Fund Manager for the Global Poverty Action Fund
Client - Department for International Development (DFID), UK
In 2010, our wholly owned subsidiary IPE Triple Line partnered with Crown Agents in a joint venture to manage the £140 million Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) portfolio that, at its peak, supported 142 organisations delivering 182 projects in 36 countries. The Fund aims to improve the lives of poor people by supporting civil society organisations to implement projects focused on poverty reduction and the achievements of off-track Millennium Development Goals. Focus areas include health, education, livelihoods, environment and capacity building.
As Fund Manager, we are responsible for:
the appraisal of project proposals and approaches, recommending which projects are funded;
financial management, including payment of grants, forecasting, audit and due diligence;
risk and performance management for on-going projects;
capacity building of organisations on technical issues including monitoring & evaluation, the use of logical frameworks, gender and financial management;
programme- level analysis of performance and aggregation of results as input to assessments and learning;
facilitation of peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing between grant holders;
mainstreaming gender and value for money.
IPE Triple Line's team of experts has a deep understanding of key international development issues - education, health, violence against women, gender equality, water and sanitation, income generation, access to justice and social accountability processes. Our knowledge allows us to provide technical guidance and advisory services that support the organisations and their implementing partners in delivering projects to high standards. This is strengthened by a long-standing relationship with civil society organisations in the UK and overseas which enables us to understand the issues and challenges they face and we are able to provide an expert and proactive service that ensures there is continuous capacity strengthening to enhance financial accountability.
We have managed the fund efficiently and smoothly, providing DFID with assurance over the distribution and use of over £140 million of public funds and receiving very positive feedback from grant holders about the service and support we provide.
IPE Triple Line's team:
contributed to the evolution of the Fund by working closely with DFID in continuously reflecting, adapting and improving fund management policies and procedures;
applied our understanding of the requirements of DFID and the needs of grant holders to design reporting frameworks that factor in the range of contextual varieties within the GPAF portfolio of projects. This has generated highly valuable information and learning that has been captured for DFID's strategic planning for similar funds in the future;
helped define key terminology for the Fund, including a clear definition of innovation, principles of value for money and gender mainstreaming at project and organisational levels;
created an enabling environment with the community of GPAF grant holders, we have increased opportunities for learning and sharing of experiences through seminars, webinars and thematic knowledge networks.