UK Government funding

This page provides information on:

 

Department for International Development (DFID)


DFID Development Awareness Fund

The main funder for development education in the UK is the Department for International Development (DFID), through its Development Awareness Fund (DAF). The Fund is open to any UK-based organisation or network which shares DFID's commitment to raising awareness and understanding of development issues, and has the capacity to account properly for any DFID funds received.

The DAF can provide grants of between £10,000 to £100,000 per year (Major Grants, information on DFID website below) and up to £10,000 per year (Mini Grants, see paragraph below).

DAF Major Grants support activities that promote public knowledge and understanding of development issues, of our global independence, of the need for international development, and of the progress that has been made and that is possible. All applicants should plan to meet a proportion of project costs from either their own resources or from other donor sources, to show their commitment to the project.

Find further information on the DFID website

Go to major DAF Major Grant guidelines on the DFID website

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DFID Development Awareness Fund (Mini Grants)

This programme is aimed at organisations or networks undertaking 1-3 year projects which seek to raise awareness and understanding of international development issues, of our global interdependence, of the need for international development and of the progress that has been made and that is possible.

DEA administers the Mini Grants programme in England on behalf of DFID. DEA establishes the panel that assesses applications, disburses the funds and is the contact point for reporting. Contacts for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also given below.

Go to DAF Mini Grant guidelines on the DFID website

DEA generally runs workshops during July and September for applicants from England to provide support for the application process. Check our calendar nearer the time, or contact Sejal Patel for further details.

Contact:

  • England: Sejal Patel, Education Projects Manager, DEA, CAN Mezzanine, 32-36 Loman Street, London SE1 0EH, tel: 020 7922 7935, email: sejal.patel@dea.org.uk 
  • Wales: Dominic Miles, Cyfanfyd, Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3AP, tel: 02920 668999, email: info@cyfanfyd.org.uk.
  • Scotland: Angela Higgins, IDEAS, Princes House, 5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh, EH2 4RG, tel: 0131 656 0453, email: ideas@ideas-forum.org.uk.
  • Northern Ireland: Stephen McCloskey, CADA, 9 University Street, Belfast BT7 1FY, tel: 02890 241879, email: stephen@cge.uk.com.

Application process:

  • Guidelines available: Now
  • Application deadline: 5.00pm on Friday 31 October 2008
  • Decision: end Jan 2009
  • Projects to commence: following financial year (1 April 2009)

Eligibility:

  • UK-based organisations and networks. In England, organisations should be regionally or locally based.

Grants:

  • 1-3 years
  • DFID contributes up to £10,000 per year. Organisations are expected to meet a proportion of the project costs.

Purpose:

To support activities that promote public knowledge and understanding of development issues, of our global interdependence, of the need for international development, and of the progress that has been made and that is possible.

Successful examples:

Summaries of successful projects over the past four years can be downloaded here as PDF files.

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DFID Global School Partnerships Grants

A three year programme supporting global school partnerships was launched by the British Council in April 2003. It was developed with the support of DFID in partnership with key organisations working in the field of global education, international development and community linking. The programme aims to work with UK and Southern schools to deliver a programme of successful high quality educational, reciprocal, inclusive and sustainable global school partnerships that enhance the global dimension in school curricula. Further information is available from the British Council.

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Other sources of government funding

Useful information on government funding can be found on the agency funding page in the list of useful funding websites.

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Find out more about funding in the following pages: