The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Annex 3: Budget Guidelines

Transcription

1 Contents The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Annex 3: Budget Guidelines 1. General Guidelines & Requirements Budget for Project Activities Budget for M&E/Audit/Management Costs Ineligible Costs Detailed Guide to Categories, Activities and Budget Lines Administrative Agent Fee Audio Visual and Printing Production Cost Audit Capacity Development Workshop Communication and Audio Visual Equipment Contractual Services - Company Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) Equipment Indirect Cost Information Technology Equipment International Consultant Local Consultant Material and Goods Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Office Supplies Others Personnel Stipend or Allowance Training, Workshops Travel Budget Summary Tables (A and B) and Budget Narrative Next Steps: Important Considerations and Accountability... 11

2 1. General Guidelines & Requirements General Guidelines. This section is aimed at helping applicants prepare the budget component of the Results and Resources Framework (RRF). The budget reflects, in monetized terms, the set of activities and interventions outlined in the Full-Fledged Proposal (FFP). In this regard, the UN Trust Fund expects the applicant to be prudent and reasonable in presenting required resources, and use sound and verifiable methods for budget estimates. Any major assumption should be included in the budget narrative. Currency of the Budget. Unless otherwise indicated, the budget must be submitted in USD. All assumptions with regards to the foreign exchange used should be disclosed in the budget narrative. Applicants should use the UN Operational Rates of Exchange at taking into account historical fluctuations in local currency. Level of Detail: For each budget category, include assumptions, quantities and unit prices in the Description column where applicable. Budget Ceilings. Budget ceilings, where indicated, must be taken into account when preparing the budget. Applications that do not follow the requirements will be disqualified. Please pay attention to the ceilings indicated below: Categories Personnel (under management budget) Indirect Costs Civil Society Organizations, Professional Associations and Research Institutions For projects between US$ 50,000 and US$ 500,000: Personnel costs for managing the project must not exceed 20 per cent (20%) of the grant requested. For projects between US$ 500,000 and US$ 1,000,000: Personnel costs for managing the project must not exceed 10 per cent (10%) of the grant requested. Indirect project costs are related to administrative support of the project including financial management and information resources management. Other indirect expenses comprise additional rental of office space, office maintenance and utilities, telecommunications and office supplies. The maximum indirect project costs cannot exceed seven per cent (7%) of the total grant requested and must be related to the approved project, with no exceptions. The amount specified will be reviewed in relation to the overall costs and is subject to revision. Governments It is expected that full personnel costs will be borne under the government's regular or project budget and should be reflected as such. Short-term consultancies needed specifically for implementation of this project may be considered and should be reflected under the Contractual Services budget line. Indirect costs are not applicable and government applicants are requested to submit their proposed budgets accordingly. Audit Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Each project may be subject to an audit during its lifetime by a UN Women designated auditor. A provision at 3.5 per cent (3.5%) of the grant requested should be included in the first year of implementation to cover this cost. Please indicate UN Women as Responsible party in the budget. Each project must have an appropriate and proportionate budget for monitoring and evaluation activities: you should budget for (a) baseline data collection; (b) ongoing data collection and monitoring during project implementation; (c) end line data collection and (d) final external evaluation. The exact amount for these will depend on the factors such as the size and scope of the project and the complexity of the planned data collection methodology and evaluation design. Baseline data collection, end line and routine monitoring can be done by project staff (especially if you have M&E capacity). In this case, costs could be minimal but you should budget for staff travel and time (especially if you will need to visit project sites at distance), materials, office supplies and printing (e.g. to design and print surveys, questionnaires etc.) and cost of convening focus groups etc. Baseline data collection can take from several weeks to a few months, depending on scale. Routine monitoring should be done at least every 1

