In this article, we highlight each of the questions that we ask in the final section of the application, explain why we ask each question, address any common concerns and provide you with resources/examples, as needed.
If you have any further questions, you add them below as a comment or submit them here and our support team will try to address them.
Q: Upload any additional documents
Why we ask this question:
We want to give applicants the opportunity to upload any documents that can allow us to better assess and understand the organization's experience.
What documents can I upload as additional documents? You can upload any documents that make a strong case for your organization's capacity to execute the proposed project. It is best to name the document or have a short note at its start that explains what the document is and how it proves your capacity to execute.
Upload any materials, e.g., written documents or presentations, that describe your work. Supporting documents are optional and meant to support your response by providing additional background information about your capabilities and experience. These may be in document or presentation format.
Q: On which of the following topics would you request technical assistance from a team of experts?*
Why we ask this question:
Locally led land restoration projects are experts in their field. However, when they scale up their work to align with best practices and global standards, they have to learn additional skills that are not part of their daily operations. To close that gap, Harit Bharat Fund assesses the technical assistance needs of all applicants and connects them with opportunities to learn and grow. By understanding the technical assistance needs of both successful and aspiring applicants, we can support both early-stage and mature organizations operating across India. By connecting these champions with experienced technical assistance providers, we are building stronger institutions that have increased capacity to absorb finance and deliver at the highest level.
How does it work: Our programs are a mix of virtual learning experiences, online sessions, and in-person training sessions and exchanges, tailored to the needs of each organization.
During both stages of the Harit Bharat Fund application process, we ask projects to identify the type of support that they would like to improve their operations. This information will not be shared outside of the vetting team and will not affect an organization's eligibility for financing. The more honest applicants are with their capacity gaps, the better we can serve India's growing restoration movement.
What topics are covered under technical assistance: In your application, you are expected to check off what support your organization needs within broad categories. The list of topics and their definitions below should guide you as you consider this question.
- Accounting & Budgeting: The organization would like to learn how to improve its fiscal stewardship through standard budgeting and accounting procedures and regular financial reporting. This can include process improvements for payroll, grant reporting, bookkeeping, and other critically important administrative tasks.
- Certifications: The organization would like to understand what quality standards could certify the quality of the products grown on restored land. These certifications could include export standards for commodities like fruit or timber, carbon credits, and sustainable timber certifications.
- Communications: The organization would like to improve how it publicly demonstrates the impact of its work on communities and the landscape. This can include improving communication directly with farmers through Internet and SMS technology or developing simple and easy-to-navigate websites to improve transparency and educate funders.
- Community Engagement: The organization would like to improve how it engages the different members of the communities that live within and around restoration sites.
- Field Monitoring: The organization would like to improve the quality and consistency of the data that it gathers data from the field, either biophysical data, e.g., the number of trees planted by species on each site, or socioeconomic data, e.g., the number of people employed directly by project as compared to the number of volunteers and the number of total people benefited.
- Gender & Social Equity: The organization would like to improve or demonstrate clearly the impact that its work has on marginalized communities, especially youth and women. This support can include bringing additional women leaders or employee into the organization or improving the percentage of benefits that reach young people.
- Government Engagement: The organization would like to partner better with local and/or national government agencies to take advantage of state technical assistance or financial support, align with development targets and national priorities, or report their impact on people and the landscape through the appropriate channels.
- Narrative Reporting: The organization would like to improve the quality of the narrative progress reports that it submits to funders, the government, or other stakeholders. This can include support on visual design and clarity and concision of writing.
- Nursery Management: The organization would like to improve how they manage the tree nurseries that their own organization operates or how they source seedlings from community-run or government-run nurseries within the landscape.
- Proposal Writing: The organization would like to improve the quality and rigor of the proposals that it submits to donors and/or investors, either through improved writing or visual design or the use of independent data to bolster each funding application.
- Remote Sensing: The organization would like to learn how to deploy geospatial/satellite monitoring to independently track the progress of their work. This can include support on drawing geospatial polygons that precisely identify an area of land under restoration or advice on how to use satellite data and imagery to corroborate field-collected data.
- Site Selection: The organization would like assistance on selecting the most impactful, ecologically appropriate, and socially appropriate locations to restore within the wider landscape.
- Species Selection: The organization would like assistance on selecting the correct tree species to grow in their nurseries or plant on their sites. This can encompass an increase in the percentage of native species planted by the organization or assistance in selecting the most appropriate native and/or exotic species for restoring the landscape.
- Supply Chain Development & Product Marketing: The organization wants to access markets for the products that are grown on restored land. This can include advice on how to sell fruit, timber, and other products on the market or support on identifying the specific supply/value chains that an organization can explore to boost farmers' revenues (or its own)
- Environmental Impact: The organization would like to improve their restoration practices and impact on the landscapes they operate within. This includes interventions and land use practices that results in improved impact for local biodiversity.
- Socio-Economic Impact: The organization would like assistance on engaging and benefiting the local communities they work with. This involves creating more opportunities for livelihood generation and increasing the number of beneficiaries that they work with.
Q: How did you hear about this opportunity?*
Sharing how you heard about the opportunity helps us to know how others could hear about this opportunity to assess the effectiveness of our different marketing and outreach efforts. We have provided a few standard responses, but if you heard about Harit Bharat Fund Landscapes through a different channel, indicate it.
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