RFP invited for Grant Applications for Breakthrough Solutions for Efficient Use of Water in Agriculture

2018: Call for Concept Note

HUF invites organisations with scalable solutions that can transform India's water footprint in agriculture from a highly inefficient state to one of 'more crop per drop' for submission in 2018 (July-September). Specifically, the foundation is seeking projects that demonstrate innovation and measurable outcomes in the following areas:

Practice: On-field behaviour change solutions that lead to substantive water and input cost savings in traditional water intensive crops that improve crop yields and wellbeing for small farmers.

Markets: Effective market-based institutions that support widescale adoption of indigenous, climate hardy and water responsible foods with consumers; connecting farmers and consumers with few(er) intermediaries.

People: Catalyse water related rural job creation through cadres of trained community professionals equipped with robust water and crop management tools.

Technology: Data-driven digital decision-making tools for rural communities for effective water conservation, ground water management, optimised village-level crop portfolios and market access.

Interested organisations are encouraged to apply for long term projects, spread over 4 - 5 years, that can be initially incubated for an 18-24-month window in the first phase. Select projects would be considered for scale-up support thereafter.

Eligibility Self-Assessment: All interested applicants are encouraged to first take the eligibility self-assessment online. The purpose of the self-assessment is to give applicants a quick overview of the qualifying criteria for the RFP.

Submission of concept note: On completion of the eligibility self-assessment, applicants can proceed to submit a brief concept note online. In case applicants find it challenging to fill the concept note online, they can also download the concept note, complete it and upload it on their registered window.

Last date of submission of concept note: 15th August, 2018.

Review of concept notes: Completed concept notes submitted before the deadline will be reviewed by HUF's panel of reviewers. In exceptional cases, brief telecons will be held with organisations. Qualifying applicants will be intimated for a field visit.

Field visits to shortlisted organizations: Site visits to shortlisted organizations will include extensive engagement with the leadership team, program implementation members and communities that would be addressed in the proposed project.

Submit complete proposal: Applications shortlisted after site visits will move to the complete proposal stage. This will involve detailed application with technical and financial details. Eligible organisations will be required to submit their detailed proposals by 15th October 2018.

Final application review and selection: Detailed proposals with budgets submitted will undergo review. If need be, one-on-one meetings with the organisations will also be held.

Applicant Eligibility: Applicants must possess valid FCRA certification, 80 G and 12 A certificates. Detailed eligibility criteria can be accessed from the self-assessment checklist.

Evaluation: Concepts and proposals will be assessed on the following criteria with corresponding weightages:

Criteria                                                Weightage

Problem statement definition                 10%

Robustness of proposed solution            30%

Impact                                                 20%

Feasibility for scale up                            20%

Organization capability to deliver             20%

For more information please check the Link