3 six months and again this may incur the same costs as above. You may wish to seek external support from consultants and specialists. Partnerships with local academics, universities and researchers is encouraged, if it helps minimize cost. To note, a Final External Evaluation is mandatory for all UN Trust Fund projects and this activity is prepopulated in the RRF. External consultants (national and/or international) must complete the evaluation and therefore costs will include daily fees (for at least 2 weeks), travel costs, accommodation and other overheads. If evaluation design includes experimental methodologies and/or randomized control trials the costs will be much higher than non-experimental designs. The UN Trust Fund will only approve hiring of international consultants where local expertise is not available. Experience shows that irrespective of grant size, the minimum reasonable cost for a (non-experimental) External Evaluation is US$ 20,000, increasing depending on complexity and scale. For interventions that are relatively innovative and pilot in character and where evaluation has a strong learning and participatory aspect the costs are likely to constitute a relatively high proportion of programme resources (20% or more). The UN Trust Fund is interested in funding more projects with a specific research and evaluation component that can contribute to the global knowledge base on EVAW/G. Therefore, we may consider funding projects that allocate more than 20% to M&E, but please make a specific case for this in the M&E section of the Project Narrative. Important note for small organizations applying for small grants: The Final External Evaluation will be centralized and managed by the UN Trust Fund (UN Women). Please assign the amount of US$ 10,000 under the Final Evaluation budget line in the final project implementation year and indicate UN Women as Responsible Party. Apart from this US$ 10,000 for Final External Evaluation budget, the applicant will also need to separately budget for baseline, endline and routine data collection and monitoring. UNTF Capacity Development Workshop are required to allocate US$ 10,000 of the grant requested to participate in the results-based management and monitoring and evaluation training organized by the UN Trust Fund. This amount should be indicated in the first year of implementation with UN Women as Responsible party 2. Budget for Project Activities All applicants must specify the associated cost per key project activity. Please note the following: Responsible party/implementing agency: select only one responsible party or implementing agency per budget line. Budget category: select one budget category per budget line from the menu. (Below is the dropdown menu you will see in the online system). o You may have several budget lines per activity in order to have several different budget categories. For instance, you might choose Travel in the first budget line, and then Local Consultant for the 2 nd budget line for one project activity. Budget item description (maximum of 15 words): provide description of budget item(s) under each budget line. o For instance, under Travel budget category, you might put public transportation cost and accommodation. Under Local consultant, you might put one trainer for 3-day training. All amounts must be entered in US dollars (USD). Enter amount without any periods, commas, symbols or spaces. Please round up to the nearest dollar. Budget Categories for project activities Budget category 1. International consultants 2.Local Consultants 3.Contractual services companies Description and examples of expense items Sample Budget Items To recruit short-term international consultants for technical roles for a specific project activity. To recruit short-term national consultants for technical and/or clerical roles for a specific project activity. To contract companies to provide services for a specific project Conducting a survey, catering, activity. renting a venue from a hotel 2

4 4.Travel To cover the cost associated with domestic travel. DSA, transportation, accommodation during travel 5.Materials and Goods To cover the cost associated with a specific project activity. Standard rape kits, etc. 6.Office Supplies To cover the cost associated with a specific project activity. Stationery, pens 7.Audio Visual and To cover the specific project activity costs associated with audio Posters, brochures, Printing Production Cost visual production documentaries 8.Others Other budget items that cannot be categorized under the budget category 1 7. Example of Budget for one project activity Key Project Activities to deliver Output 1.1 Key activity 1.1.1: Conduct introductory training on human trafficking for police officers working in Communities A and B Responsible party/ Implementing agency (per budget category)(?) Budget category for project activities Description of budget items(open space, maximum of 15 words) * Organization X Local consultant 1 facilitator for training Organization X Contractual Venue and services catering for companies refreshment from a hotel Organization X Office Stationery supplies (notebooks, pens, markers, flipcharts) Organization Y Travel Public transportation cost for participants Budget requested from the UN Trust Fund (USD) Yr 1* Yr 2* Yr 3* Total amount request ed Contribut ion from applicant and/or other donors (USD) Total budge t (USD) Budget for M&E/Audit/Management Costs You need to specify the associated cost per M&E/Audit Activity as well as other management costs. Please note the following: Responsible party/implementing agency: select only one responsible party or implementing agency per budget line Budget category: select one budget category per budget line from the menu. o You may have several budget lines per M&E activity or other management categories in order to have several different budget categories. Budget item description (maximum of 15 words): provide description of budget item(s) under each budget line All amounts must be entered in US dollars (USD). Enter amount without any periods, commas, symbols or spaces. Please round up to the nearest dollar. Budget Categories for M&E Activities (same as the one for project activity) Budget category 1.International consultants 2.Local Consultants 3.Contractual services companies Description and examples of expense items 3 Sample Budget Items To recruit short-term international consultants for technical roles for a specific project activity. To recruit short-term national consultants for technical and/or clerical roles for a specific project activity. Conducting a survey, To contract companies to provide services for a specific project catering, renting a venue activity. from a hotel

