UNDP Small Grants Programme Evaluation Report June 2011

eyond the grantee pool. Articles written by grantees (see the key correspondents’suggestion above) could be at the heart of this.How Does This Compare?Lessons from Other Programmes, Lessons From This OneIt is useful to contextualize the UNDP SGP within the larger experience of small grantsprogrammes both within Trinidad and Tobago and globally on at least two dimensions:the costs of execution, and the expectations for, and indicators of, success.Transaction costs and actual costsA review of several small grants program conducted by USAID in 2007 25 found that allsmall grants programs in the study created more work than program managersanticipated. All of the programs were management-intensive and required full-time staffto ensure that the grants were properly managed. All reported significant administrativeburdens attached to the program. Most of them underestimated the capacity buildingand mentoring aspects of their programs, and had originally failed to allocate time orresources to these parts of the program.All of them found that, while success at accomplishing the original grant objectives wasoften wanting on technical, output, and reporting criteria, the benefits to granteeorganizations, to the larger field of work, and sometimes also to the managingorganization, were worth the effort. At least one of these programs had a capacitybuilding and training program that was mandatory for getting grant support. Thisincluded sessions on strategic planning, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, andnetworking. The NGOs that completed these sessions were able to “graduate” from thetraining and then apply for a small grant. Recommendations of this large study includethe following:• Allocate resources to create a small grantsprogram team• Train grantees prior to application• Ensure grantees receive sufficient technicalassistance• Create a monitoring, evaluation, anddissemination plan for grantee projects• Tailor small grants to different grantees• Make adaptive changes as the program isimplementedHope Shelter’s dasheen bush productionprovides a source of income.Photo: UNDP T&TAll evaluations reviewed by this consultant pointed to the need for considerable effort upfront, long before proposals are completed or grants are funded. They also point to the25SGPs included in this study were programs overseen by the World Health Organization, Interagency GenderWorking Group, Constella Futures, and the Population Council. All were multi-year and multi-country programs.“Assessment: FRONTIERS Small Grants Program,” KoliBanik, March 2007.Evaluation Report UNDP Small Grants Programme June 201129