Part II – Programme Design
ABOUT
Part II of this toolkit will guide you through the design process of your seed grant programme, presenting possible options and the benefits and disadvantages of certain design decisions. Throughout this section, your organisation will consider different processes involved in designing and managing a seed grant programme.
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OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this section are to:
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Introduce you and your organisation to the different programme design decisions and processes to consider while developing a seed grant programme
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Offer guidance on different modalities for each programme design decision and process to assist in the decision-making process
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Equip you and your organization with resources and tools to facilitate reflections and discussions around these programme design considerations
JUMP TO
After completing Part I – Key Decisions, your organisation will have decided on three important cornerstones for your seed grant programme:
The objective of the seed grants
Who your champions will be
Target group of the Champions Activities
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This section will present some different programme design decisions and processes related to setting up and managing your seed grant programme. How these look will vary greatly between different organisations – keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way!
For each programme design decision, we have identified two opposite modalities and have highlighted some pros and cons, leaving space for your organisation to decide which process would work best in your specific context.
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CLICK ON THE SECTION YOU WOULD LIKE TO JUMP TO
Champion Criteria and Selection
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS.
The call for applications can be either:
A CLOSED CALL
in which your organisation publicly shares that you are looking for Champions to submit applications for seed grants
PROS >
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Likely to receive a greater pool of applications to review
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Could reach Champions that you have not previously worked with
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CONS >
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Could be more time consuming to select your Champions from a larger pool of applications
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Could receive applications that are not eligible/ relevant
AN OPEN CALL
in which your organisation specifically targets certain individuals, encouraging them to apply
PROS >
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Likely to receive a greater pool of applications to review
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Could reach Champions that you have not previously worked with
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CONS >
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Could be more time consuming to select your Champions from a larger pool of applications
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Could receive applications that are not eligible/ relevant
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CHAMPION SELECTION PROCESS.
The Champions can be selected through either:
PARTICIPATORY SELECTION
in which Champions are selected by their peers or a separate review panel
PROS >
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Promotes a decentralised approach, working to shift power directly into the hands of adolescent girls and/or young women
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Drives a more collective decision-making process
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CONS >
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A participatory process often takes more time and requires more effort from the organisation to select the panel, establish criteria and scoring tools, and facilitating discussions
ORGANISATIONAL SELECTION PROCESS
where your organisation reviews and selects the Champions
PROS >
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Often a much quicker process, that requires less management and coordination
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Organisation retains decision making power
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CONS >
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Organisation retains decision making power - a less feminist approach to Champion selection
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CHAMPIONS AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS.
The Champions can either be:
LINKED WITH AN ORGANISATION
this could be that they work or volunteer for an existing organisation
PROS >
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Additional support available for Champions and potential access to additional resources, space and networks
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If transferring money directly to a Champion poses a safeguarding risk, this could provide an alternative solution
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CONS >
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Potentially a more complex engagement with Champion - having to involve an additional stakeholder
NOT LINKED WITH AN ORGANISATION
where your organisation reviews and selects the Champions
PROS >
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Potential for greater leadership development
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Could facilitate a more grassroots approach
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CONS >
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If transferring money directly to a Champion poses a safeguarding risk, would need to find another option
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Seed-grant Logistics
SEED GRANT SIZE.
The size of the seed grants to be given to your Champions will vary greatly depending on the amount of available funding you have as an organisation.
SMALL
PROS >
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Easier amount for Champions to manage
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Potentially less risky from an organisational perspective
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Champion to learn how to manage a tight budget
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CONS >
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Potentially less girls engaged
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Potentially not enough funding to ensure that the Champion compensates herself suitably for her time
LARGE
PROS >
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Possibility of Champions engaging increased number of girls/young women or for a longer period of time
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Champion to develop good money management skills
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Champion less restricted by costs
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CONS >
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Potentially more of a risk from an organisational perspective
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A larger seed grant could also be a safeguarding risk for the Champion
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TYPE OF SEED GRANT.
While Women Win’s experience has been in providing financial seed grants – it is also possible to provide resource seed grants to Champions. This could take the form of sports equipment, materials for specific activities etc.
If your organisation decides to provide resource seed grants to Champions, it is worth considering whether you have any funding available to compensate the Champions for their time. This is important from a feminist standpoint given the prevalent expectation that girls and women are unpaid for the time they spend on certain activities.