5 4.Travel To cover the cost associated with domestic travel. DSA, transportation, accommodation during travel 5.Materials and Goods To cover the cost associated with a specific project activity. Standard rape kits, etc. 6.Office Supplies To cover the cost associated with a specific project activity. Stationery, pens 7.Audio Visual and Printing Production Cost To cover the specific project activity costs associated with audio visual production Posters, brochures, documentaries 8.Others Other budget items that cannot be categorized under the budget category 1 7. Budget Categories for Audit and other Management Cost Management Categories Budget category Dropdown Menu Audit Audit Audit fee Description Personnel Salary for project staff Salary for the project manager/coordinator and other staff members that are directly engaged in some aspect of project management. International consultants To recruit short-term international consultants for technical roles to support the overall management of the project Local Consultants To recruit short-term national consultant for technical and/or clerical roles to support the overall management of the project Equipment Communications and Audio Visual Equipment To support the overall management of the project, such as a projector screen. Information Technology Equipment To support the overall management of the project, such as information technology supplies or a computer. Others Other budget items that cannot be categorized under the Communication and Audio Visual Equipment or Information Technology Equipment Indirect Cost Indirect Cost Indirect project costs are related to administrative support of the project including financial management and information resources management. Other indirect expenses comprise additional rental of office space, office maintenance and utilities, telecommunications and office supplies. UN Trust Fund Capacity Development Workshop Capacity Development Workshop are required to allocate US$ 10,000 of the grant requested to participate in a training organized by the UN Trust Fund. This amount should be indicated in the first year of implementation. 4. Ineligible Costs The UN Trust Fund will NOT fund the following: Costs of infrastructure such as purchase of land, property, acquisition of office space, construction, repair of existing buildings or offices, including for example, the building and furnishing of service facilities, shelters or short-stay homes; Purchase of any type of vehicles (i.e. cars, motorcycles, boats etc.); Costs that can be financed by other funding sources in the country or by the government (i.e. providing ARTs); Activities where a substantial part of the budget is allocated for travel and/or conference costs and services; Activities where a substantial part of the budget covers institutional recurrent costs and/or personnel costs; Grants for filling a funding gap for ongoing initiatives/projects; 4

6 Regional/international learning events or international travel. Please note that the UN Trust Fund will only support those regional and international workshops that it convenes itself. The UN Trust Fund will NOT give priority to project proposals in which: A substantial part (e.g. more than 20 per cent) of the budget relates to institutional recurrent costs (e.g. rent, utilities) and/or personnel costs. Equipment purchases are too high in the context of total project costs. 5. Detailed Guide to Categories, Activities and Budget Lines Budget per Activity, Responsible Party and Category. The lowest level of analysis is the Budge Category, followed by the Activity. Budget Categories are fixed in the online Grants Management System (GMS) and are further explained below. 5.1 Administrative Agent Fee UN Country Team (UNCT) only To meet the Administrative Agent s cost of performing its associated functions. None The Administrative Agent is entitled to allocate an administrative fee of one per cent (1%) of the total grant amount requested. 5.2 Audio Visual and Printing Production Cost This CATEGORY may appear under any specific PROJECT activity or the M&E activity. To cover the cost of producing audiovisual materials and print production costs related to PROJECT ACTIVITIES. Common examples include brochures, posters, PSAs, documentaries, etc. Include the type of product and number of units, with unit cost. Do not aggregate costs, enter one line per specific budget item, e.g. for documentaries, separate the per unit cost of producing the item indicating the number of unit/quantity and also the number of broadcasts/spots and per unit cost of each broadcast/spot Please be prudent when allocating costs under this category. 5.3 Audit This CATEGORY appears under the MANAGEMENT activity. Governments To cover the cost of an external audit to be undertaken by a UN Women designated auditor. Indicate UN Women as Responsible Party for the Audit budget line. At least one audit during the lifetime of the project, but it is possible to be audited every year. Provision for the cost of audit should be included at 3.5 per cent of the grant requested, in the first year of implementation. If the government is exempt from an external audit by UN Women, kindly indicate this in the budget narrative. Otherwise, please follow the same ceiling requirements as detailed above. 5.4 Capacity Development Workshop This CATEGORY appears under the MANAGEMENT activity. 5

