New call for proposals to support Seed Money projects on salinity

Following last year’s success, the Saline Water & Food Systems (SW&FS) Partnership, convened by the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP) and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), is opening a new call for proposals to support Seed Money projects on salinity.

Aim of the fund

The Seed Money Facility 2024 supports projects and activities that will help the SW&FS Partnership achieve its goal: to strengthen cooperation between the Dutch water and agrifood sectors to address the challenge of salinity in LMICs. The Facility also promotes activities that trigger financing initiatives proposed by partnership members with partners elsewhere.

The Facility does not finance pilots or implementation projects itself, but helps initiate development or scale-up proposals that may attract additional funding elsewhere.

Type of projects

We accept proposals for the following types of projects:

pilots/demonstrations;
projects geared toward advocacy, communication, and policy dialogue activities; and,
projects that strengthen local networks, partnerships, and knowledge-sharing.

Project budget

The Facility can help provide financial support of between EUR 10,000 and EUR 30,000 (including all relevant taxes) for each eligible project. The project costs covered can include staff, travel, training/workshops, and other material costs. It does not cover overhead costs. Own investment (e.g. in-kind) can be included to close a project budget, and can also serve as an indicator of the need for the project (see Evaluation Criteria below).

The Seed Money Facility is managed by the NWP and NFP as convening partners of the Saline Water & Food Systems Partnership. The budget will be commissioned and contracted by NFP.

Focus countries

The Seed Money Facility can be used for the Netherlands’ current Partner and Focus Countries in development collaboration: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam and Yemen.

Requirements to apply for the Seed Money Facility are as follows:

Activities need to take place in at least one, or a combination of, of the focus countries.
Projects assess and build upon the local context. Projects involve relevant LMIC stakeholders in the target country/region.
On consortium composition and governance:
- the consortium’s lead applicant is an LMIC-based organisation;
- at least one of the partners in the consortium is a Dutch entity;
- public sector, private sector, NGOs, and knowledge institutes can apply (on behalf of a consortium).
Project activities do not directly benefit a single organisation but contribute to collaborative partnership building and pre-competitive project development.
The budget of the project is between EUR 10,000 and EUR 30,000 (excl. sales tax).
No replication of earlier projects or resubmissions.
Projects are finalised (including submitting a final report) before 15 December 2024.

Projects preferably:

have a plan for the promotion and widespread dissemination of project results;
constitute public-private partnerships;
are endorsed by the Embassy of the Netherlands in the target country/region; and,
seek complementarity with other or previous initiatives.

Proposal assessment

As stated above, initiatives proposed by partnership members can be financially supported through this Facility. Proposals should be drafted and submitted to the Partnership conveners. A committee of external evaluators will evaluate the proposal. NFP and NWP, SW&FS's convening partners, are authorised to take decisions about these investments and are accountable to the donor (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The criteria outlined below will serve to evaluate proposals and make well-founded decisions about whether to make funding available.

Administrative checks

Proposal submitted are completed in line with the template.
Activities take place in shortlisted country/countries.
The budget is clear and complete.

Evaluation criteria

A. Problem definition and contribution (20 points)

Description of objectives and implementation activities on how to address salinity challenges.
Clear positioning of the initiative on the salinity ‘spectrum’ (adaptation/mitigation).
Connection with partnership scope, objectives, vision, and/or contribution to the main functions of the SW&FS Partnership.
Description of anticipated deliverables (direct outputs/longer-term outcomes).
Timeline including milestones.

B. Consortium (10 points)

Quality of the project implementing partnership; involving partners in the target country/region and the right Dutch/international partners.
Consortium/partnership track record/portfolio.

C. Budget (10 points)

Explanation on the need for financial support including own investment or co-funding arrangements.
Reality check budget.
At least 10 percent of the time capacity should be allocated to the follow-up phase of the initiative (i.e. after the formal project completion date).

D. Future prospects (10 points)

Description of communication and dissemination plan about the results to other SW&FS partners and if appropriate a wider audience.
Follow-up plan about scalability/driving follow-up of the initiative, including financing options.

Publication of proposals and project results

Approved project proposals and final project results will be published on the interactive NFP Connects platform and on the NWP website. In case of sensitive information, in agreement with the NFP and NWP, specific project information may be kept confidential.