How to apply for funding

UK Prosperity Fund in Turkey

The bidding round for 2012-13 is now closed. Results will be communicated by end of April 2012.

The British Embassy in Ankara is seeking project proposals under the Prosperity Fund Programme. Project proposals must outline a clear link to the Fund’s objectives and indicators.  Please refer to the Prosperity Fund Turkey Programme Strategy for more information and the following guidance.

Bidding Process:

Interested organisations should submit a concept bid focused on areas specified under the programme strategy. Once the concept bids are approved by the Prosperity Fund Programme Board, successful bidders will be asked to submit their full bids. After the final evaluation of the Prosperity Fund Post Programme Board, results will be announced and successful bidders will be informed. Projects will be implemented within the next fiscal year which starts 1 April 2012.

The bidding round for 2012-13 is now closed. Results will be communicated by end of April 2012.

Key Documents:

Turkey Programme Strategy [PDF 290 KB] 

Concept Bid Form [Word 214 KB] 

Contact Point:

Please submit your concept bids via email to the Prosperity Fund Coordinator at the British Embassy. We strongly recommend that organisations discuss their proposals with the team before submission. Contact details are as follows:

Mr. Arif Cem Gündoğan
Prosperity Fund Coordinator
Tel: + 90 312 455 32 34
Email: cem.gundogan@fco.gov.uk  

Frequently Asked Questions:

Applicant requirements:

• Please note that we do not have any limitations to applicants.
• Any organisation holding a legal entity can apply for funding.
• Please note that we cannot make any pre-payments. So the successful bidders need to make payments and then ask us to reimburse these project expenses.
• The implementer should be able to receive money transfers from us.
• We don’t support projects submitted by individuals.

Partnerships:

• Please note that partnerships in the proposed projects are not mandatory but are encouraged.

Application Limits:

• There is no official upper limit for project budgets. Project budgets exceeding 125.000 Euros limit will have to implement the CFCU procurement procedures.
• Successful projects will have less than 12 months of implementation time frame, until the end of March 2013, so please plan accordingly.
• Due to limited resources, we expect to fund projects scaling around £30-80K (These are estimates) and micro scale projects that have less than £5K budget. Real values of course can change and will be assessed based on activities of the specific project.

Means of Application:

• You can apply via-email.  We will send confirmation receipt once we receive your application.

Projects must demonstrate that:

• They are practical and have high-impact interventions that will lead to a real and timely transformation in high level policy and action on the ground.  Proposals focusing purely on research, analysis, seminars or workshops will not be relevant unless they lead to specific and measurable action.
• They will trigger further incremental action and gain leverage out of proportion to the money the FCO spends eg by leveraging co-funding from co-donors
• They are adding value to, and not duplicating, other donor activity.
• Host governments have been consulted and are supportive.  If they have not, the bid should provide evidence on how the project has sufficient buy-in from the necessary stakeholders to deliver the expected outcomes.
• Working with governments and official bodies is more likely to result in high impact, transformational outcomes which outlive the duration of the project. But partners can include business and NGOs where their influence can bring around policy change.
• Projects can be at regional or state level within a country, provided that the ability to replicate is built into the proposal and sufficient impact is likely.
• Proposals should outline impact and the changes the project will make.
• Proposals should include any publicity, dissemination and outreach activities in the budget from the outset. Any media work should be directly related to the project proposal.  But any paid for marketing work needs to seek exemption from the Marketing and Advertising Freeze.
• Implementers’ management and administrative costs should be no more than 10% of the overall budget.
• Projects should be based in pounds sterling so that the implementer carries the exchange rate risk. There are no project funds to manage this risk.
• The FCO places a strong emphasis on programme and project-level evaluation. Project implementing organisations must submit quarterly progress reports for the duration of the project, and a project completion form within three months of the project conclusion.

Some Examples of Prosperity Fund activities

Open Global Economy

• Supporting FTAs and the multilateral trade system
• Promoting openness in public procurement
• Promoting intellectual property rights
• Developing policies to encourage FDI
• Reform of finance sector
• Improving foreign access to markets
• Supporting public-private partnerships
• Easing unnecessary regulatory burdens
• Improving public sector efficiency
• Strengthening business networks
• Combating bribery and corruption

Climate Change

• Climate diplomacy in the UNFCCC
• Training in low carbon policies
• Shaping policies to incentivise low carbon
• Capacity building in climate-related legislation
• Shaping national forestry strategies (eg REDD, sustainable management and trade, better understanding of ecosystems)
• Developing low carbon sectors (eg agriculture, construction, transport, industry, town-planning, waste management)
• Trialling carbon capture and storage technologies
• Supporting networks in business / parliament
• Developing emissions trading schemes
• Setting standards in measuring carbon footprints
• Promoting voluntary disclosure of emissions and reduction actions at corporate level
• Improving efficiency / labelling of products

Energy security

• Increasing uptake of power from solar / wind / biomass / marine
• Increasing renewable energy in rural areas
• Developing energy efficiency plans (by geography or sector)
• Enhancing investment climate
• Capacity building in regulation