Standard 5: Early engagement with donor to inform design.
Engage donor prior to and (as possible) during project design and proposal development to encourage a manageable and realistic project scope, budget and timeline in line with donor priorities.
| Key Action 1 | Engage with donors to guide funding to sound projects that meet priority needs of those CRS seeks to serve. |
| Who |
Country representative or IDEA staff (for centrally managed donor relationships); head of programming; project managers/chiefs of party; senior managers and technical advisors (regional and headquarters, including from the Humanitarian Response Department); country program and regional business development staff; headquarters advocacy staff |
| When |
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| Key Action 2 | Engage in capture planning for specific funding opportunities, including efforts to influence the call for proposals. |
| Who |
Capture planning manager; country representative (CR) or CR’s delegate (often the country program business development (BD) staff, if the position exists); regional BD staff; head of programming; project managers/chiefs of party; IDEA staff; country program senior management team; technical advisors; human resources manager; headquarters human resources staff as needed |
| When |
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| Key Action 3 | Take advantage of opportunities to influence, clarify, and provide feedback on the donor’s priorities for a specific funding opportunity. |
| Who |
Country representative or delegate (often country program business development staff, if the position exists); proposal coordinator; head of programming; IDEA staff; proposal development team members; regional and country program business development staff; project managers/chiefs of party; country program, regional and/or HQ technical advisors, as applicable; partner leadership and partner proposal development team members |
| When |
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| Key Action 4 | Ensure that the project activities schedule, staffing plan, and budget take into account the donor's decision-making processes and timelines, as well as compliance considerations. |
| Who |
Proposal coordinator; proposal development team (technical, human resource, and budget leads); field and headquarters (HQ) procurement and supply chain management staff; field and HQ risk and compliance staff; IDEA staff |
| When |
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| Key Action 5 | Respond to donor feedback and questions on the proposal promptly and professionally. |
| Who |
Proposal coordinator (or other individual identified by the country representative); country representative; country program business development staff; members of the proposal development team; country program senior management team; regional business development staff; IDEA staff as applicable; and technical advisors as necessary |
| When |
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