230 Clara Baez and Guadalupe Váldez
The Directing Board makes the final decision on which proposals
to approve. The board’s decision is based on the following:
- Ministry of Education’s policies.
- Guidelines described in the Competitive Fund’s operational
manual. - Area of the country where the projects and proposals will be im-
plemented (special emphasis is given to the poverty level of a
particular area and whether other projects or proposals have al-
ready been approved and implemented in the area). - Institutional strength of the NGO that will implement the project.
The Directing Board weighs the reviewers’ recommended propos-
als with respect to the methodological and consensus-building ap-
proaches proposed.
The President of the Directing Board and Minister of Education an-
nounce the awards at a formal, public ceremony. Proposals that are
not selected are returned to the sponsoring organizations with the
written technical evaluations, to encourage the organizations to re-
vise and resubmit their proposals if they choose. The first distribution
of funds to the winning proposals begins in 70 days.
Early Results
The Ministry of Education issued the first RFP under the Competitive
Fund for Educational Innovations in July 2004. In response, the min-
istry received 179 proposals. Of the 179 proposals, 22 received scores
of 80 or higher.
Out of these 22 proposals, the Directing Board selected 10 propos-
als for funding. All had received the highest scores and had proposed
initial education interventions for children who live in the Domini-
can Republic’s areas of greatest poverty and need.
The awards are providing support to a diverse group of sponsoring
organizations that are addressing a variety of children’s needs in dif-