Participatory Grant Making: A success story from southern Africa

This report written by by Carla Sutherland and Khosi Xaba for the Other Foundation outlines the process that was used as part of a pilot grant making initiative. This process involved the participation of 12 peer reviewers from six countries from southern Africa who worked with the board to select proposals to be funded.

Excerpt

"The peer reviewers worked in four teams of 3 reviewers each, facilitated by a board member, to come to a consensus about which projects to recommend for funding. The process began by each reviewer individually assessing a number of applications, and then coming together in teams to share their findings."

Contents

• A short history of how we got to the peer review workshop 4
• Meet the peer reviewers 5
• Preparation for the workshop 6
• The peer review workshop: Day one 9
• The peer review workshop: Day two 11
• Grant allocations by the board 12
• Conclusion and next steps 14
• Appendix One: Proposal Application Form 15
• Appendix Two: Grant Review Sheet 20