RESOSURCES
PROS >
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Potentially less risky from an organisational perspective
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Could pose less of a safeguarding risk for the Champions
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Organisation retains greater control over that the funding is spent on
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CONS >
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Less flexibility, creativity and decision-making power granted to Champions
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Potentially less development of money management skills
FINANCIAL
PROS >
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Potential increased money management skills
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Likely that Champions compensate themselves for their time
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Greater flexibility, creativity and decision-making power granted to Champions
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CONS >
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Could be riskier from an organisational perspective
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Could pose a greater safeguarding issue for Champions
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LENGTH OF CHAMPION’S PROJECT.
The length of a Champion’s project can vary, depending on a variety of factors including:
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programme objective;
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availability of your organisation;
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amount of funding available;
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other responsibilities of your Champions (e.g. school, work etc.)
SHORT TERM
PROS >
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Activities happen quickly and can quickly address a specific situation or need
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CONS >
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Likely to have less impact over a shorter period of time
LONG TERM
PROS >
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Potentially greater impact through long-term, sustained engagement with both Champions and the girls participating in their projects
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Possibility for Champions to build a connection with the girls in their projects
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CONS >
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More time consuming on an organisational level to manage and maintain a long-term programme, offering continued support to Champions
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Seed-grant Project Design
PROJECT DESIGN.
The Champions projects can either be:
DESIGNED IN ADVANCE
by the Champion during the application phase
PROS >
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Greater flexibility and creativity given to the Champions
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CONS >
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Champions projects could potentially be missing certain elements
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Less support for Champions in guiding their ideas
DESIGNED AFTER SELECTION
Designed after the Champions have been selected
PROS >
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Champions have more time to develop their ideas​
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Champions could receive greater support from your organisation in guiding their project ideas
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CONS >
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Could take additional time
ROLL MODELS, SKATEISTAN
CHAMPION PROJECT CRITERIA.
This refers to the criteria for the Champions projects. Criteria can be either:
your organisation could provide restrictions on types of activities, budget allowance, methods etc.
RESTRICTED
FLEXIBLE
your organisation provides little-to-no restrictions on how the Champions design and implement their projects
PROS >
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Greater independence for Champions could allow for greater leadership and problem-solving skills​
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Flexibility allows for greater creativity from Champions
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CONS >
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Less organisational control/input in Champions projects and activities
ROLL MODELS, SKATEISTAN
PROS >
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Organisation retains greater control​
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Potentially less risky from a budgetary perspective if your organisation sets criteria on what the seed grant can and cannot be spent on
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Restrictions on type of activities, target group to be engaged etc. could ensure that your organisation is more likely to meet a specific objective
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CONS >
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Less opportunities for Champions to develop leadership and problem-solving skills
Support and Accompaniment
CHAMPION SUPPORT.
Your organisation can support the Champions in a variety of different ways. The support your organisation provides can either be:
INTENSIVE
regular support and guidance provided
PROS >
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Your organisation could develop a greater connection and trust with your Champions
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If your Champions are experiencing any issues, you are more likely to hear of these sooner
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CONS >
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Regular support can be more time consuming for your organisation
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More frequent support could result in less development of Champions leadership skills
MINIMAL
support provided as and when it is required from the Champions
PROS >
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Potentially greater leadership development in Champions
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CONS >
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Less contact with the Champions could mean that your organisation is not aware of any challenges/issues your Champions are facing until later
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CHAMPION WAY OF WORKING.
Champions can either design, organise and manage their projects.
GROUP
PROS >
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Increased opportunity to develop team skills and collective decision-making
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Could feel more supported as part of a group
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CONS >
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Potentially less growth on an individual leadership and self-confidence level
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Potentially more internal conflict over project decisions
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Conclusion
This is the end of Part II – Programme Design. There might be other processes that your organisation needs to consider as you continue to design your seed grant programme. The ones presented above are the processes that we, at WW, have experienced through designing our own seed grant programmes, but there are undoubtedly others! After reading this section of the toolkit, hopefully your organisation is starting to think through more specifically how you would like your programme to look. The next section Part III – Champion Support, will explore some of these components in greater depth.
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Before continuing to Part III, make sure you have completed all the decisions from Part II.
