Concept note
In preparation for an intake meeting with the project officer
for the second call of the Sustainable Water Fund (FDW)
General information
Prior to applying for Sustainable Water Fund (FDW), call 2 it is possible to have an informal intake with
the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) on your project idea. During this intake the partnership
constellation and the project idea can be discussed in order to facilitate organisations in preparing good
FDW applications. Intakes are open for organisations that anticipate to become a formal partner in a
project .
The intake is no formal part of the assessment procedure FDW2. Doing an intake is completely
voluntary and no rights can be derived from the intake.
Intakes with RVO.nl can take place from March 10th, 2014 until June 16th, 2014, provided RVO.nl staff is
available. In order to request an intake meeting it is required to prepare a Concept Note using this
format. Send the Concept Note to the mailbox: [email protected] after which RVO.nl will contact you to
make an appointment.
The information in the Concept Note will only be used in relation to the second call of the Sustainable
Water Fund (FDW).
The formats to be used for the actual application for FDW funding can be found at:
http://english.rvo/fdw
How to use this format:
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The shaded boxes contain explanatory information on specific sections of the Concept Note.
Please delete these boxes from the Concept, leaving your own text.
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The Concept Note has to be written in English
The format of the Concept Note is mandatory. A complete Concept Note should not exceed 7
pages.
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Please indicate if some of the requested information is not (yet) available or unsure.
Refer to the Policy Rules FDW, call 2 which is available at http://english.rvo.nl/fdw
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1 General information
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Please fill out the table below.
Project name:
Applicant:
Partners:
Project location(s):
[country(ies) and region(s)]
Theme(s):
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation/efficient water use/ improved
river basin management and safe deltas
2 Project
2.1 Context and problem analysis
Insert your text here…
Describe briefly the project context and what problem the partners wish to address (impact/outcome
level).
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What is the context of the project (e.g. social/economic/Institutional/environmental)
How is the local population, including most vulnerable groups, affected by the problem.
What is the magnitude of the problem?
Rationale
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A sound understanding of the context, the problem, and the underlying causes is
crucial in developing a good intervention strategy.
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The problem relates to the FDW sub-themes: 1) Improved access to safe drinking
water and sanitation; 2) Efficient water use, in particular in agriculture; 3) Improved
river basin management and safe deltas.
2.2 Project objective
Insert your text here…
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Describe in a few sentences the overall objective of the project. Include what long-term outcome and
impact the project is aiming at. Where possible quantify.
Rationale
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The project has to contribute to achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth by
improvement of water security and water safety in developing countries. This relates for
instance to job creation (direct and indirect), economic growth, self-reliance, reduction in
water- and sanitary related diseases, reduction in infant/child mortality, climate
adaptation, ecosystem resilience, disaster risk reduction, availability of natural resources.
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The project should align to local policies and Dutch policy on Developmental Cooperation.
2.3 Intervention
Insert your text here…
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Describe briefly the intervention the partnership wants to implement.
The intervention should be based on a Theory of Change. The Theory of change describes
qualitatively what changes (on macro level) are required to be able to achieve the project objective.
The intervention logically follows the Theory of Change.
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Describe if the intervention will be based on a business case and/or activities focussed on the
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enabling environment (e.g. behavioural change, capacity building, organisational strengthening,
institutional change, laws and regulation). If a revolving fund is part of the project please elaborate
on this aspect.
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How does the intervention include sustainability (Financial, Institutional, Environmental, Technical,
and Social sustainability)
Rationale:
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The interventions, forming the intervention strategy should be based on a Theory of
Change.
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A PPP should be a logical solution to the problem.
Sustainability of the intervention is highly valued and therefore a threshold criterion in
FDW2.
2.4 Results
Insert your text here…
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Provide a brief overview of the project results (both at output and outcome level). The results should
be as specific and time-bound as possible.
Rationale:
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The project should lead to concrete, tangible results
3 Partnership
3.1 Background of the Applicant and Partners
Insert your text here…
Describe the applicant/partner. Answer the following questions for the applicant/partner:
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In which category does the applicant/partner belong: company, NGO, government department or
knowledge institution?
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What is the applicants/partners core activity?
What is the size of the organisation (FTE) and when was it established?
For companies: Who are the owners?
For companies: does the company has a formalized ICSR policy?
Rationale:
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PPP aims to support cooperation between already existing organisations and companies.
3.2 Partners interest, role and expertise
Insert your text here…
Describe the applicants/partners interest to participate in the project, its role within the project and its
expertise that will assure successful execution of its role.
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What will be the role(s) of the applicant/partner within the project?
What is the interest of the applicant/partner in participating the PPP and the project? What does the
applicant/partner gain from this participation?
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What and how will be the contribution of the applicant/partner to the project (both in-cash and inkind).
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What is the expertise of the applicant/partner on:
o
Cooperation in PPPs. Do the partners have previous experience of cooperating in public private
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partnerships?
o
The project theme (Access to safe drinking water and sanitation, efficient water use, and river
basin management).
o
Development cooperation.
o
The local context (project target country and region).
o
M&E, project management, governance and financial and administrative management.
Rationale:
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The core business of the partners should match with the proposed project activities.
The commitment of a partner is reflected in how it will contribute to the project.
A partnership should have sufficient expertise at its disposal (on cooperation, the theme
and the context in which the project will be carried out).
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A good partnership is complementary and efficient.
4 Budget
4.1 Technical Assistance (TA)
Insert your text here…
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Briefly describe the Technical Assistance that will be implemented during the project. This includes,
for instance, project management, training, activities inducing behavioural change, ICSRcertification, M&E cost etc.
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Which partner will provide for which element of Technical Assistance?
Rationale:
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An overview of Technical Assistance is needed to assess the project budget.
4.2 Hardware
Insert your text here…
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Briefly describe the Hardware the project wants to purchase.
Who will be the owner of the hardware during and after the project?
Rationale:
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An overview of all hardware is needed to assess the project's budget.
The technology on which the hardware is based should be commercially proven.
The hardware capacity should be in line with the actual and short term demand.
4.3 Project budget
EXPENSES
Budget item
1.
Technical Assistance
2.
Hardware
3.
Monitoring and evaluation (≥ 2% of total project budget)
Amount (€)
TOTAL EXPENSES (1+2+3)
CONTRIBUTIONS
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Organisation
4.
PPP-subsidy
5.
Applicant
6.
Partner 1
7.
Partner 2
8.
Partner 3
9.
Partner 4
10
TOTAL PARTNERSHIP (5+6+7+8+9)
1
Organisation
type1
Amount in-cash Amount in-kind
(€)
(€)
Comp/NGO/Pub
l/KI
Comp/NGO/Pub
l/KI
Comp/NGO/Pub
l/KI
Comp/NGO/Pub
l/KI
Comp/NGO/Pub
l/KI
Comp = company, NGO = Non-Governmental Organization, Pub = Public partner/Government, KI = Knowledge Institute.
Insert your text here…
Please fill out the table above as far as possible, more information can be found below. In the case the
budget is unknown, or cannot be specified please estimate the project budget.
When applying for FDW funding, RVO.nl will assess the financial capacity of the project partners using
the Key standards table in Appendix 3 to the application (http://english.rvo.nl/fdw). If you like to get
specific advise on this during the intake meeting, it is possible to fill-out Appendix 3 and send it,
together with this intake form, to RVO.nl. Note this will NOT be part of the formal application.
Notes to the various items in the project budget:
1. Technical Assistance
Project management
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This includes the cost for time spent by the project partners and consultants on activities such as
organizing meetings, drafting business plans, reporting and the like.
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Travel and accommodation costs are also included.
Experts
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costs for consultants, engineers, external experts
Training/sensitisation/education
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Cost related to capacity building, behavioural change, but also marketing etc.
Certification
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Cost for certification of quality or ICSR (e.g. ISO-certification, environmental certification);.
Other Technical Assistance
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I.e. legal costs as well as costs for permits, engineers and architects may be included here.
2. Hardware
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Capital goods: these include all investments in tangible, goods used for production.
Infrastructure: cost of creating new or improving existing infrastructure. (Purchases of land or
existing buildings are not eligible for subsidy.)
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All hardware must be DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), excluding VAT.
3. Monitoring & Evaluation
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A minimum of 2% of the total project budget is required to cover Monitoring and Evaluation costs of
the project. This also includes the execution of a baseline study. The output and outcome of projects
with a total budget above € 5,000,000 needs to be evaluated by an independent external party (not
a project partner)
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4. PPP subsidy
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The FDW subsidy is up to 60% of the total project budget for projects on the sub-themes ‘Access to
clean drinking water and sanitation’ and ‘Efficient water use, especially in agriculture’. For project in
the sub-theme ‘Improved Water Resource Management’ the subsidy is up to 70%.
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For capital of a revolving fund: The partnership must contribute at least 40% of the financial capital
of the Revolving Fund in cash. Thus maximum 60% is contributed by FDW, the maximum FDWfunding on the financial capital of the Revolving Fund is €250,000. Do note that this is excluding
costs on Technical Assistance, including training and marketing during development and
implementation of the Revolving Fund.
5-9. Contribution partners
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The project partners should contribute at least 40% of the project budget for projects on the subthemes ‘Access to clean drinking water and sanitation’ and ‘Efficient water use, especially in
agriculture’. For project in the sub-theme ‘Improved Water Resource Management’ a minimal own
contribution of 30% is required.
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At least half of the own contribution should come from companies (20%/15% of the project budget)
In-kind contributions of local public/governmental bodies are not regarded as ‘own contribution’.
9. Project revenues
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Net income generated by the project’s business case (including revolving fund) or other activities.
10. Other contributions
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If there are other financial contributions to the project, then explain what the source of this
contribution is.
The following costs are not to be included in the FDW budget:
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Project cost incurred before the start date of the project, as specified in the Administrative decision.
Costs for compiling and dispatching the FDW application.
Financing costs and interest costs.
Research and development (R&D) costs.
Costs for purchasing, renting or leasing land.
Costs for purchasing, renting or leasing existing buildings.
VAT.
Operational costs, excluding project operational costs.
In-kind contributions of local governmental bodies.
Cost made and paid for by third parties, i.e. parties outside the FDW partnership, are not eligible for
funding. There is one exception namely: Hardware that is directly offered to the project’s target
group can only by eligible for funding if it is demonstrated that is indispensable to reach the most
vulnerable groups, it aligns with the demand and needs of these groups, it does not lead to market
distortion and sustainability of the HW is ensured (e.g. target group is able to pay for operational
and maintenance costs). If funding is provided for this hardware, the funding must be fully used for
the benefit of the target group.
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Inflation costs or costs related to changing exchange rates.
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