7 To meet the cost of the capacity development training organized by the UN Trust Fund for the results-based management and monitoring and evaluation of the project. Enter the Capacity Development budget line as part of the budget for the first year. Indicate UN Women as Responsible Party for the Capacity Development Workshop budget line. are required to allocate $10, Communication and Audio Visual Equipment This CATEGORY may appear under the MANAGEMENT activity. To support the cost of communications and audio visual equipment used for the overall management of the project. Itemize the equipment, provide unit and total costs. Common examples include projectors, camera, screen. Please be prudent when allocating costs under this category. 5.6 Contractual Services - Company This CATEGORY may appear under any specific PROJECT activity or the M&E activity. It refers to agreements with a company entered into, with specific deliverables and expectations negotiated for an agreed-upon price. Provide unit/quantity and unit cost for each contract. Common services under this CATEGORY include catering (include unit quantity, unit cost and number of units), rental of venue (include hourly or daily rate and number of hours or days), conducting a survey or research (include type of product, description and cost), etc. If unit costs are not available, explain in the budget narrative how the amount requested was determined and describe the task or deliverable. 5.7 Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) This BUDGET LINE may appear under the TRAVEL CATEGORY under any specific PROJECT activity or the M&E activity. The DSA or per diem comprises total contribution for charges like lodging, meals and gratuities, transport cost exclusively from place of lodging to place of business and vice versa. The budget must include country/locality for the per diem, the rate per night, number of participants and number of nights and profile of traveler (there are usually different rates depending on profile of traveler). May not exceed what is normally allowed by the grantee or the local government, whichever is lower. Please provide reference to available documents that validate rates used. 5.8 Equipment For any specific project activity, this BUDGET LINE would fall under the OTHER CATEGORY. Under the MANAGEMENT activity, EQUIPMENT is a CATEGORY and should only fall under any of the following: Audio Visual Equipment, Information Technology Equipment or Other Equipment. Costs covered include the purchase of equipment and supplies and consumables related to the equipment Itemize the equipment, provide unit and total costs, list personnel who will use the equipment and provide In general, the purchase of equipment in a multi-year project is allowed only in the first year of the 6

8 (including if equipment is owned by the grantee). It may also include related costs arising from purchase of equipment e.g. maintenance, repair, insurance beyond the warranty. justification for why equipment is needed for the project. project. Equipment may not be budgeted for or purchased during the last year of the project. Please be prudent when allocating costs under this category and note that the amount is subject to revision. 5.9 Indirect Cost This CATEGORY appears under the MANAGEMENT activity. Civil Society Organization s, Professional Associations and Research Institutions Governments Indirect project costs are related to the administrative support of the project including financial management and information resources management. Other indirect costs include the additional rental of office space, office maintenance and utilities, telecommunications and office supplies. Indirect cost may be budgeted as a percentage of the total direct cost for the project or by a line by line budget detail explaining the nature and percentage of cost being charged to the project. If not using the flat 7 per cent indirect cost percentage, and in the case of costs shared with other donors, the Indirect Cost assigned to the UN Trust Fund grant should be of equal or comparable rate to what is charged against other donors. The maximum indirect project costs cannot exceed seven per cent (7 per cent) of the total grant requested and must be related to the approved project, with no exceptions. Please note that the amount you specify will be reviewed in relation to the overall project costs and is subject to revision. Indirect Costs are not applicable. Government applicants must submit their proposed budgets accordingly Information Technology Equipment This CATEGORY appears under the MANAGEMENT activity. Costs covered include the purchase of information technology equipment and supplies and consumables related to the equipment (including if equipment is owned by the grantee). It may also include related costs arising from purchase of equipment e.g. maintenance, repair, insurance beyond the warranty International Consultant Itemize the equipment, provide unit and total costs, list personnel who will use the equipment and provide justification for why equipment is needed for the project. This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. In general, the purchase of equipment in a multi-year project is allowed only in the first year of the project. Equipment may not be budgeted for or purchased during the last year of the project. International consultants are short term recruits for technical roles for either a specific project or general management activity. Include number of working days or months, the daily or monthly rate as applies, and number of consultants. Hiring of international consultants is generally discouraged and should be considered only in cases where local expertise is not available. Rate should be comparable to the prevailing rate in the country\region. 7

