Call for proposals: Promoting knowledge management through learning communities program

Authors/Editors: Inter American Development Bank/BID
Publication date: 2008

Overview

Project proposals should support the objectives of the Program by seeking to:

  • Foster knowledge-sharing, inter-institutional collaboration and capacity-building among Multilateral Investment Fund MIF partner executing agencies.
  • Enhance the probability of taking Multilateral Investment Fund MIF projects to scale and/or replicating them in other contexts.

Proposal deadline: There is no deadline for project proposals. Submissions can be made any time of year, on a “first-come, first served” basis, ending in the 3rd year of the Program to allow time for project implementation and disbursements.

Geographic scope: Projects should be national or regional.

Eligible institutions:

  • Non-profit private sector institutions including non-governmental organizations, industry associations, chambers of commerce, etc.
  • Projects should involve at least three institutions, at least one of which must have successfully executed a MIF project. (A successful project is defined as one that achieved its development objectives.)
  • One of these institutions that has successfully executed a MIF project must be the provider of the services required by the requesting institutions (beneficiaries), and be pre-selected by them.

Activities to be financed: Proposals must include at least two activities/components, in addition to a dissemination plan, i.e. how the knowledge gained will be disseminated and utilized within the beneficiary institutions(s), as well as a plan for disseminating project results to the other members of the learning community.

  • Learning materials (i.e. learning guides, manuals, best practices, research studies and other publications);
  • Training (i.e. courses, seminars, conferences on specific topics);
  • Inter-institutional internships, focusing on mentoring i.e. one-on-one training (in new methodologies or new product development);
  • Communication tools (website, online discussion forums), using MIF guidelines and/or platform;
  • Technology transfer among participating institutions;
  • Development of databases (projects/consultants/available resources);
  • Competitions to highlight best practices and lessons learned in successful MIF projects.

Excluded activities: The following activities will not be financed:

  • Investments in physical infrastructure (construction, purchase of land/property or durable equipment such as heavy machinery);
  • Direct credit to beneficiaries;
  • Debt repayment;
  • Purchase of raw materials (agricultural and industrial);
  • Purchase of motor vehicles;
  • Salaries of employees of the executing agency;
  • Consultants that assist in the design of the project are generally ineligible to be financed by MIF funds for project execution;
  • Overhead expenses – instead, these types of expenses can be recognized as part of the counterpart contribution;
  • Generally MIF/IDB resources are not to be used to cover any sales or import taxes associated with the purchase of goods or contracting of services;
  • MIF resources cannot be used to cover any expenditures incurred prior to project approval by the MIF.

Financing: MIF financing for each approved project will be US$75,000, up to a maximum amount of US$150,000, depending on the activities proposed. Proposals should be sent via e-mail to KMprogram@iadb.org

Selection by the Advisory Group: Each project will be selected for funding by a 5-person Advisory Group comprising:

  • an operations specialist from the MIF;
  • a representative of the Office of Knowledge and Learning of the Bank;
  • the MIF Specialist in the country of the service provider for the project;
  • an external expert in the project’s thematic area, such as the existing cluster coordinator or consultant; and
  • the Program coordinator. Multiple proposals from the same institution will not be funded.

Execution and disbursement period: The execution period for each approved project will be to 12-18 months. The disbursement period will be up to 20 months.