Written-Practical Exam for Latin America Regional Grants and Business Development Coordinator

Name:
Date:

*You have 1.5 hours to complete the three assignments below.

What you will email back to IRC:

1. This document with responses to exercises 1 and 2; and
2. An Excel spreadsheet related to exercise 3.

Use your time wisely, respond to the questions with the language used in the question. Please
ensure your name is provided in the file name and at the top of this document.

1. Instrucciones: Es el 20 de abril de 2022 y le acaban de informar que tiene que desarrollar una
propuesta de financiación de 1 millón de dólares en dos años para la Oficina de Población, Refugiados y
Migración (PRM) centrada en los medios de vida de los refugiados y migrantes venezolanos en Perú.
Esta línea de financiamiento esta alineadas con la estrategia de IRC de Respuesta a la Crisis de Venezuela
que responde a las necesidades de los venezolanos dentro de Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú. Sin
embargo, el programa de Perú no cuenta actualmente con personal técnico de medios de vida; sólo hay
un asesor técnico regional de medios de vida (AT) que está basado en México pero que viaja con
frecuencia y da asesoramiento a 7 países además del equipo de Perú.

La propuesta hay que entregarla en un mes. Por favor, 1.) detalla los pasos clave que darías como
Coordinador de Subvenciones para asegurar el desarrollo de una propuesta sólida que el programa
de Perú sea capaz de entregar, y 2.) crea una línea de tiempo razonable para este proceso (1 páginas
como máximo).

2. Directions: You have received the below email from a field office manager outlining a project
idea they would like to propose. Please put this information into the concept note template provided
below. Use your best judgment to fill in as much information as you can; realistic guesses are
acceptable.

Email:

International Rescue Committee maintains a historical and long years of commitment with communities
of Sidama region. The population in this zone is beset with multiple forms social and economic problems,
among which the endemic food insecurity is one of the major destabilizing factors that have continued to
shake the foundation of the livelihood of the population, particularly that of the rural communities. The
situation has continued to be aggravated as the results of the changes in the natural environment,
particularly the declining amount of rainfall that has been received year after year.

Food security is among the major determinant factors which allows households to pursue other social
and economic activities and relationships within and outside their communities’. The education of
children and sending them to schools, particularly those of girls in most of the rural communities is
directly related to the household food security situation. At times of austerities and shortage in
household consumption, girls are the first ones to be compelled to leave their education and engage in
supporting their families by fetching water, tending for animals, and cooking the small ration of food
 they receive from the emergency relief program or from what the parents bring in by engaging in casual
labor elsewhere in urban enclaves.

The following are the most detrimental factors that are hampering girl’s education:
1. As the results of the declining agricultural productivity and dwindling household income, parents
said, they are not able to cope up with the rising cost of school uniforms and school materials and
other requirements
2. For girls who successfully complete their primary schools and are promoted to secondary
schools, parents underpinned that they could not have enough resources to cover the cost of house
rents and deliver livelihood supports for their daughter who go to other nearby areas where the
secondary schools are located.
3. The traditional attitude held by communities regarding girls’ education is also one of the
factors.

The current trend indicates that most parents, out of desperation prefer to send their daughters to Arab
and other neighboring countries, simply because they could not afford to cover the costs of their
daughters’ education. This is one of the most dismal and sordid realties we are today facing in the
Sidama region. Some of the girls we have been talking to have openly disclosed to us that, migrating to
Arab countries is not their first choice, but in the absence of any opportunities to continue their studies,
the only option they have is to migrate and face any risk that might come through. The migration of girls
today stands out of proportion, and it has become something that requires the attention of GOS and
NGOs.

As far as I can see the problem could be resolved by designing and implementing a fine-tuned and
pragmatic project that will address the issue of girls’ economic empowerment and promoting girls’
education which could enable them to continue their education. The project should include access to
education, Income Generating Activities, and community mobilization.

Here, I want to mention a case of one brilliant girl student from a small rural town 180 kilometer from
Hawassa. Her parents decided to send the girl to Arab countries by borrowing money from the usurers.
The girl refused to go to and instead preferred to complete her education and she reported the case to
the school Director. Now, the teaches having realized the potential of the girl, agreed to pool monthly
contribution to cover her house rent and substance requirement and she is currently pursuing her
studies.
The above is one simple example of what individuals have done to support girls’ education and we as IRC
could do much more in terms of promoting girls education and economically empowering them through
some sort of self-supporting schemes.

Concept Note Template:

Project Title:
Sector(s):
Timeline (in months):
Region(s):
Target
Zone(s):
Area(s)
District(s):
Beneficiary Group(s):
Problem Statement [3-5 sentences]
Project Goal:
Objective 1:
Activities:
1. XXX
2. XXX
3. XXX
Objective 2:
Activities:
1. XXX
2. XXX
3. XXX
Objective 3:
Activities:
1. XXX
2. XXX
3. XXX
1. XXX
Risks or assumptions:1 2. XXX
3. XXX

3. Directions: The Health technical team has sent you information on project needs for a new
USAID funding opportunity. The project period is 12 months. USAID has not given a funding ceiling.
Please review the information below and, using Excel, put it into a budget format using the six budget
categories listed. The accuracy of the estimated unit cost is not relevant for this exercise. Therefore, you
may make up unit costs for line items unless an estimate is already provided.

Budget Categories
A. Personnel
B. Fringe Benefits
C. Equipment (over $500 per unit)
D. Program Materials
E. Other Running Costs
F. Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) [9.5% of total direct costs]

Health project needs sent from the technical team

 We need to purchase a refrigerator for cold chain management (the last one we bought cost
about $900), 2 motorbikes for the health extension workers, and a digital camera for documentation
of health campaigns.
 2 field managers and 2 health officers are needed for the full period. They are partially (about
20%) covered on another grant.
 1 health manager for the full period. This will be a new staff member.
 1 short-term specialist in behavior change dedicated to the project. I think maybe for four
months.
 Of course all staff need to have benefits at the usual 35% of salaries.
 Monthly fuel cost for one field office and 6 vehicles (this can be shared 50/50 with the ECHO
grant)
 New office rent for the new site for the whole period (needs 100% coverage)
 Then we need stationary materials (notebooks, pens, etc) for 12 trainings, 4,000
posters/leaflets, and vaccination supplies which can be lump sum.