9 5.12 Local Consultant This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. Local consultants are short-term national recruits for technical or clerical roles for either a specific project or general management activity. Include number of working days or months, the daily or monthly rate as applies, and number of consultants. Rate should be comparable to the prevailing rate in the country\region Material and Goods This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. To cover the cost of materials and goods directly related to a specific activity. Needs to be itemized, include the type of materials and goods, and provide unit/quantity and unit cost. Examples include: rape kits, etc. None 5.14 Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) This is a KEY ACTIVITY which may include a variety of CATEGORIES and BUDGET LINES. To cover the cost of data collection, baseline, endline and routine monitoring and evaluation of the project. Depending on the category of the budget line, please follow the budget detail requirements in this guideline. Common items that appear include: Local Consultant, Travel, Stipend, Office Supplies. There is no specific ceiling for M&E but a justification must be made in the proposal document for the budgeted amount. The budget will depend on M&E design, scope, scale and total value of the grant. However, a final external project evaluation must be budgeted for in the final year of the project and we advise that at least US$20,000 needs to be budgeted, raising to 20%+ of the total project budget depending on complexity planned. For small grants: This final external evaluation will be managed directly by the UN Trust Fund/UN Women and should be budgeted at US$ 10,000 on the final year of the project, with UN Women as responsible party. Apart from the Final External Evaluation budget, the applicant will also need to separately budget for baseline, endline and routine data collection and monitoring throughout the project life cycle Office Supplies This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. 8

10 To cover the cost of office supplies associated with a specific project activity or M&E. Include the type of office supplies and provide unit/quantity and unit cost. The individual contents of low value office supplies sets (for trainings\workshops, for example) do not have to be itemized in the budget. Provide the number of units and unit cost of the kit. In the budget narrative or the budget line description, please describe the expected contents per item kit for unusual items and how the costs have been estimated (i.e. previous experience or known market value of those items). None 5.16 Others This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. To cover the cost of any item that does not belong under any category on the UNTF list. When using the OTHER category, provide ample detail in both the description and budget narrative portions. Where possible, indicate unit quantity and unit cost. OTHER category should be used only if there is no category that matches the particular budget line Personnel This CATEGORY appears under the MANAGEMENT activity. Governments To cover the Gross salaries of project staff whose contribution cannot be directly attributed to any one Activity. This may also include other remuneration-related cost, not exceeding those normally covered by the grantee. List each individual position with a monthly or annual rate and include a summary description of the work to be performed and duration of employment. 9 For projects between US$ 50,000 and US$ 500,000: Personnel costs for managing the project must not exceed 20 per cent (20%) of the grant requested. For projects between US$ 500,000 and US$ 1,000,000: Personnel costs for managing the project must not exceed 10 per cent (10%) of the grant requested. Please note that the amount you specify will be reviewed in relation to the overall project cost and will be subject to revision. The budget can give a percentage (for shared cost) but actual payments have to be supported by time sheets to be considered an eligible expense. It is expected that full personnel costs will be borne under the Government's regular or project budget and should be reflected as such. Short-term consultancies needed specifically for implementation of this project may be considered and should be reflected under the Contractual Services budget line.

