De-concentrated credits / Social Development Fund (CD/FSD) are co-financing grants that target projects mainly initiated by Southern citizens through non-government organisations (NGOs) or local authorities. Information on how to apply is compiled on this webpage and can be downloaded here.

Background	Project Duration
Types of Grant	Deadline
Grant Size	Application Forms
Own Contribution	Application & Procedures
Funding Priorities	Languages
Grantmaking Criteria	Tips
Guidelines	Pdf Download

The Co-operation and Cultural Action Services (SCACs) are in charge of developing partnerships with recipient countries, and they plan and implement operations in the fields of science, culture and development co-operation. They try to ensure exchanges between France and partner countries and promote French work and know-how abroad. The SCACs depend directly on embassy services; in countries where there is no SCAC, the ambassador is directly in charge of co-operation.

De-concentrated credits / Social Development Fund (CD/FSD) are co-financing grants that target projects mainly initiated by Southern citizens through non-government organisations (NGOs) or local authorities and implemented with their assistance.

Not defined; grants are provided from € 7,000 to € 300,000.

Officially, the applicant has to contribute at least 30% of the total project costs, either in cash or in kind. However, in practice, own contributions are not always necessary and depend on the policy of the local SCAC office.

The French government created the CD/FSD to give financial support to development projects for local communities in partner countries of the primary solidarity zone. The goal is twofold: first, it aims at actively participating in poverty reduction efforts by funding projects at grassroots level. Through its geographical closeness to the beneficiaries, it is believed that the programme can adjust to local situations most effectively, thus,  bringing decision-makers, implementors and beneficiaries closer together. Second, it encourages local actors to independently conceive and implement development projects, thereby empowering local civil society. Certain projects particularly target the most vulnerable groups, such as mentally disabled people and young mothers from peripheral suburbs; however, other projects target elites such as universities and central administrations.

In practice, the selection criteria are the following:

• The belief in an applicant’s reliability concerning his competence and intentions to achieve the project goals;
• The project’s sustainability with a particular focus on the financial mechanisms in place to assure the functioning of the project after the funding period;
• The eligibility criteria as described on the local SCAC websites;
• The coherence of the project budget and project aims;
• The pertinence of the project, its impact and target groups – such as people in need – are general prerequisites rather than eligibility criteria specifically analysed.

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There are no official guidelines, as each SCAC organises the allocation of funds independently. However, an evaluation was published in 2002, trying to analyse the actual practices. In addition, each applicant should contact its responsible agency. Addresses are to be found here.

No minimum or maximum project duration exists.

No deadline applies.

In general, the final funding decision is taken by the ambassador or delegated to the SCAC. A consultative selection committee – under French chairmanship and bringing together representatives of the recipient countries’ government authorities, representatives of civil society, other donors and SCAC representatives – has been put in place by most countries. However, the frequency of meetings is often low. Moreover, the SCAC often prepares proposal dossiers in informal internal processes and, in highly unequal debates, has already made its decision when presenting them to their local counterparts. Finally, the quality of representation of civil society is very different among different countries. The presence of other donors is rare. This means that applicants should contact their local agencies to get an understanding of the application procedures, rules and forms used.

These diverse rules can be found for each country on the following websites:
Bolivia
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Cameroon
Chad
Dominican Republic
Ethiopia
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Madagascar
Mali
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Sénégal
Togo
Vietnam 

French

The agency in the recipient country should be contacted in any case.

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