IDEX Partner Selection Criteria
Prativa Subedi, Founder and Executive Director of WACN with Rose Williams, Executive Director of Biowatch
1. Participatory Approach
The organization seeks to improve the quality of life of groups, communities or neighborhoods through the participation of beneficiaries and collaborates with broader social movements towards achieving its goals. The organization seeks to holistically integrate social, cultural, economic, environmental and/or political dimensions in its work. The organization seeks to incorporate gender equity in all aspects of its work.
2. Local Leadership
The organization fosters leadership in the communities where it works. A plan should be in place for programs to gradually be administered by community members where feasible. There must be demonstrable participation of women in leadership and decision making roles.
3. Relevant Program Areas
The programs are driven by the needs of the community, protect and advance their rights and strategically work to address and transform both actual conditions and root causes of poverty through more than one of the following program areas:
- Empower women: programs should strengthen and increase the practice of women's rights, opportunities, self worth, choices, resources, autonomy and power. Programs may work to educate women and girls, eliminate gender-based violence, increase women's participation in civil society and improve women's access to wealth and resources.
- Build local economies: programs should build local economies through fair and equitable practices that include skill building, education and vocational training, income generation, financial planning, savings, credit accompanied with training and support, jobs that pay fair wages and treat workers justly and/or market access.
- Care for the environment: programs should promote people's access, participation and rights in the care of their water, soil, air, seeds, forests, fisheries, livestock and land. Programs may work to catalyze and sustain local action for sustainable agriculture, food and water security/sovereignty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, natural resource management, environmental health, biodiversity and conservation.
4. Sound Practices
The organization is ethical, transparent, well managed and financially sound in its internal practices as evaluated through a participatory process between IDEX and the partnering organization. Organization would not depend solely on IDEX for its sustainability and continues to seek other relevant sources of support.
5. Effective Learning & Monitoring
The organization effectively plans, implements, evaluates and documents its community-driven programs and maintains accountability to the communities it supports. The organization and IDEX are committed to mutual learning and building solidarity.
6. Impact
The organization demonstrates impact on its members, beneficiaries, and communities as well as its impact on long-term social change. The organisation is able to leverage IDEX's financial support to strengthen its work and/or grow its impact.
7. Commitment to Partnership
IDEX and the organization will engage in frequent and responsive communication and dialogue, including consultation on issues in the region; giving each other honest feedback about the fulfillment of roles; participating in fundraising and outreach activities, including travel to the United States and to the partner's country and region and to conferences upon request; supporting in identifying new partners and building their capacity when relevant and sharing learning with each other and with IDEX partners in all regions, when feasible.
8. Non-sectarian
The organization is non-sectarian, does not proselytize and is open to the participation of all people regardless of culture, tribe, caste, class, religion, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical disability.
IDEX uses the above criteria to find new grantees for our Catalyst Grants Program, evaluate if existing Catalyst Grantees should become Partners, and evaluate Partner performance. We do not accept unsolicited grant requests, but if you wish to contact us about our grantmaking, please contact Program Officers, Katherine Zavala or Yeshica Weerasekera.
IDEX reviewed and revised this partnership criteria in September 2009 with input from IDEX staff, volunteers and most importantly, IDEX partners working to affect lasting social change in their communities in Africa, Asia and Mesoamerica. We are happy to share this information publicly but request that you write to us and inform us should you adapt or use this to meet your needs.
IDEX Partner Selection Criteria by IDEX is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at www.idex.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.idex.org.
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Friday, January 13, 2012
Katherine Zavala – IDEX’s Program Manager, Grassroots Alliances – reports back on a recent trip to South Africa where she visited IDEX Catalyst Grantee Women’s Net.