11 5.18 Stipend or Allowance This is a BUDGET LINE which may appear under the OTHER Category under a specific project activity or M&E activity. Unconditional Financial Support: Documented cash transfer to a partner wherein no specific result is expected (e.g. allowance to beneficiaries). Conditional Financial Support: Documented cash transfer to a partner wherein a certain level of service is expected from the partner (stipend, etc.) The nature of the support must be specified in the FFP and justified. In the case of a stipend, the expectation from the recipient must be specified. The following are mandatory conditions and information required for eligibility of Financial Support: Objectives and results expected are outlined in RRF and must be necessary for the implementation of the Activity. Types of persons which may receive Financial Support. Criteria for selection of persons. Criteria for determining amount of Financial support Training, Workshops This is a PROJECT ACTIVITY which may be composed of a variety of BUDGET LINES under different CATEGORIES. To cover the cost of training or workshop for the achievement of specific outputs. Each training or workshop may consist of categories like Travel, Materials and Goods, Contractual Services, etc. Each category above needs to be further broken down into budget lines like DSA under Travel, Training kits under Materials and Goods, or Catering under Contractual Services. List budget line estimates separately. Each training or workshop expense component should be specified and broken down, e.g. venue rental should be its own line, same with materials and\or cost of trainer\facilitator. Facilitators fees are usually categorized under Local Consultant. Training-related transportation, meals and lodging costs or per diem should be categorized under Travel. The details should be broken down to the daily rate and number of days, and number of participants or trainers, whichever is applicable. Do not aggregate costs related to trainings and workshops in one budget line Travel This CATEGORY may appear under any specific project activity or the M&E activity. To cover a variety of travel-related costs like transportation and DSA. Must be broken down into number and profile of traveler, rate per traveler per trip, and travel origin and destination. Where possible, include the expected mode of transportation. No international travel will be covered (except for participation in the UNTF Capacity Development Workshop). 6. Budget Summary Tables (A and B) and Budget Narrative Based on the information you have provided for the budget per project activity as well as per M&E/Audit activity and Management, the system will automatically generate the budget summary tables for your review. In the Budget Narrative Section, you need to provide justification and explanation for your budget request. 10

12 7. Next Steps: Important Considerations and Accountability If you are awarded a grant, you would be accountable for all the funds received through the UN Trust Fund and these funds may be subject to an audit carried out by a UN Women designated auditor (on behalf of the UN Trust Fund). In addition, all implementing partner are expected to: Follow International accounting and auditing standards(ipsas); Have a proper accounting system (web based or manual); Maintain proper accounting records, invoices, vouchers and documentation especially for all HR & procurement processes; Maintain proper documentary evidence of internal approval/authorization processes; Ensure that spending is in line with the project proposal, budget, outputs and within timeframe; Ensure implementation of an Internal Control System on overall processes; Ensure that bank profit/interest, any other earning generated from project activities/ funds is reported and refunded to the UN Trust Fund, unless otherwise agreed; Acknowledge that all assets purchased under the Letter of Agreement/Project Cooperation Agreement are the property of UN Women (on behalf of the UN Trust Fund) and need to be returned upon project completion, unless otherwise agreed. Kindly note the following points on spending and subsequent tranche installments: Spending variation against the agreed budget within and across project activities is allowed at maximum of 20%,.M&E, Management and Audit activities are exempt from this rule prior approval from the UN Trust Fund is required for ANY movement of funds under these non-project activities. Any variation crossing 20% of a particular project activity needs to be pre-approved by the UN Trust Fund. The UN Trust Fund reserves the right to consider inadmissible those costs that have not been consulted and pre-approved. Shifting of budgets/funds from Project to Administrative activities in not permissible, unless otherwise agreed. The total project expenditure reimbursable by UN Women/UNTF cannot in any case exceed the total approved budget. Subsequent installments will be released after spending of 80% or above of the previous installment, approval by the UN Trust Fund of the Financial Report and where required, the verification of expenses for the period concerned. Original vouchers are required for verification purposes. All implementing partners must retain these records. If you have co-implementing partners, it would be your responsibility as a UN Trust Fund grantee to ensure that your partners are maintaining such records. The UN Trust Fund reserves the right to consider as ineligible any expense previously approved and accepted as eligible, if a later external audit declares the expenditure ineligible. In case of staff turnover, there should be a proper handover to ensure accurate financial record-keeping. M&E/Management and Audit budget lines may not be reallocated without the prior approval of the UN Trust Fund. All unspent funds at the end of the project shall be returned to the UN Trust Fund. 11