Deadline: 30-Apr-23
The British Embassy in Doha is inviting project proposals under the Gulf Strategy Fund in the range of £50,000 to £80,000.
The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) fund by the FCDO’s International Programme. GSF supports the implementation of FCDO priorities for Qatar identified in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate (MENAD) strategy. It supports Qatar’s ambitious ‘National Vision 2030’ agenda for modernisation, economic diversification and climate action, while enhancing mutual prosperity by promoting inward investment and creating opportunities for UK companies, especially in the education, climate, culture, tourism, sport and finance sectors.
Scope and Purpose
- GSF Programme in Qatar in year 2022-2023 was instrumental in sustaining and enhancing bilateral collaboration between the State of Qatar, and the UK in areas of high strategic priority, such as transnational precision healthcare research, food security, aquatic disease management, and support to VAT implementation in Qatar. Most recently, GSF contributed to the successful delivery of a safe and secure 2022 World Cup, in particular, the provision of UK expertise, to support Qatar’s football policing capability and youth sports programmes.
- This call for proposals runs in parallel with the Qatar Country Business Plan development process, and projects will be expected to align with strategic direction. GSF funding is not intended to support isolated activities, such as a single visit or trade mission. Projects must makes a clear contribution to strategic objectives and have a clear outcome, such as unlocking wider progress and moving the UK-Qatar partnership forward in a substantive way. All projects must demonstrate value for money. FCDO defines ‘value-for-money’ as, ‘making the best possible use of their all resources to maximise their impact’. In programme work, maximising impact includes having a robust, evidence-based theory of change demonstrating the causal pathway between the intervention and outcomes that support FCDO strategic priorities.
- Proposals in the areas of culture, climate action, and institutional capacity building including justice and security, and women and youth leadership projects, and technology will be prioritised in this round.
- They recommend considering how proposed projects can support UK and Qatar climate ambitions and targets. They also draw your attention to the MENAD Gender Charter pledge released in September 2021, which calls on Posts to carry out specific and targeted work on gender equality and inclusion, and to ensure gender equality and inclusion is mainstreamed in any programme design and delivery.
- British Embassy Doha recognises the challenges of working in a rapidly changing environment, reliant on the schedules and priorities of external actors. This particularly impacts the scheduling of activities and becomes difficult when planning a multi-year programme. They therefore embrace flexible and adaptive approaches as a key component of project effectiveness and value for money.
Focus Area
- British Embassy Doha is keen to receive proposals in the following areas:
- Culture
- Climate action
- Institutional capacity building including justice and security
- Women and youth leadership projects
- Technology-based solutions, particularly those that draw on artificial intelligence; quantum technologies; engineering biotechnology; future telecoms; or semiconductors
Focus Area
- The Gulf Strategy Fund in the range of £50,000 to £80,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to organisations based anywhere in the world, however, priority will be given to those with strong, existing links to (and a track record of successful delivery in) Qatar and/or the GCC and the UK. They are only accepting applications from not-for-profit entities at this point.
Parameters for assessment
- In awarding and overseeing programme funds, BED is obliged to comply with all Cabinet Office and FCDO rules and guidance, including but not limited to those set out in the FCDO Programme Operating Framework (PrOF). Partners should take note of the following requirements:
- All project proposals must have a single lead implementer, which holds full accountability for the full project budget. A lead Implementer may in some cases sub-contract project activity to a third party
- FCDO can only pay for costs that are incurred after signature and between the start and end date stated in a funding arrangement or contract. Project start-dates must post-date signature on the relevant MoU, Grant Agreement (GA) or Contract, and no costs may be incurred by projects prior to signing by both parties
- No payment can be made in advance of need. British Embassy Doha will not consider any request from an implementing partner for advance payments
- All new programmes and the projects must align with the Paris Agreement and assess climate and environmental impact and risks, taking steps to ensure that no environmental harm is done
- All programmes must consider and demonstrate how their interventions will impact gender equality, disability inclusion and those with protected characteristics
- All projects involving paid-for communications activity must receive clearance from the Professional Communications Assurance (PCA) team prior to signing a GA / MoU / Contract
- All approved projects will be expected to comply with FCDO mandated reporting requirements using templates provided, including:
- Monthly ABB forecasts;
- Quarterly Monitoring Reports and
- Project closure report
- All projects activities must be completed within the financial year for which the funding is approved. Projects should plan to complete activities by February or very-early March to allow for financial processing to be concluded before the end of each financial year.
For more information, visit British Embassy in Doha.
