Call for Proposals 2004

“Systematization of Experiences in poor, traditionally marginalized rural areas of Latin America a
nd the Caribbean that have been successful in establishing ties with dynamic markets”

The Mink'a de Chorlaví Fund invites public and private organizations interested in the problems of Latin America to participate in its Call for Projects for the year 2004. The theme of the projects is "Systematization of experiences in poor, traditionally marginalized areas of Latin American and the Caribbean that have been successful in establishing ties with dynamic markets." In this call for proposals, the Fund will assign the approximate sum of $200,000 among 10 to 12 project proposals. For further information, please visit the websitewww.FondoMinkaChorlavi.org or write to rimisp@rimisp.org

1. There is widespread agreement about the need to facilitate learning processes in the public and private organizations whose actions have an effect on inequity, rural poverty, management of natural resources and sustainable development. Although learning has always been important for the effectiveness of these organizations, the socioeconomic and institutional changes that have occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the last two decades imply that we should thoroughly review our conventional ways of doing things. We could even affirm that we must relearn to work successfully toward the objectives of eliminating poverty, modifying the exclusion systems, promoting sustainable rural development, and improving the management of natural resources.

2.Fortunately, this learning is already taking place in thousands of concrete initiatives to fight poverty, improve the management of natural resources, and promote sustainable development. In LAC, numerous economic, social, technological and institutional innovations are in progress, converting the region into one giant "experiment" in local and regional response to the new context. These initiatives can and should be a principal source of new experiences, lessons and knowledge.

3. The general objective of the Mink’a de Chorlaví Fund is to facilitate organizational learning to improve the projects oriented toward eliminating poverty, modifying exclusion systems, promoting sustainable rural development, and improving the management of natural resources, by means of making a connection between the environments of development experiences, and that in which lessons from these experiences can be institutionalized.

4. For purposes of the Call for Proposals 2004, the following definitions apply:

(a) Systematization: A process of organization of information and critical reflection based on one or more development experiences, centered on a predefined question or concern, with the participation of local actors, and oriented toward the generation of lessons learned that make improvement of the development experience itself possible, and contribute to a larger body of knowledge.

(b) Poor, traditionally marginalized rural areas: are those geographic spaces characterized by the fragility of their ecosystems and their socioeconomic environments that impede the intensification of agriculture and limit the possibilities of nonagricultural rural activities, which normally have limitations regarding productive infrastructure: roads, electrification, telecommunication, water and irrigation.

(c) Success: We define a developmental experience as successful if it has achieved an increase in productivity in a sustainable manner, based on better utilization production factors (labor, capital, land) under the control of rural populations, to produce combinations of goods and services in demand in dynamic markets; if it has meant improvement in living conditions and the standard of living of the men and women that make up the local rural societies, that gives them a certain sense of well-being; if it has strengthened the ability of the individuals and the community that live in the area to control their conditions and destiny; and if it ensures processes of generational change that renew the redistribution pacts.

(d) Dynamic markets: For purposes of this call for proposals, the markets involved are those which can absorb increasing quantities of goods or services produced in rural areas, in an amount great enough to produce the effects mentioned in the preceding paragraph (“success”), whether because of the size of the market or because of rapidly growing demand. Within this framework, there are traditional as well as non-traditional markets (that is, made up of the demand of consumers that look for products and services which are different due to their origin, that are organic or that don’t come from genetically modified seeds, that are produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way, that allow culturally based consumption which places value on the diverse nature of different peoples, or for which consumption is based on unique characteristics, etc.).

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED BYTHE PROJECTS SUBMITTED UNDER THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2004

5. In a survey conducted to define the main thematic area of concern of the Mink’a de Chorlaví Fund for the coming years, many participants argued that there were numerous examples that showed that, under certain conditions, rural communities could creatively take advantage of some of the predominant tendencies of our societies: demand for new rural products and services on the part of urban consumers, economic openness, increasing development of transnational networks and social movements (for example, the organic movement), greater development of social and economic organizations and networks at the local level, etc.

6. It is of interest to analyze cases which have been successful in spite of having been carried out in contexts in which there was reason to believe the experience would surely be a failure.

7. We also aim to obtain lessons from territorial development of rural communities that are more inclusive, in the sense that equity within the rural territory and the households is noted by degrees of inclusion of social groups and categories traditionally excluded, such as women, Afro-Latin Americans, indigenous people, or the landless, as much in relation to access to benefits as access to power. It’s important that from these lessons, those conditions that may be susceptible to public policy or the involvement of diverse players who have a role in development can be identified; so it will be easier for other groups to produce similar experiences.

