Considerations before committing to a flexible funding programme

Before committing to any flexible funding programme, consider the following:

• Whichever model you choose, flexible funding in the way we have described it in this report is as much a philosophy of solidarity as it is an approach to civil society resourcing. Flexible funding should not be considered a technical fix to overcome the challenges of implementing programmes in volatile and unpredictable contexts. While it does achieve that aim, its purpose is much deeper, as many of the DIRECT CHAMPIONS reported. Accordingly, donors wishing to implement a flexible funding programme should carefully examine their worldviews, mindsets and organisational cultures to determine if they are committed to working in ways that support and strengthen the agency, dignity and power of local actors.
• Recognise that a commitment to funding flexibly requires a whole of organisation approach that goes beyond compliance, risk and due diligence. It includes monitoring, evaluation and learning, communication frequency and styles, partnership practices, and above all, strategy and purpose.

If you are an organisation with financial resources that is considering which flexible funding model would best suit your work, we provide the following high-level guidance:

• If you have funds and a desire to channel flexibly, but no infrastructure to disburse funding to grantee partners (directly or indirectly), we recommend becoming a contributor through providing core funding and other support to DIRECT CHAMPIONS and CONNECTORS.
• If you have a mature grantmaking infrastructure and the resources to engage directly and deeply with partners, we recommend adopting the DIRECT CHAMPION model.
• If you have an organisational philosophy that supports flexible funding but are seeking to strengthen the ecosystem of local and national support organisations rather than funding directly, we recommend adopting the CONNECTOR model by engaging with facilitating partners proximate to communities in the areas you wish to fund.
• DIRECT CHAMPIONS and CONNECTORS share many similarities, and there are many opportunities for these two groups of funders and regranters to learn from each other. Allocate more time to do this, and promote this learning more intentionally.
• If you do not have the necessary funding infrastructure or organisational philosophy, but see an opportunity to fund flexibly, we recommend becoming an EXPERIMENTER, with a longer-term vision of fully adopting either the DIRECT CHAMPION or CONNECTOR models.
  The very existence of the EXPERIMENTER model proves that it is possible to fund flexibly even if the majority of the organisation is more top- down or hierarchical in its funding approaches.

Practical steps along the journey could include:

1. Introducing flexibility in the application process by relaxing proposal requirements and allowing other formats and languages to be accepted.
2. Introducing flexibility in the decision- making process, by either:
   • Appointing a group that is representative of the people you aim to benefit from your funding, and empowering them to make decisions on applications (Direct Champion feature).
   • Partnering with organisations that are most proximate to the people you aim to benefit from your funding, and entirely delegating decision-making to them.
3. Simplifying due diligence and reporting processes to enable grantee partners to focus on delivering the work.
4. Providing as much unrestricted funding as possible, allowing grantee partners to deliver against their own strategic priorities, alongside non-financial accompaniment to support grantee partners with other needs.

• If you are an EXPERIMENTER, it is important to consider how to ensure that lessons learned from such pilots are embedded within the strategy and philosophy of the wider organisation.

Currently, too many lessons are lost within large organisations due to the siloing of departments, distinct organisational cultures and personnel changes. Cross departmental learning teams or learning circles should be established when organisations embark on any flexible funding experiment.

• If you are not a funder yourself but are passionate about promoting and supporting flexible funding models and approaches, we recommend that you become a CONVENER-ADVOCATE (or partner with existing networks).