The NREG Sector Budget Support Mechanism
KASA provides funding to non-state actors to support them to efficiently carry out their advocacy projects based on the following process. (Grants Manual can be downloaded from the resources page)

Kasa grant component is open to civil society organizations including the media, and coalitions that are engaged in research and/or advocacy work relevant to promoting the Government of Ghana’s natural resource and environmental governance programme and related strategic natural resource and environment issues.
 

Kasa announces the availability of grants through publicly advertised calls for expressions of interest. Eligibility requirements include a track record of making an impact on policy related issues in the natural resource and environment sector in Ghana. Additionally, applicants must have demonstrable organizational capacity, be non-partisan, prepared to collaborate with other civil society groups and show a willingness to mainstream gender issues in the organization and its programmes.
 
 

All grant applications are systematically assessed by the Kasa project management team and an independent external assessor, and the recommendations made to the Kasa Steering Committee for the final grant decisions.
 

The NREG Sector Budget Support Mechanism
 
Development Partners (DPs) in the Environment and Natural Resource Management Sector are now aligning their priorities and support to the Government of Ghana (GOG) through sector budget support (SBS) focusing on Natural Resource and Environmental Governance (NREG). The duration of this SBS is presently foreseen to be 2007-2012. NREG SBS is aligned with and supportive of GOG policy in the areas of forestry, mining and environmental protection and prepared in collaboration with GOG partners. SBS is an aid modality that seeks to work through and strengthen country systems.
 

The NREG SBS is centred on a set of targets in a three-year rolling Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) which seek to define the reform priorities of GOG. An annual assessment process between GOG and DPs monitors progress on meeting these targets and provides the basis for annual disbursement decisions of the donors involved in NREG SBS. A number of the identified policy areas have direct impact on poor and rural communities.
 

A Framework Memorandum of Understanding guides the GoG/DP collaboration on NREG SBS.
 

The sector budget support approach, incl. NREG SBS, is a relatively new aid modality. Hence, there is a particular interest from development partners, incl. donors, INGO, NGOs etc., in assessing how the implementation of the  identified reforms move ahead on the ground and how the programme affects for instance women and the poor and marginalised rural communities.
 

A long term civil society support mechanism is envisaged as a component to the NREG SBS. Currently, CARE, ICCO and SNV, through funding from CARE Denmark and the Royal Netherlands Embassy, are implementing a pilot civil society support mechanism called “Kasa” from 2008-2010. The experiences and lessons learned from Kasa will inform the longer term mechanism planned to support civil society engagement in the NRE sector.
 

Kasa seeks to increase transparency, accountability and broad engagement in NRE governance in Ghana. Kasa supports civil society organisations and the media in research and evidence based advocacy with the view of improving NRE governance in Ghana to the benefit of all Ghanaians. Kasa seeks to achieve this through 1) project and core grants 2) capacity building 3) information and awareness raising about NREG and facilitating engagement between relevant state and non-state stakeholders 4) drawing lessons learned from kasa and other CSS mechanism for a future NRE mechanism.


Funding to the NREG Programme

The development partners (RNE, DFID, EC, AFD, WB) have committed approx. US 30-40 million USD per year to natural resource and environment governance sector budget support.