Pacific Island Countries Participation Fund

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Introduction

Women attending a regional meeting, Samoa.

The following guidelines provide information on the Pacific Island Countries Participation Fund (PIC Fund), an aid delivery mechanism within New Zealand's official development assistance (NZODA) programme. NZODA is managed by NZAID which is a semi-autonomous Agency within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The guidelines provide a transparent and consistent basis for preparing, submitting and appraising competing requests. Applications are assessed every two months by the Pacific Island Countries Participation Fund Assessment Group (NZAID Pacific Group Director and Team Leaders).

The countries falling within the scope of the programme are: the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, the Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna and Tokelau.

Objective of the programme

NZAID's Pacific Island Countries Participation Fund aims to increase attendance by Pacific Islanders at regional
and international conferences.

The objective of the programme is to fund attendance by Pacific Islanders at regional and international conferences, where their attendance will strengthen ownership of regional and international development processes. The designated meeting must be consistent with the strategic outcomes as set out in the NZAID policy statement ie:

fulfillment of basic needs
sustainable livelihoods
sustainable and equitable development
safe, just and inclusive societies.

Eligible activities

The PIC Participation Fund will only support applications from organisations (legally incorporated bodies). Organisations should include with their application a copy of their; certificate of corporation, constitution and latest annual financial statements.

The type of activities supported under this programme will meet the broad programme objective as stated above. Eligible activities may include or contribute to the following:

improving interaction and agreement between PICs and institutions
assisting Pacific Island countries to implement international agreements
capacity building for sustainable institutional development
promoting gender equitable participation and access
contributing to enhancing government, non-government organisations and private sector interaction
improving decision-making processes (through awareness of all the issues).

Non-eligible activities

As a general rule, funding will not be available for:

capital expenditure
commercial or profit making activities
faith-based or non-secular activities.

Selection criteria

In order to be considered a proposal must consider the following:

venue | New Zealand-hosted and regional meetings in the Pacific will take priority
type of meeting | meetings and workshops should have well-defined objectives
meeting subject | key sectors for funding must fit NZAID policy and programme focuses (eg. poverty reduction, human rights, education, health, environment, disaster preparedness, governance, and economic development)
participants | participants must have a relevant background and experience in the issues under discussion
dissemination | a key element in the selection is the capacity of the participant to disseminate what they have gained from the meeting across the organisation, country and the region

The guidelines do not apply to travel funding covered by core contributions (assessed or voluntary) to regional or multilateral agencies. Training courses funded via NZAID block grants are ineligible.

Funding

Funding may cover all or some of the cost of travel, accommodation, per diems and conference fees. Contributions from participants or sending institutions to the costs can be an important signal of commitment.

The costs of hosting the meeting should be separated out from any costs relating to funding PIC attendance. Only the costs associated with PIC attendance can be met through this fund.

Information on NZAID per diems payable overseas may be found on this website. The New Zealand per diem rate totals NZ$80.00 a day (ie breakfast $20.00, Lunch $15.00, Dinner $35.00, Incidentals $10.00). In addition PIC participants staying in New Zealand may claim accommodation at cost up to NZ$120.00 a night per person.

Process

Applicants should note:

The PIC fund assessment panel meets in the last week of every second month (excepting December when it will meet before Christmas). Applications need to be submitted by the following dates to be considered for that month's round so NZAID may, as part of the appraisal process, consult overseas posts and other organisations as required:

	February round	2 February 2009
	April round	6 April 2009
	June round	2 June 2009
	August round	3 August 2009
	October round	5 October 2009
	December round	30 November 2009

applications must be for events occurring at least two months after the closing date for applications to allow time for contracts to be drawn up. This means that the October round will fund events beginning in December or later, the December round will fund events beginning in February or later and so forth
applicants will be advised of the outcome within 1 month of the closing date of the funding round
if approved, the NZAID Contracts Unit will prepare a letter of grant or funding arrangement. No payment can be made until the terms of the contract are agreed and the contract issued.
application forms should be emailed to PIC@nzaid.govt.nz. If it not possible to submit your application by email please send it to:

The Programme Manager, PIC Participation Fund
NZAID
Private Bag 18-901
Wellington
New Zealand
Fax: +64 4 439 8513

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