228 Clara Baez and Guadalupe Váldez
Education, city councils, private companies, foundations and other
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), religious and community
organizations, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The Technical Operating Unit handles and coordinates day-to-day
operation of the fund. The unit, which is based in the Ministry of Ed-
ucation’s Office of International Cooperation, relates to both of the
ministry’s educational divisions—the Initial Education Division and
the Basic Education Division.
The unit is responsible for coordinating all activities of the fund.
Three main components are administration, development and train-
ing, and monitoring and evaluation.
One of the unit’s primary functions is to maintain a database of
experts on whom to call to help review, evaluate, and select projects
for funding. The database consists of approximately 100 school and
education specialists.
To encourage submission of proposals for funding, the Technical
Operating Unit offers technical support to the civil society by provid-
ing necessary and background documentation. The unit disseminates
the guidelines and required form for submitting proposals, an evalua-
tion matrix listing the criteria for selection, and the code of ethics es-
tablished by the Directing Board. The unit also furnishes an operat-
ing manual for organizations selected for funding and a brief outline
of the Ministry of Education’s IEP and Basic Education Project.
Grant Proposals: Criteria and Review Process
A standard set of selection criteria is used to evaluate proposals for
funding. Projects must be—
Policy-driven The funding awarded must be used to finance projects
that implement the Ministry of Health’s policies for
initial education and basic education.
Innovative Projects must be innovative in their approach to early
child development and have potential to serve as a
frame of reference for ECD programs.