DFID Development Awareness Mini grants
Overview
The Mini Grants Scheme is aimed at organisations or networks with an interest in development education work in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who want to undertake 1-3 year projects which seek to raise awareness and understanding of international development issues; of our global interdependence; of the need for international development; and of the progress that has been made and that is possible. DFID's contribution to a project will be a minimum grant of £1,000 and a maximum grant of £10,000 per year.
The grants are administered in Northern Ireland by by the Centre for Global Education (CGE)
The Aims of DFID's Development Awareness Fund (DAF)
The overall aim of the Development Awareness Fund is to support activities that promote the following:
- Knowledge and understanding of the major challenges and prospects for development, in particular the poverty reduction agenda, but also of developing countries themselves.
- Understanding of our global interdependence, and in particular that failure to reduce global poverty levels will have serious consequences for us all.
- Understanding of, and support for, international efforts to reduce poverty and promote development including the Millennium Development Goals (previously known as the International Development Targets). Recognition of progress made, and that further progress is both affordable and achievable.
- Understanding of the role that individuals can play, enabling them to make informed choices.
However, it is highly recommended that you read DFID's strategy paper, Building Support for Development, before submitting an application to the DAF Mini Grant Scheme. For your application to be successful, you must demonstrate how your project will raise awareness in the UK of international development issues. DFID looks for projects that generate knowledge and understanding of the Millennium Development Goals, and the values that underpin them, amongst new and wider audiences.
Successful applications are those that are clearly defined as projects, rather than core programme work and have clear and realistic development education objectives, directly contributing to DFID's aims.
In preparing your application, you should show how your project will make the link to the DAF objectives, and specifically, how it will bring about an understanding of the importance of reducing poverty elsewhere in the world.
In previous years, many projects were unsuccessful because they lacked a 'global' and international development element, failed to show how this element would contribute to DFID's aims, or failed to make a link with poverty reduction.
Provided your project contributes to the aims of the Fund, preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate one or more of the following qualities:
- Partnerships made up of traditional development education organisations and organisations new to development education.
- Projects which seek to engage new audiences and organisations.
- Organisations operating mainly within a defined local or regional area (England).
- Projects led by or involving Black and Ethnic Minority organisations.
- Projects which build on genuine partnership.
- Innovative projects.
- Projects that build capacity to deliver development education.
Projects can be for one to three years. Each year of the project should correspond to DFID's financial year, running from 1 April to 31 March.
DFID contribution to a project will be a minimum grant of £1,000 and a maximum grant of £10,000 per year. They would expect applicants to provide some funding towards the project. 100% funding will only be possible in exceptional circumstances.
Administration costs can be included in your application, provided they relate specifically to your project.
How to apply
Full guidelines and application forms are available from the contact or visit the website. A call for application is usually made in late summer with a deadline in late October.