Eligibility

In line with the Global Guidelines for Country Based Pooled Funds (CBPF), the MHF Operational Manual and eligibility guidance documents that govern its management, national NGOs, international NGOs and UN Agencies are eligible to MHF grants. However, the MHF will only fund active NGOs which have completed the due diligence process through the online Grant Management System (GMS), have undergone the capacity assessment process and become eligible to receive the Fund. Active participation in the humanitarian coordination system at sub-national level, including the sectoral coordination, will be also considered during the evaluation of the project proposal for funding.

The Assessment Process
The eligibility process is comprised of five inter-linked steps, each with its own review and feedback system to ensure transparency.

  • Registration: Prospective partners initiate the process to become a partner by contacting the HFU, and thereby requesting access to the MHF Grant Management System (GMS). Further details might be requested on a case-by-case basis.
  • Due diligence: Once the registration process is concluded, the partner is granted access to the GMS (gms.unocha.org) and the Due Diligence (DD) process begins. A thorough review of DD applications and documents is performed to ensure that partners meet the minimum requirements.
  • Capacity assessment: In order to be eligible for funding, NGOs must undergo a capacity assessment. As one of the major pillars of OCHA MHF accountability framework, the objective of the capacity assessment is to review the institutional, technical, management and financial capacities of the partner and to ensure that the Fund has the necessary information to make informed decisions about the overall eligibility and risk rating of the partner.
  • Risk Rating: Based on the score obtained during the capacity assessment, eligible partners will be categorized in three risk-level categories (low, medium and high).
  • Performance Index: As eligible partners implement the MHF supported projects, their risk level will be adjusted by their Performance Index (PI) score. This PI tool is a key part of the accountability framework, and will allow the MHF to generate an up to date rating of partner performance. The rating of the performance of partners in the implementation of projects will be used alongside the original capacity assessment to determine and adjust as necessary partner risk levels. For example, if a partner is strong in the implementation of its projects, it’s performance rating will be high, and this could lead to the partner moving from a medium to low-risk rating.

Project proposals from eligible partners who did not address key questions requested by the MHF during ongoing or previous projects’ implementation (e.g., monitoring and audit recommendations, alleged fraudulent cases) and did not demonstrate to have specific provisions on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and anti-fraud and conflict of interest will not be considered and be excluded of the strategic review. Any technical questions with regards to eligibility and/or partnership arrangements can be directed at OCHA: MHF-Myanmar@un.org, +95 12305682 ext. 204.

A consortium approach with several partners working in cooperation is encouraged: several partners can either apply together with one partner taking the lead. The objective would be for partners to either deliver the same package of assistance in different geographical areas or to complement each other’s work (i.e., different organizations deliver different relief assistance in the same community).

Partnership with national humanitarian actors is also strongly encouraged. Clear and identifiable coaching, mentoring, and capacity building activities should be integrated as much as possible. However, whilst these activities can form a sub-set of the overall outcome of the project, they cannot represent the main output of the project. Organizations that have not yet completed MHF eligibility process can be sub-implementing partners to an eligible organization. However, the signatory organization will bear full responsibility for the work and actions of its sub-implementing partners.

Resources
Grant Management System
MHF Questions & Answers (November 2020)
MHF Project Proposal Design Training Material (May 2019)
MHF Project Proposal Template (Narrative)
MHF Project Proposal Template (Budget)