This call for preliminary proposals is part of Global Affairs Canada’s five-year pilot initiative targeted at Canadian small and medium organizations (SMOs). The pilot initiative seeks to engage Canadian SMOs in international assistance efforts in areas consistent with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. It is a direct response to feedback we received during the International Assistance Review consultations to provide predictable opportunities to apply for funding to Canadian SMOs. It seeks to diversify Global Affairs Canada’s partnerships and enhance the impacts of our international assistance investments.

Before beginning an application, be sure to read the instructions in How to apply for funding through a call for preliminary proposals.

We may fund any number of proposals, or none, up to the maximum funding available.

Please note that we anticipate launching additional calls for preliminary proposals under the Development Impact Window during the next three years.

Objective of this call

Under this call, preliminary proposals must contribute to the achievement of the objectives of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which seeks to reduce extreme poverty and build a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world. The policy recognizes that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is the most effective approach to achieving this goal. Proposed projects must align with at least one of the action areas outlined in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.

• Action Area 1 (Core Action Area): Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls
• Action Area 2: Human Dignity  (please note that proposals for humanitarian assistance projects will not be considered under this call)
• Action Area 3: Growth that Works for Everyone
• Action Area 4: Environment and Climate Action
• Action Area 5: Inclusive Governance
• Action Area 6: Peace and Security

Organization eligibility

Carefully review the following eligibility criteria that we will use to screen submitted application packages for this call for preliminary proposals. We will not comment on the eligibility of individual potential applicants. To be eligible, you must be able to answer “yes” to each requirement and, where stipulated, provide supporting documentation.

• Your organization is legally incorporated in Canada, and can provide proof of legal status (e.g., a letter of incorporation) and a Canada Revenue Agency business number.
• You are providing an attestation signed by your organization’s financial director or president indicating that your organization is a Canadian small or medium organization according to the following definition for this call for preliminary proposals: the consolidated revenue in your organization’s financial statements is equal to or less than $10 million (this limitation does not apply to educational  institutions) and your organization does not have annual overseas expenditures exceeding $2 million in development assistance (i.e. projects administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as their main objective (regardless of the funding source)).
• If your organization is submitting a proposal on behalf of a group of organizations, each organization must be a Canadian SMO as per the definition above for this call and must provide the requisite Canadian Small or Medium Organization Attestation. You must scan the attestations together into one single document and submit it as part of the application package.
• You are providing two financial statements dated within 30 months of the submission of the application. These statements should be signed by a member of the board of directors or delegate, if possible. Audited statements are preferred.
• You are submitting only one application under this call (either on your own or with other Canadian SMOs).
• If your organization submits more than one application under this call, either on your own or as a co-signatory to a funding agreement, we will only consider the one with the earliest submission time stamp.

Required project parameters

Carefully read the parameters of this call for preliminary proposals to see whether your project idea will fit within them. You must be able to answer “yes” to all of the following statements for your application to be considered eligible under this call.

• Value: You are requesting Global Affairs Canada funding of at least CAD $500,000 and no more than CAD $2,000,000.
• Cost share: Your organization would provide at least 5% of the total eligible direct project costs over the life of the project in cash and/or in kind.
• Duration: Your proposed project would last at least two (2) years and no more than five (5) years.
• Geographic alignment: Your proposed project would take place in one or more Official Development Assistance-eligible countries as listed in the Partners@International portal of Global Affairs Canada and not in non-Official Development Assistance-eligible countries.
• Alignment with the Feminist International Assistance Policy: Your proposed project would align with at least one of the action areas in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.
• Locally-driven proposal: Your organization would work with its own local office(s) or a local partner(s) in the country(ies) where your project would take place and you have included information on them in the Local Partner(s) - Information form submitted with the application package.
• Not-for-profit proposal: Your proposed project would not generate a profit for you or any other organization participating in the project (please see section 15 of the Terms and Conditions of the International Development Assistance Program).
• Language of proposal package: Your application documents are complete and presented in either English or French or a combination of these two languages.

Please note that if you are proposing to undertake construction or water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure activities, you must be able to demonstrate in Section 3 of the preliminary proposal application form for this call that you have a minimum of five years of recent experience in implementing the type of construction or WASH infrastructure activities that would be implemented in the proposed project (“recent experience” is defined as five years of experience within the last 10 years). This experience must have been acquired while working with Global Affairs Canada, another department of the Government of Canada, or any other aid agency or multilateral development institution. In the case of an application from a group of Canadian SMOs that would all be co-signatories to a funding agreement, at least one member must meet this requirement.

After we assess eligible preliminary proposals, we will invite a limited number of organizations to submit a full proposal. An invitation to submit a full proposal is not a guarantee of funding. The forms that you will need to submit a full proposal will be sent along with the invitation.

Please note that we may give preference to projects that include activities that take place in sub-Saharan Africa.

How to submit a preliminary proposal application package

If your organization is not already registered in the Partners@International portal of Global Affairs Canada, be sure to do so as soon as possible, as it can take 10 or more business days to process your registration request.

You must upload the preliminary proposal application form and supporting documents and submit them through the Partners@International portal of Global Affairs Canada by December 21, 2017 before 12 p.m. (noon) Eastern Standard Time.

Your preliminary proposal application package must include all of the following documents:

• a completed preliminary proposal application form with a “Validated” label on the first page
• a Local Partner(s) - Information form
• Canadian Small or Medium Organization Status Attestation  
• two financial statements dated within 30 months of the submission of the application. (These statements should be signed by a member of the board of directors or delegate, if possible. Audited statements are preferred.)

If we invite you to submit a full proposal later, you will be required to submit additional documents, including but not limited to:

• a completed full proposal application form (please note that an updated full proposal application form will be available on the Global Affairs Canada web site in 2018)
• local partner letter(s) of agreement (signed by the local partner(s))
• Country Annex Form(s) (completed)
• a Declarations and Guarantees Form (completed and signed)
• a budget spreadsheet (completed), using the Global Affairs Canada template

Invited applicants will have approximately eight weeks after they receive an invitation letter from Global Affairs Canada to submit a full proposal.