function must be staffed adequately with experienced and
qualified persons. The chart of accounts must be flexible enough to accom-
modate revisions and upgrades to the accounting system.
d) The chart of accounts must be adequate and must be adaptable to properly
account for, and report on, all project activities
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e) Preferably the accounting and reporting system must be computerized. If
not, the manual systems must be adequate to account for project activities
in a timely manner.
3.3 Internal Control
a) Approval and authorization controls must be in place and properly docu-
mented.
b) There must be policies and procedures clearly defining conflict of interest
and related party transactions (real and apparent) and provide safeguards to
protect the organization from them
c) At least monthly bank reconciliations must be prepared by someone other
than those who process or approve payments. All unusual items on the bank
reconciliation must be reviewed and approved by a responsible official.
d) There must be memorandum records of fixed assets and stocks which must
be kept up to date and reconciled with control accounts. All assets must be
sufficiently covered by insurance policies. There should be clear policy on
ownership of fixed assets and where there is donor specific regulation, it
must be stated clearly.
e) Ideally, the organization should have an effective internal audit function
Management must act on the audit findings of the internal auditor without
delay to safeguard the assets of the organization.
3.4 Funds Flow
a) A separate bank account must be operated for the G-rap funding
b) Request for fund disbursement must be made to G-rap 4 clear weeks to
allow for timely disbursement.
c) G-rap must be notified immediately of receipt of funds into RAOs bank
account.
d) A funds flow statement showing the opening balance, funds receipts and uti-
lization and closing balance must be maintained and properly supervised.
e) All unutilized funds must be returned to the G-rap PMT as soon as practicable.
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3.5 Financial Reporting
a) The organization must establish & document financial reporting responsi-
bilities that specify what reports are to be prepared, when they are to be
prepared, periodicity of preparation and content
b) Financial reports must be a crucial management tool and be prepared at
least on a monthly basis.
c) The financial reports must compare actual expenditures with budgeted and
programmed allocations to identify any significant deviations and appropri-
ate corrective measures taken.
3.6 External Audit
a) The organizations financial statements must be audited annually by an
independent auditor. The auditor must be appointed by the governing
board or the executive council or whichever appropriate body separates the
executive and representative of all key stakeholders.
b) Audit reports must be up to date.
c) The audit of the organisation must be conducted in accordance with inter-
national auditing standards.
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