Concept Note
[Country Name] – [submission date]
Purpose and Guidance
Please read the following before proceeding:
1) The purpose of this concept note is to facilitate early consultations between the Humanitarian Country Team and the CERF secretariat on the funding possibility of a rapid response request prior to engaging in a full-fledged application.
2) The information to be contained in this note should be seen as a first step in making a CERF application. If a Preliminary Response Plan / SRP revision is underway, please pay attention to the linkages between the CERF application and the response plan (or equivalent).
3) The CERF secretariat highly recommends that you do not proceed with elaborating a full-fledged application until you have received feedback on this concept note.
4) The CERF secretariat will rely on the information contained in this note to advise whether a particular crisis qualifies for rapid response funding. Therefore, please make all efforts to ensure that the information is based on reliable sources.
5) The italic text under the sub-headings in the Concept Note are to serve as a guidance to focus the content, but depending on the context of the crisis, please use your discretion to include other pertinent information that may help the CERF secretariat in assessing the request.
*Please keep this concept note as concise as possible following the guidance bulleted below. Please maintain the guidance bullets and include your additions under each relevant bullet*
CERF Rapid Response – Concept Note
Please describe briefly in bullets following the guidance below and please leave the guidance bullets in place.
1) Trigger for CERF rapid response request
· What is the trigger for the rapid response request? Highlight the deterioration of the humanitarian situation. What are the acute needs?
· Describe the humanitarian situation. What are the causes of the humanitarian situation? Who is affected? Where? How many?
· Is a Preliminary Response Plan (PRP) or revision of a Strategic Response Plan (SRP) under consideration? What component of it will be included in the CERF?
2) Objectives of the proposed CERF request and priority needs
· What is the CERF’s niche in the humanitarian response?
· What is the strategic objective of the CERF request? Who is supported, with what, and where (name the specific geographic areas)? Over what period?
· What is the impact or change that CERF funds can make at this time?
· What are the priority needs and gaps to be addressed with CERF funding? Including a table of proposed sectors/clusters, activities, agencies and possible funding request. (see below)
· How are the different activities proposed for CERF funding interlinked?
Sector/Cluster / Agency / Key activities / Requirement (US$) / Amount Requested (US$)1
2
3
*State the number of months the dollar requirements are for
3) Funding Requirements and Complementarity
· State the total financial requirement for the emergency response. The amount should be for the current crisis only and focused on the new needs. How many months are these requirements for?
· What resources – in-kind and financial – are available or pledged for the response?
· State the amount of the proposed CERF request by each sector.
· How would CERF funds complement existing or expected resources?
· If there is a country-based pooled fund is in place, is it supporting the emergency? How would CERF funds complement the other pooled funding?
4) Implementation Capacity
· Do the UN agencies have the capacity to complete activities within the CERF rapid response timeframe?
· Are NGO partners present and capable of implementing activities? Are partnerships in place with NGOs?
· Do agencies and NGOs have access to the targeted areas?
· Are there security or other operational constraints that could affect implementation?
5) Advocacy
· What is the key advocacy message that can be sent through the allocation of CERF funds?
· What are the plans to leverage additional resources?
For additional guidance, please refer to the CERF website (http://www.unocha.org/cerf/) for CERF Rapid Response Guidelines and CERF Life-Saving Criteria or contact the CERF secretariat.