Call for the reinforcement of CHM websites 2018 (closed)

Introduction

The technology and the access to the Internet have considerably evolved since the early days of the Belgian CHM partnership. Web-based tools are different, as well as the use of the Internet by society. Focal points around the world need to adapt to these changes in order to take the best possible advantage of the emerging technologies for their work on the CHM.

Since 2006, the training for the CHM makes use of the ‘European Community CHM Portal Toolkit’ (PTK). This toolkit has several advantages that make it especially useful. First, it is open source and available free of charge. Second, it enables the setting up of websites without having expertise in programming. Finally, various users can contribute to the contents of the website through a web interface (the only requirement is to possess a login and password).

The ‘Brainstorming Workshop on the Identification of a Strategy for the CHM Partnership for the Period 2008-2012’ held in Brussels, in May 2007, and the follow-up "workshop to prepare the strategic plan 2014-2023" held in Cotonou, Benin, in April 2012, identified several constraints for national CHMs. The CHM partnership meeting, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2013 to prepare for the CEBioS 2014-2023 Strategy and the first 5-year plan confirmed these constraints, gave some best practices to overcome them and identified some additional ones. The main identified constraints are the following:  insufficient time for managing the websites, irregular and problematic Internet connections, lack of computer expertise of some of the actors supposed to contribute to the websites, interaction with the national focal point and other stakeholders not well institutionalised as well as lack of ownership by the government due to no budget allocations. During COP12 Decision XII/2 para 15-17 called up on parties to further develop their national CHMs and assistance from other parties to developing country Parties.

In order to implement its programme of work for 2014-2018 as well as Decision XII/2, the Belgian CHM partnership has decided to launch a call for proposals to help its partner countries boost their national CHM networks. One of the objectives of the initiative is to obtain websites :

• officially endorsed by the national authorities
• operational both in terms of format and content
• updated with the relevant information and data
• which contain comprehensive information and national documents
• which make links with other relevant websites at national and international level.

Eligible activities

This call for project proposals does not aim to tackle all constraints identified by CHM focal points. The focus of the present call is: development of a special section on the implementation of the Strategic Plan and/or improvement of the website content.

By way of example, the following activities are possible:

• data collection and acquisition (data mining)
• assistance for the digitisation of important documents or data
• establishment of special thematic sections, such as a kids’ section, a section on ABS and the Nagoya Protocol, a section on water or waste, a section on eco-tourism, etc.
• translation into local language(s)
• development of a communication plan and strategy for the CHM
• organisation of meetings of the CHM steering committees (Only if a national CHM Strategy exists or if there is mention of the CHM and the committee in the national biodiversity Strategy, can be funded for maximum 2 years)
• reaching out to policy makers and to other stakeholders (on the subject of the CHM and the CHM website)
• follow-up training given by the national CHM web manager (Only for countries where national training workshops have been given by the Belgian tutors since 2015).

What will not be financed:

• Training by the Belgian tutors (such as continuous training at national level or the training of new national collaborators)
• Workshops, if their objectives are not directly related to the improvement of the CHM website
• Publication and printing of documents other than CHM brochures and flyers.

Project deliverables

In addition to the deliverables identified in the project proposal, it is obligatory that - at the end of the project - the national website is up-to-date, functional and officially recognised by the country.

Eligible countries

Are eligible:

• CHM National Focal Points of partner countries of Belgium: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, D.R. Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo.

Type of support

For this call it is possible to submit projects that have to end their activities at the latest 30 September 2018.

RBINS will finance the selected projects up to 80% of their estimated costs. The remaining 20% will have to be provided by the local partner.

The maximum amount funded by the Belgian CHM NFP is 8,000 euros per project.

The projects:

The distribution of financing will be the following: 80% of the requested budget at the beginning of the project and 20% after the end of the project. This last payment will only be made after reception of original justification of expenses (receipts and supporting documents). The financial report has to be handed in the latest 30 October 2018.

Estimated number of projects

5 to 8 projects will be financed. This number will depend on the type, size and quality of proposed projects.

Project promoter and partners

The official project promoter is the CHM National Focal Point of the submitting country, in agreement with the supervisory authority. An approval letter of the supervisory authority must be joined to the application file.

South-South cooperation is eligible under this call, however it should be clear which activities will be undertaken in which country.

Collaboration or subcontracting with a local partner is possible. In this case, such collaboration or subcontracting must clearly be indicated in the application.

Duration of the project

The projects must be completed by 30 September 2018.

Preparation of a proposal and submission instructions

Projects must be submitted to RBINS by 15 December 2017 at the latest, at the electronic address cbd-chm<at>naturalsciences.be.

Alternatively, and only if there are e-mail problems, the application can be sent by regular mail at the address mentioned at the end of this document.

Projects must be submitted using the template available below.

To prepare the budget we advice you to use the model for financial reporting (Financial template)

Reporting

A report of activities and a financial report must be submitted to RBINS at the end of the project. For the 2 year projects, narrative and financial reports must be submitted at the end of each year before the next part of the finance can be transferred.

All original supporting documents and justification of expenses will be asked, in order to conform to the requirements of the Belgian Development Cooperation. Any expenses that cannot be justified will not be considered and will have to be supported by the partner.

Shipping costs of these reports and of the supporting documents will have to be foreseen in advance in the budget.

The deadline for reporting is 30 October 2018.

Reports must be submitted using the following template: Financial template

Indicative dates for the examination of proposals and for the execution of the projects

 The projects

Contacts

The following persons will be in charge of the evaluation and follow-up of projects, with the support of experts (DGD and others):

• Han DE KOEIJER, National focal point for the CHM
• Marie-Lucie SUSINI, National focal point for the GTI and assistant NFP CHM
• Olivier de Munck, CHM officer at the CBD Secretariat

In order for each of these persons to be informed at all times of the status of the application, it is asked to use only the generic e-mail cbd-chm<at>naturalsciences.be.

Physical address

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Rue Vautier 29
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: cbd-chm<at>naturalsciences.be