A guide to the preparation of Feasibility Studies/ Situation Analyses

This guidance is offered to assist partners in preparing documentation to accompany project applications. It must be recognised that this is a valuable process in itself but does not guarantee a successful application.

Overall there is an aim to unite people and communities to take charge of their own situation, become self reliant and active in the decision making process which will affect their future.

Grant Making Principles

There is a clear emphasis on working with groups that can prove that they wish to help the most disadvantaged in society. Examples of this are those with a disability, people coping with HIV/AIDS and women and girls and in general people who are poor and marginalised.

Local people must be consulted and involved throughout. Beneficiaries must be fully integrated into the planning, implementation, development and management of the project.

Work must be integrated with other organisations, learning from experience and sharing this in order to strengthen existing organisations. Attempts should be made to work with the local, regional or national government and existing organisations to improve ways of doing things and to change unfair rules laws or accepted practices. Seek to influence people in power to make these necessary changes.

Beneficiaries should be the motive power behind the project. Major grant makers may fund start up costs, capital and running costs including essential equipment, salaries, transport, rent and education and training. Organisations must become more effective and more answerable to those people that they represent. In this case:

· Grants are seen as making a long- term commitment over a period of up to five years.

· Learning from experience and the ongoing improvement of practice are seen as fundamental.

· A willingness to support those ideas which are difficult to fund. For example where peoples' needs have not been recognised, where few people are aware of the problem, the work is sensitive in nature or where the country or region is not popular with other grant-makers.

· Equal opportunities must be evident throughout the organisation.

· Regular reports and updates will be required.

· There is a clear directive concerning disabled people. There is a wish to change attitudes so that the disabled can feel a valued part of the society in which they live. There needs to be a sound understanding of local cultural beliefs and attitudes towards disability and the barriers that often keep the disabled in poverty thus preventing them from reaching their potential and playing a full part in their community. Grant-makers wish to support work which helps the
disabled to set their own priorities and co-operate to achieve lasting change in their community.

SITUATION ANALYSIS
A Situation Analysis will be required for large projects. There may not be any provision for funding a situation analysis in isolation from the main project. The applicant will usually have to meet the cost of the work involved.

It is expected that applicants will accurately carry out the following tasks:-

· Produce a thorough analysis of the situation in the area.
· Establish who is at greatest disadvantage
· Identify the issues underlying poverty and marginalisation.
· Identify how the situation is currently being dealt with
· Stipulate any project partners
· Identify any other beneficiaries or other interested parties ( Stakeholders)
· Indicate why this target group has been chosen
· Indicate why this particular geographical location has been chosen. Justify the location.
· State why you think your project will actually meet the needs of the most disadvantaged
· Hold community level discussions where a range of marginalised groups can express their opinions and needs. Keep an accurate record of these discussions and produce an action plan identifying the priorities.
· Carry out research using questionnaires, interviews with government officials and obtain appropriate statistics if available. You will need to demonstrate the comparative disadvantage of your chosen geographic area. Priority will be given to those projects which can specifically demonstrate this point.
· Explain why you are working with certain groups and not others.
· Indicate how you will you share the information which you have gathered about disadvantage. Issue a summary report to all interest groups perhaps.
· Identify all relevant stakeholders who might have an influence on your desired outcomes
· Identify all possible allies.
· Identify who needs to be positively engaged and persuaded of the value of this work
· Identify which government bodies and service providers (e.g. church) work in sympathy and will
co-operate with this initiative
· Indicate if HIV/AIDS has a significant impact on this community and how you planned to take account of this
· Demonstrate that you have the skills and experience to manage inputs and account properly for all project costs.

The overall aim is to assist poor people to organise themselves so that their voice can be heard. To demand better services and access to them. To empower poor people to demand their human rights, to do things for themselves but also make demands of those people in power.

We would advise that the way to approach feasibility studies is to gather information that will be of use to the non-government organisation applicant irrespective of whether the project application is approved.
The approach we advise is that each requirement is studied carefully and the necessary consultation procedures required to meet them be devised - i.e. questionnaires, interviews, statistical studies, government legislation, UK DFID Country Strategy papers, etc.

Most applications from NGOs almost wholly relate to service provision and our partners may legitimately wonder why it is difficult to get money for this from major grant givers. The attitude appears to be that services are best delivered through government departments rather than charities and NGOs (The FIOH Fund does not agree with this approach although it does recognise the importance of education and empowerment to help people obtain their rights under the law).

Many small trusts and other grant givers do, however, focus on different aspects of service delivery and the trustees will seek to help the Fund's partners by making them aware of grant giving criteria.

We must point out that the unrestricted reserves of the FIOH Fund are small and that most applications will have to be submitted in accordance with the criteria of specific grant makers. This will be the responsibility of the NGO applicant. Any applications that do not meet this requirement are unlikely to be considered.

Applicants are also advised that major grant givers are likely to ask for a an 'independent referee' separate from the Charity who is based in the UK and is familiar with the work of the applicant NGO.