8. The systematizations related to this issue must answer the following central question: What are the internal and external factors that allow us to explain successful experiences which occurred in contexts of poor, traditionally marginalized rural areas?¹

9. This central question can be approached by the projects proposed in the Call for Proposals, through more specific topics and questions, such as for example the following:

a) About the role of the internal factors related to those successful experiences. What role did the unique characteristics of the area play (absolute comparative advantages) in explaining the experience, and what was the role of the characteristics produced? What role have the previously existing prevailing conditions in the area played? What was the role of external institutions and the internal catalysts and innovators in the development of the experience? How were the conflicts that normally occur at the outset of these experiences resolved? How was the normal tension between investment and redistribution needs in this type of experience handled? How was the innovative atmosphere required for finding solutions to the challenges (for example, technology, credit, strengthening organizational skills) created?

b) About the role of external factors in creating the conditions for success. How could the experiences take advantage of the connections and relations that go beyond local relationships, including participation in national or international networks, alliances with supportive groups and fair trade groups or relations with groups of migrants from those areas? Are these connections and relations a factor in development that can complement national public action? What role, if any, did national public action play in these experiences? How did they eventually counter arrest the effects of economic crisis or incorrect macroeconomic or sectorial decisions? What external elements come together in the identification of dynamic markets and in the establishment of links between the supply of the poor and marginalized rural areas, and the demand of the dynamic markets?

c) About the elements that allow us to qualify the experience as successful. What are the elements that can define this experience as successful and sustainable? How are generational changes and conflicts among the founders and members of the new generation handled? How is the participation of women in positions of leadership handled? What form does the participation of the members take in decision making? How are accounts rendered? How are the agreements on commercial viability and redistribution renewed from one generation to the next and in terms of gender?

d) About the greater impact of the experience and the balance of those included and excluded. The successful processes, which are normally “micro”, rarely have sufficient strength to cause institutional and productive transformations that affect all of the area and its inhabitants. If this is the case, what specific reasons have inhibited a greater impact and how could the inclusion of the players who remained marginalized be expanded? How and why do these transformations cause exclusion (or inclusion), and if they do, who are the excluded (or integrated) players?

e) About the options and possibilities of increasing the scale of the experience. For the examples to acquire sufficient strength or critical mass (political, social-cultural, economic) to affect the general tendencies that are molding Latin American societies, it would seem that they must be on a larger scale. What is proposed so that these efforts gain enough strength that they could affect public policy making?

f) About the lessons that can be reproduced in other contexts. Are there elements or characteristics of these successful experiences or their processes that can be reproduced in other cases, or are they completely contextual and local?

EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2004

10. The organizations that participate in the Call for Proposals and whose projects are finally selected, must participate in the complete learning cycle set forth by the Mink'a de Chorlaví Fund. This cycle includes three main stages:

(a) Carrying out the systematizations that have won in the call for proposals, including a coordination workshop in which the individuals responsible for each winning project participate and in which agreements will be adopted for the group of winning projects so that they will form a set of projects that is as consistent and coherent as possible.

(b) The comparative analysis of the results of the projects, with the aim of obtaining more generally valid conclusions, lessons and recommendations.

(c) A process of strategic communication of the results of the entire cycle.

11. The main result of the projects presented in the Call for Proposals 2004, will be a systematization of one or more experiences in poor, traditionally marginalized areas in Latin America and the Caribbean that have been successful in establishing ties with dynamic markets. That systematization must produce conclusions, lessons learned, and recommendations, with reference to the questions formulated in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the current document.

12. The final reports of the winning projects will be the principal inputs for a comparative analysis from which, together with a process of consultation and discussion (by means of an electronic conference), a synthesized document that answers the central question specified in paragraph 8 of this Call for Proposals, must be produced.

DATES

13. The deadlines for the different phases of the Call for Projects are:

THE MINK'A DE CHORLAVÍ FUND REGULATIONS

14. This Call for Proposals is governed by the Mink’a de Chorlaví Fund Regulations. It is essential that those interested in presenting proposals know and previously analyze these Regulations in detail. This document contains information about:

The characteristics of the organizations that may present proposals for the call for proposals

The dates for the presentation of proposals and other phases of the call for proposals

The criteria for eligibility, merit and selection of the projects

The maximum amounts of the grants that can be requested from the Fund, the budget categories which can be financed and the requirements for co-financing

The process of reception, evaluating and selection of the proposals

The format which must be used for the proposals

The contracts to be signed with the organizations whose projects are chosen and the procedure for the transfer of co-financing resources contributed by the Fund

The time periods for the execution of the projects which are selected

The partial and final technical and financial reports which must be presented

The attributions of the Mink'a de Chorlaví Fund Committee for making decisions related to this Call for Proposals

Other general aspects of the Call for Proposals and the Mink'a de Chorlaví Fund

15. The Regulations, as well as other information of interest, are available on the Internet (www.fondominkachorlavi.org/) or can be requested from:

16. All the official information related to this call for proposals will be published on the www.fondominkachorlavi.org/ website. All those interested in participating in this call for proposals are asked to visit this website on a regular basis, so that they will be informed on a timely basis of any news which might be pertinent for their proposals.

1 This central question must be reflected in the general objective of the proposals submitted to the Call for Proposals 2004.