Philipsburg- The Resources 4 Community Resilience (R4CR) program recently held four information sessions for the “Quick Win” Round 2 call for proposals. These information sessions were held in-person to allow CSO’s (Civil Society Organizations) to get acquainted with the local R4CR staff but also to pose their questions in person and receive direct feedback.

The information sessions were staggered to give interested persons the choice between an early session (starting at 18:00) or later session (starting at 19:30). Due to COVID-19 restrictions each in-person session was limited to a maximum of 10 attendees. 

“We were very happy with the turnout which averaged approximately9 persons per session but moreover, elated to meet the people behind the CSO’s in person” said Rolf Hunink, R4CR Team Leader.

The R4CR program includes a grant scheme as funding mechanism for community and social rehabilitation initiatives on Sint Maarten and focuses on improving the capacity of local CSO’s in reconstruction and resilience activities post hurricane Irma.

The R4CR program is financed by the Government of the Netherlands via the Sint Maarten Trust Fund. The latter is administered by the World Bank and implemented by the NRPB ( National Recovery Program Bureau). 

The grant scheme will be active for four years and will provide grants to local CSO’s (formerly known as NGO’s) to execute projects focused on reconstruction, resilience and improved service provision. Project activities by registered CSO’s can cover subject categories such as neighborhood initiatives, sports/recreation, nature/environment, culture, poverty relief, day care centers/after school programs, youth employment, skills development, psycho-social support and gender-based violence. 

“The Quick Win Rounds are designed for projects that can be completed within 6 months on a moderate budget” explained Chi Hing Roger, R4CRFinancial expert, during one of the information sessions.

Quick Win Round 1 started in September 2020. Twelve projects were selected with a total budget of $452,481. Those projects are currently being implemented. The second (and final) Quick Win Round will have a total budget of$750,000 with a maximum of $60,000 per project.

“Our official call for proposals will start on March 1, 2021 and the deadline to submit a project proposal will be April 2 2021. We will evaluate the incoming proposals on a rolling basis so it is important to submit projects proposals in a timely manner not to miss out on the chance for funding” concluded Chi Hing Roger

The final information session for Quick Win Round 2 will be held online via Zoom on Saturday February 27 from 11:00am to 11:45 am.

Interested persons or organizations can register for the information session by sending an email to info@r4cr.org . For more information about theR4CR program or an overview of all current projects please visit www.r4cr.org or the Facebook page (R4CRSXM).

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