FrontlineAid - get rid of red tape in the development sector

We provide advice and tech solutions whilst cutting out the middle man in the aid sector

1) 

 “As long as it’s easier to give a million dollars to one large organisation than $10.000 to 10,000 organisations, local initiatives will keep struggling to survive."

Less than 1% of international humanitarian aid goes to local NGO’s. An odd figure considering that it is these, local actors are on the “frontline” of many crisis in which this aid is needed. There are many reasons behind this, some of which include:

• Lots of smaller local initiatives do not have the capacity to fill in all the forms and applications.

• There is the perception that local initiatives will not know how to spend the money Aid agencies money provide effectively.

• Limited administrative capacity to give smaller amounts of money.

• The need to channel money through a few, trusted partners so that risk can be managed and complies to aid agencies/ donors rules of compliance.

• The prevention of anti-terror and anti-money laundering rules that make giving directly difficult

With all this red tape dictating where funding is directed to, the projects with the most impact are not getting the funding and support they need to sustain; and the larger organisations that this money is directed to, spends a majority of their resources in perpetuating the organisations own existence.

2) 

Use Case Scenario 1: The User entering the data into the interface which is then collated and organized through the back end (database).

Use Case Scenario 2: The donor who can enter the back end and see all the data, but also ensure that sensitive information such as identify information is hidden when necessary

Use Case Scenario 3: The website visualization which is public facing. Content can be managed in aggregate, and filtered through mapping, filters and search facilities.

What makes the ChangeMakers Hub so special is also its unique combination of different components that distinguishes it from other enterprises:

1.     A real-time data collection app (works on/offline, GPS stamped)

2.     Community and network management

3.     Project Management

4.     Direct donations facility

5.     Financial management tracking

6.     Management/HR

7.     Grassroots Award

8.     Due diligence and risk management.

3) 

This idea is a solution to a systemic problem in the aid industry that prohibits local people owning their work and accessing the aid and support they need.  On the side of the donor, it allows donors full transparency, meet their Grand Bargain goals, but also at an ethical and moral level give their support in a way that is inspiring and impactful. 

The model also creates a new environment for opportunities for economic betterment in communities that do not otherwise have access to decision making power structures.  For large donors they can access local suppliers that would otherwise be invisible to them. 

The hub is the first of its kind, aggregating the information, background, live project management tool, and live data stream (qualitative, quantitative, social media) of local projects run by local individuals. Financial data, and project needs are shown, cutting-edge visualization of data is integrated, including recently developed mapping technologies. All aspects of the Changemakers Hub are designed with the needs of micro projects in mind; users only need a smart phone. 

1.     A real-time data collection app; works on/offline, GPS stamped

2.     Community and network management

3.     Project Management; simple on the ground and remote

4.     Direct donations facility; using digital currency to reach the unbank

5.     Financial management tracking

6.     Management/HR

7.     Grassroots Award; an ‘add on’ an financial and nonfinancial support award

8.     Due diligence and risk management.

The ChangeMakers Hub thus combines complex programming knowledge with innovative technology to truly localise aid.  Our market research shows that this idea is new.

• Large international INGOS - We have the capacity to take two INGO's on in year one

• Governments - influencing policy, this happening and will be ongoing  

• Foundations - talking to two foundations at at moment (Rational Games and Idrots Stiftelse)

• NGOs/grassroots organisations - currently 63 listed on our hub

Grassroots organisations/individuals will get a free license. In return the Social Entrepreneur will pledge that they will write FrontlineAid into their funding proposals as their data management solution at 3% of the total funding request.

Historically, our expertise have a particular focus on using innovation tech, sports, and culture, and sustainable development thinking to realise change at the local level in war and conflict settings. Saying this the platform is set up to also include other sectors in the humanitarian fields.

[1]http://www.oecd.org/development/development-aid-stable-in-2017-with-more-sent-to-poorest-countries.htm

Using our networks, which we are active members of, we will raise awareness about our idea and source new clients.

Funds raised will be invested back into the organisation. This will help subsidise the costs of our charitable activities as well as grassroots users who do not have the money to pay for the use of the Hub and buy the license.  We have a cash flow projection for the next five years to 10 years.

Currently there are 63 Initiatives listed on the Changemakers Hub which are benefitting from the network. We have so far given 10 Awards to local people from Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Sweden and Germany. 

These are the 'direct' beneficiaries'. 

Through them we have trained over 3000 children and youth in war and conflict zones. Many have trained assistant trainers who became trainers who trained others etc. In Syria for example the forth generation of trainers is currently training others. 

We don't had the M&E capacity to follow up with all the trainers.

Our model is to scale through replicating our model through other users. Other organisations can use our Grassroots Hub, as well as local people running micro projects.  Our 'customers' being philanthropic organisations, institutional donors, INGOs and local NGOs. 

Replication works in partnership with other organisations. For example, currently we are cooperating with Skateistan. They are a beacon within the Skateboarding community but could never engage with other projects around the world. Our model can support Skateistan to help them in accessing and growing all those tiny projects already a loose part of their network.

Starting out on the streets of Damascus in 2007 as a grassroots movement we worked in prisons, with abused women in safe houses, and with Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. As locals we understood our community, and we could work on projects at a fraction of the cost of international expat actors.

I have all the infrastructure, and the right people in place to really get this idea off the ground.  I can dedicate the strategic, thinking and fundraising time I would need to really scale it.  

The issue is funding.  

1. Hub licenses are £12,000 per year plus £1,250 set-up fees. The approach here is deliberately conservative and at a trial price.  There is opportunity to have different pricing structure for donors and NGOs in the future and also to increase the price of Hub licenses by adding different add-on services. Each unit would be sold using a leasing model.

We are currently seeking seed funding of £406,000/540 to realise this project.

• 20 international organisations over the next five years using the hub space.  

• Income generation through larger organisations using the site/or a component part of our site (such as the monitoring and evaluation streaming alone)

• Generating new employment opportunities in the INGO space within three years

• Innovation in local communities to tackle social issues driven by locals

• Civic engagement and local leadership as measured through questionnaires and semi structured interviews

• Locally lead ripple effect as measured through new projects and jobs

• At least 1,000 projects listed by year three with their own mini-pages using our real time data tools  reaching approximately 20,000 vulnerable youth

I feel that challenges around realising this project will mostly be about meeting our cashflow needs and ensuring that we can pay the right team to commit with us.  I have the right network, connections, and experience to take this idea beyond the beta phase. 

Funding / Business Development Advice and Introductions 

As stated, we have an incredible network and tons of helping hands but; we are relying on voluntary support which means that we are making slow progress, especially on the tech.