R4CR Quick Win Round 2 off to a Flying Start. 23 Proposals Received

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - The Resources For Community Resilience (R4CR) program closed the request for proposals for “Quick-Win round 2” on April 2. A total of 23 proposals were received requesting almost 1 million dollars in funding, far exceeding the $750,000 dollar budget reserved for “Quick-Win round 2”. “Our team is very happy with this result as it shows that the local organizations see the benefits of the program and have increased the quality of their project plans to meet the strict requirements set by the World Bank” commented Rolf Hunink, R4CR Team Leader.

The R4CR program includes a grant scheme as funding mechanism for community and social rehabilitation initiatives on Sint Maarten and focuses on improving the capacity of local civil society organizations (CSO’s) in reconstruction and resilience activities post hurricane Irma.

The R4CR program is financed by the Government of the Netherlands via the Sint Maarten Trust Fund which is administered by the World Bank and monitored by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB).

The grant scheme will be active for four years (2020-2024) and will provide grants to local CSO’s (also known as NGO’s) to execute projects focused on reconstruction, resilience and improved service provision. Project activities by registered CSO’s can cover subject categories such as neighborhood initiatives, sports/recreation, nature/environment, culture, poverty relief, day care centers/after school programs, youth employment, skills development, psycho-social support and gender based violence.

In the first year of implementation two “Quick-Win rounds” are foreseen. The “Quick-Win rounds” have been designed for projects that can be completed within six months with a moderate budget. ”Quick-Win round 1” started in September 2020. Twelve projects were selected with a total budget of $452,481. Those projects are currently in the final stages of completion. “Quick-Win round 2” has a total budget of $750,000 with a maximum of $60,000 per project.

Following four general information sessions on “Quick-win round 2” organized in February, the R4CR team decided to schedule an additional four explanatory sessions at its premises on the A.T. Illidge Road to guide attendants systematically through the main application documents: the Technical and Financial Proposal. The explanatory sessions were held in-person to allow CSO’s to get acquainted with the local R4CR staff but also to give them the opportunity to pose their questions in person and receive direct feedback. Due to COVID-19 restrictions each in-person sessions was limited to a maximum of 10 attendees

The official call for proposals started on March 1, 2021 and the deadline to submit a project proposal was on April 2 2021. The incoming proposals are now being evaluated and all applicants will receive a reply within the next 2 weeks.

For more information about the R4CR program or an overview of all current projects please visit www.r4cr.org or the Facebook page (R4CRSXM).

Jose Sommers of R4CR during the information session.

Rolf Hunink of R4CR giving explanations during a info session.