Good funding criteria: An NGO perspective
Good funding criteria can be used to help judge the likely success or failure of funding arrangements.
Basic criteria
Government agencies need to develop good funding criteria based on healthy funding relationships, good decision-making, and sound contracting principles.
Basic criteria include:
- being clear about what is being funded and why
- channelling resources effectively to meet identified needs
- recognising the accountability and resource constraints of all parties.
Ten key funding criteria
The following criteria were developed in 1999 by the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) in partnership with the New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, and in consultation with the New Zealand Council of Social Services.
NZCCSS considers good social services funding is built on:
- a pathway from innovation to funding stability
- reasonable security of funding and reasonable stability in funding arrangements
- systems that encourage co-operation
- flexible boundaries between funders and funding pools
- explicit funding for community and voluntary sector infrastructure
- systems that encourage responsiveness
- mutual and reasonable accountability
- realism in measurement
- regular investigation of changing services and unmet demand
- reasonable accreditation arrangements.
Source: Criteria for Judging Government Funding Arrangements for the Community Sector: The Views of Community Social Service Providers, New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, 1999.
Copies can be purchased from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, PO Box 12-090, Thorndon, Wellington. Phone 04 473 2627.
