The Bilateral Programme Budget (BPB) is a fund devolved to the Embassy for use  to support the delivery of Embassy objectives.  It does not fund traditional development projects (i.e. livelihood, health, water, education).  

Priorities for 2009/10 are:

• Climate Change – projects that will support the transition to a low carbon economy in the Philippines and promote a successful outcome to ongoing UNFCC negotiations
• Conflict Prevention and Peace Building – projects that encourage progress in the Mindanao peace process and support effective advocacy for peace, democracy and development
  
• Human Rights – projects that address areas of concern such as extra-judicial killings and disappearance as well as projects that highlight Philippine best practice to regional neighbours
  
• Support for other Embassy objectives, including Trade & Investment, Consular and Visa work

In addition, the British Embassy Manila can use part of its BPB allocation to fund activities in Palau, Micronesia and Marshall Islands. These projects are also expected to support Embassy and/or UK objectives.

The Embassy will only fund projects that will show measurable outcomes and contribute to bringing about change at a policy level in order to maximise the impact our small amount of funding can deliver. Projects should normally reach wider than one single community.

Examples of some projects completed in financial year 08/09 and started this fy 09/10:

• "LGU-NGO-PO Collaboration on Climate Change and Rural Development" - Five (5) Visayas municipalities were selected as pilot rural sites to address climate change through awareness raising and capacity building to undertake site-specific vulnerability assessments, local policy formulation and project conceptualisation on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.  The project ran for 11 months and at the culminating activity key outcomes of the vulnerability assessments were presented.  Implemented by SIBAT Inc.  Cost £11,900 or PhP 1,000,000.

• "Climate Change:  Media Forum and Reporting Workshop" - A three-day workshop help in March 2009 in Nasugbu, Batangas for media practivitioners from television, radio, print and web who are concerned with the interlinking social, security, economic and political issues arising from climate change.  The workshop explored the causes and effects of climate change in the Philippines and made the participants share experience and build strategies to make information more relevant and understookd by the public.  Resource persons were Paul Brown, who worked as a newspaper reporter and news editor on a number of UK regional and national papers, and co-facilitator  Howie Severino, who writes produces and hosts television documentaries and environmentalist reporter.  Implemented by the British Council.  Cost £14,600 or PhP 1,196,000.

• Provided funds for cost of resource persons and some materials for the One Visayas Climate Change Summit in Cebu May 2009.  Implementer was the Regional Development Committee.   Cost £2,800 or  PhP 200,000.

• "A Workshop on Post Agreement Security in Mindanao" - With the failure of the formalisation of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain aspect of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines - Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace process, the project was reconfigured into  a series of three international experts' and eminent perosns' visits over a six-month period.  Separate roundtable discussions were held for each of the parties and for different stakeholders.  These discussions focused on several issues which are central to the current challenges and opportunities of the peace process in Mindanao, such as constitutional issues  and discussion also exposed the parties to two actual peace processes from which a lot of parallels can be drawn.  Implementer was the Centre for Human Dialogue.   Cost £ 8,900 or Php 787,000.

• "Government-Civil Society Trust Building Dialogues / Conversations -  The project aimed to build a positive government-civil society relationship in the promotion and protection of human rights and in the prosecution of human rights violations.  From in-depth interviews of selected human rights organisations and individuals and stakeholder government agencies such as CHR, PNP, and AFP,  three  focus groups discussions were conducted  with some average people to get clues about the extent of apathy, helplessness, or indiferrence of the general public on human rights issues; the final discussion in Zamboanga was  largely participated by Muslims.  Final output was the study of the results of the interviews and focus group discussions . Implemented by The Asia Foundation worked closely with the Commission on Human Rights.  Cost £29,900 or PhP 2,225,000.

• "Ensuring and Inclusive Mindanao Peace Agenda" -Aims to support business groups' active cooperation with civil society organisations and local government units in directly adressing the root causes of politcal and economic exclusion.   Started May 2009.  Implementer is International Alert.  Cost £30,000 or  PhP 2,130,000.

Projects can run for a maximum of one (1) financial year, therefore projects this financial year must end by March 2010.  Embassy funding normally averages  £10,000 - £20,000 (approx. PhP 750,000 – 1.5 million).   Co-funded projects are welcomed. Project implementers may be NGOs and other civil society groups, the academe or Philippine government agencies.  

To apply for BPB funding, interested organisations must submit a brief concept paper.  Section A of attached bid form has the basic information required to enable the Project Selection Committee to make an assessment whether or not a concept should be developed into a full blown proposal.

For more information, please contact:

Sherah Chua
Bilateral Programme Manager
T - (63) 2 858 2200 ext 2204
E-mail - sherah.chua@fco.gov.uk