Setting a budget and getting funding

Photo: fsecart A council’s investment in international development activities needs to be set at a level that demonstrates a cost-effective and balanced use of council resources. A small investment in international activity can potentially deliver big returns. International work should not be seen as something additional but as an integral part of the ambitions the council has for its locality.

As such, returns should be measured in terms of objectives the council is already setting itself – for example, raising the aspirations and self-worth of young people or communities in the area, boosting local identity and culture, professional training and development of council staff, improvement in service delivery.

>>Find out how

With the increasing financial pressures that are facing local government, an important starting point is to ask whether international development activities, far from being an add-on, can actually represent a more cost-effective use of existing resources. Some council objectives, for example in community engagement, staff development, education and training, may be more effectively delivered with an international development component. In addition, additional funds in form of outside funding might be available for such activities.

In some cases, only small amounts of expenditure are needed. Understanding the internal, community and wider benefits of such work, local councils have come up with alternative ways to promote development issues and share knowledge, even with very small budgets.

When searching for external funding for international development activities, local authorities face a range of possibilities at different levels: national, regional and international. Donors that may be relevant for UK councils include:

• UK: DFID (Department for International Development), British Council (International organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities);

• EU: European Commission and its delegations;

• International funders: World Bank, United Nations.

Finally, bear in mind your council’s statutory powers and obligations in respect of funding of international activities. (click here for advice on powers and funding).

>>Case studies

Glasgow City Council funds the majority of their international development work from external sources. In the main, projects are financed through fundraising and in kind donations. Every year they hold a Burn’s Supper, where the proceeds from this finance their project work in Malawi. The council has also approached local companies who receive work from the council to make a donation to their projects in Malawi. As a result of this, materials, equipment and tools needed for the building projects are donated by contractors employed by the Council and all IT equipment is donated by the Council’s IT provider.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger MDG 4: Reduce infant mortality MDG 5: Improve maternal health MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

From Dragon’s Den to Lion’s Den: attracting corporate support

Partly inspired by BBC TV's Dragon Den, The Lion's Den has leant an imaginative twist to Leeds City Council’s partnership with eThekwini Municipality (the city of Durban) in South Africa. It is a competition targeted at emerging entrepreneurs in the eThekwini region, offering capital funding for the brightest business ideas most likely to succeed.

During the competition small businesses receive guidance and training on writing a business plan and submitting tenders which allows the competition to impact a much wider group than only the eventual winners. The competition, now in its third year, was originally sponsored by Leeds-based companies. This year will see a move towards securing backing from Durban businesses to ensure sustainability of the project longer term. As well as spurring economic development in eThekwini with the chance to invest in new talent and ideas, the initiative offers an exciting way for companies to reinforce their visibility and presence in an increasingly important developing country market. Among the success stories so far two small businesses have gone on to win Municipal contracts after revising and refining their business plans during the process of the competition.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council engaged with private sector

Much of the work of a consortium of Warwickshire County Council, Warwick District Council and 'Warwick One World Link' (OWL) with Bo and Makeni in Sierra Leone has been built on voluntary effort but the councils have also been successful in attracting funding and private sector engagement. Grants have come from a range of sources including the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme, the United Nations Development Programme, the British High Commission in Sierra Leone and the Commonwealth Professional Development Fellowship.

This has built on the work of a community-linking initiative ‘Warwick One World Link'. The funding has made possible a solid waste management project, support for community organisations in development planning and various training and capacity-building visits around community development, and environmental health while Warwickshire County Council's partnership agreement with ARUP led to them sending a water engineer to Bo for a week to update a previous survey of the state of water supply provision.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

>>Self assessment

1 Do you know how much of your council budget is spent on international development related activities? Even a small fraction can deliver an impact.

2 When setting budgets for existing activity, are you considering whether the activity can be more effectively delivered by having an international development component?

3 Have you factored in the ‘added value’ that an international development component can bring, for example in the boost to morale and esteem felt by participants?

4 To what extent can activity be self-funded by, for example, attracting fundraising support from the local community? If it involves local community groups, can the council help support their fundraising efforts?

5 Have you checked the possible sources of funding support listed on the LG Alliance website and are you keeping in touch with discussions on latest developments in the IDeA’s international development and local government community of practice?

>>Tips

+ Don’t think of international development activities as an ‘add-on’ budget. Instead seek to integrate it with the objectives your council is setting itself and consider the ways it can boost these objectives.

+ Check possible sources of outside funding by looking at the regularly updated ‘funding’ pages on the LG Alliance website.

+ Consider undertaking an audit of local resources that could be used for international development activities. These could include museums and other cultural attractions, public buildings, centres of excellence and local experts.

+ See whether the activity could attract sponsorship. If so, provide information about it in a clear, concise format. Remember sponsors need to understand what they may gain by providing sponsorship. This may include increased publicity through the use of their corporate logo or the opportunity to publicise their support in promotional materials, in-house magazines and the local media.

+ Make sure you understand the legal basis of any council funding. Check out the ‘powers & funding' PDF in this toolkit.

>>Resources

Interaction factsheet

Powers & funding - International Development & Councils

Useful link

Funding for Local Authorities - overview of funding available to local authorities for international development work (regularly updated on the LG Alliance website)