Download Concept Note Chile Fund Against Hunger and Poverty

CHILE FUND AGAINST HUNGER AND POVERTY
CONCEPT NOTE
I.
Introduction
The Chile Fund against Hunger and Poverty has been created by the Chilean
Government and UNDP with the purpose of strengthening the Chilean’s cooperation
policy through the creation and implementation of an international cooperation fund
to fight hunger and poverty.
The creation of this Fund intends to contribute to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by promoting South-South Cooperation
strategies, sharing the Chilean experience in economic and social issues, as well as the
design, implementation and assessment of public policies with countries of the same
or lower relative development.
II.
Background
In order to finance Chile’s contributions to UNITAID and other initiatives to fight
hunger and poverty in the World, on December 1, 2006, Chilean Congress approved a
law (N° 20138) which authorizes contributions on behalf of the Government to up to
US$5 million per year. These resources were approved as part of international
initiatives against hunger and poverty, and are required to be channeled for such
purpose, through the Funds, Programs and Agencies of the United Nations System.
Since that year, Chile has implemented this innovative mechanism of international
cooperation, contributing with approximately US$ 20 million to fight hunger and
poverty around the world.
On the other hand, United Nations member states have recognized the need to
approach development issues from an associative, multilateral perspective; which was
acknowledged as one of the Millennium Goals, specifically reflected in Goal 8:
developing a global partnership for development. The search for innovative funding
mechanisms, as well as the South-South Cooperation (SSC) appears then as a key
element to achieve such goal.
It is currently recognized that south-south cooperation not only helps strengthens
technical capabilities of the countries involved in such exercise, but also contributes in
strengthening bonds that are useful to draw nations closer together, and for fostering
dialogue on areas beyond the activities within the framework of Cooperation
exercises.
The United Nations Country Team in Chile, formed by the heads of the United
Nations Agencies present in the country, identified South-South Cooperation within
Latin American, the Caribbean and other countries as one of the five priorities
within the Assistance Framework for Development of the United Nations
System in Chile (UNDAF) for the period 2011-2014. UNDAF´s goal is to support the
consolidation of Chile as a meddle income contributing country, by enabling
systemization of what the country has to offer for international cooperation as well as
identifying other countries’ demands and channeling them efficiently. It proposes to
foster the creation of cooperation initiatives and best practice exchange among the
governments, civil society organizations of Latin American and Caribbean countries, as
well as other developing countries, thus complying with the Goal number 8 of the
MDG.
The Country Program 2011-2014, as agreed between the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) and the Chilean Government, considers south-south
cooperation as part of its joint programme.
The Chilean Government considers international cooperation for development and
the compliance with the MDG of vital importance. Within such context, one of the
priorities of its foreign policy´s priorities is to increase cooperation, which is considered
as an essential component of such policy and an efficient tool in the compliance with
its goals. It is within such framework that the Chilean Government has decided to
encourage the creation of a special Fund to fight hunger and poverty in lower and
middle income countries, with part of the resources collected as a result of Law
N°20.138 with the collaboration of the United Nations Development Program.
III.
Strategy
The Chilean Government and the UNDP Office in Chile have agreed to enhance
mutual cooperation to achieve MDG at an international level. The proposal is to
achieve such purpose by creating and managing a Fund to support cooperation
projects to fight hunger and poverty in countries of equal or lower relative
development.
The Fund’s aim is to satisfy the needs and priorities of requesting countries
integrating in the execution of its activities, state or government entities both Chilean
and foreign, as well as civil society and academic organizations. The purpose is to
efficiently respond to demands of different nature, in a timely manner while focusing
in those areas where the Chilean experience against hunger and poverty may be used
as a good practice for other countries.
IV.
Fund’s Operation
The Chilean Government and the UNDP will be responsible for the design,
preparation, assessment and supervision of the activities financed by the Chile Fund
Against Hunger and Poverty. For this purpose, a Steering Committee has been
established, which is responsible for all final decisions regarding selection of
projects and monitoring of their adequate implementation.
1. The projects submitted must aimed at contributing to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals and the fight against hunger and poverty in
countries of equal or lower income than Chile. The Steering Committee will
prioritize for the first round projects in Haiti, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua,
Surinam, Guyana, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, CARICOM countries and Palestine.
2. Projects and activities aimed to deliver international cooperation on issues where
Chile has shown significant achievements in public policies, and particularly those
oriented to knowledge and experience transfer shall be prioritized. Initiatives in
areas such as: Malnutrition, Food Security Fostering Employment and Decent
Employment, Design of Social Programs, among other shall be funded.
3. Projects may include activities such as: experts exchange, missions, scholarships,
volunteer work, training (courses, seminars) among others. Infrastructure or the
purchase of assets (including vehicles for example) will not be eligible.
4. Public and private institutions will be eligible to participate, as well as UNDP offices
and other United Nations agencies, as defined by the regulations established by
the Steering Committee.
5. Project will need to be submitted before due dates defined by the Committee.
6. The Steering Committee integrated by representatives of the Chilean Government
and the country office of the United Nations Development Program in Chile will
select projects according to the following criteria:
o Quality of the project’s formulation and design
o Relevance for the achievement of the MDGs and the fight against hunger
and poverty
o Priority countries
o Coherence among results, proposed activities, budget requested and
chronogram
o Impact and potential for sustainability of the proposed initiative
o Contribution of the implementing institution to the project (not necessarily
financial)
V.
Amount and duration of the projects
The Fund shall finance projects of up to USD 200,000, with one-year duration.
Projects need to be submitted to the Steering Committee by filling the Project Profile
(document attached).
VI.
Projects’ Formulation
The project profiles selected by the Committee for financing will be
required to complete a Results and Resources Framework, with a detail of the
activities to be carried out, budget, indicators and performance chronogram.
All financed projects will be required to accompany implementation with a visibility
strategy aimed at communicating the activities carried out, results obtained and
individuals and groups benefitted by the intervention supported by the Fund.