RATES PARTNERS FUND
What is the RATES Partner Fund?
The RATES Partners Fund is a pool of approximately $2 million USD to be awarded over the course of the RATES Program (ending September, 2007). This fund will be managed and administered by Chemonics International, the prime contractor for the RATES Program. The Partners' Fund, designed for flexible implementation, is intended to assist current partners of RATES as well as small organizations, firms and associations who are limited in funds but who wish to implement creative and innovative projects which clearly support the mandate of the RATES program. The Partners' Fund can include technical assistance, training, capacity development and limited equipment support. Organizations will competitively bid for financial assistance under this fund in response to an overall RATES-generated Request for Proposals (RFPs) or a Request for Assistance (RFA). Besides funding straightforward activities such as training and workshops, the fund can be used for grants and subcontracts to support RATES satellite activities.
Some possible fund activities under the Partners' Fund might include the following:
1. Activities which would directly assist the RATES technical efforts in some way. These activities would most likely be done through a subcontract mechanism. Examples of these sorts of Partners' Fund activities are:
- The RATES maize satellite hires a Kenyan consulting firm to do a cross border trade study.
- The cotton satellite subcontracts a Tanzanian firm to create a business plan for the cotton exporter association.
- The hub hires Makarere University to analyze and collate real-time regional commodity price data.
2. Activities which "assist" the regional capacity of either a RATES hub or satellite. These activities could be funded under a Grant or FARA (Fixed Amount Reimbursable Agreements) mechanism. Examples of these sorts of Partners' Fund activities are:
- A RATES grant is given to the Kenyan Agricultural Commodity Exchange to further strengthen its capacity.
- Grant assistance is given to a cotton grower cooperative union in Uganda to stimulate production and raise quality. The cost is shared with a ginning company.
- A grant is awarded to support the ASARECA/ECAPAPA seed policy harmonization effort. The cost is shared with the EU/COMESA project.
The Partners' Fund will be managed and administered by the RATES grants operations unit of Chemonics International. Chemonics will ensure compliance with USAID regulations, monitor delivery and progress of contracts and grants. The RATES technical team will work to develop scopes of work for grants and subcontracts, including budgets, as needed, in response to all applications submitted by interested parties. The grants manager will work with the technical team to select the right contractual mechanism for each situation.
The following chart identifies the overall structure of the Partners' Fund:
| Mechanism: |
What's it for: |
How it works: |
| Fixed price subcontract - this is the most likely form of subcontracting envisioned through the fund because it can be done with a minimal amount of paperwork, can easily be used to access firms with limited capacity, and ensures timely completion of deliverables. |
Fixed-price subcontracts are used to hire a firm or consultant to complete a clear deliverable or set of deliverables, such as conducting a market study, facilitating a workshop, conducting a feasibility study, or developing a business plan. |
Chemonics can compete and award fixed-price subcontracts up to $100,000 without CO involvement; above $100,000, CO consent is needed.Note that CTO approval of any consultant used and the subcontract SOW must be obtained for each sub-contract. |
| Grant - The cost of grants is shared with beneficiaries and other stakeholders when possible. |
Grants direct resources to develop capacity in a targeted beneficiary. Grants are effective when structured along with ongoing technical assistance and monitoring. |
The CO has included grants authority in the RATES contracts to Chemonics which means that Chemonics is acting as the USG in awarding grants. A grant theoretically should be competed for and can be extended with or without competition, depending on the circumstances. All grantees must be approved by the RGSC and the CTO. |
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