10 / 20
2:
Criteria for applicants
and applications
2.1 Criteria for applicants and applications
The four key guiding concepts for the Trust are: Protect – Restore – Health – Wellbeing. In relation
to the Waikato River and its catchment these concepts de ne much of the criteria for what sort
of projects should be funded. The Trust has developed a range of criteria that guide applicants in
considering whether (and how) to prepare an application for funding. Some of these criteria are
mandatory (i.e. all applicants must meet them), and others are intended to guide applicants in
terms of the Trust’s priorities.
2.2 Threshold criteria
The Trust expects that all applications should meet the following broad ‘threshold tests’ before
being considered eligible for funding:
• Any organisation or group applying for funds of more than $10,000 must be GST registered
(this includes organisations who make multiple successful applications in a single funding
round that total over $10,000)
• Projects must be focused on one or more of the four key guiding concepts of protecting,
restoring, health and wellbeing in relation to the Waikato River and its catchment
• Projects must be technically achievable, and applications must clearly demonstrate this
• Preference will be given to projects that are able to demonstrate to a high level, certainty
of success
• All projects must have a positive cost / bene t – that is, the project bene ts must be
demonstrably greater than the cost of the project. Bene ts will be considered fairly across
the four wellbeings of cultural, social, environmental and economic (the Trust recognises
that not all bene ts are able to be readily quanti ed)
• Applicants must know the outcomes the projects will deliver and have a monitoring
framework so it is clear what constitutes ‘success’. Project applications must demonstrate
how monitoring will occur (e.g. site visits and peer review both during the project and after
it is completed)
• The project should provide an outcome that will be maintained into the future without the
need for ongoing funding from the Trust.
2.3 Objectives outlined in legislation
In addition to the Threshold Criteria above, all applications for projects are required to meet the
objectives of the Trust outlined in the legislation and summarised below. These include:
a)
The Trust should not fund a project or a part of a project that another agency should or would
fund (or be likely to fund) in the normal course of its operations if the Trust did not exist, eg.
fencing of waterways on dairy farms, or activities that a territorial authority should undertake
as part of their role would not be funded
b) The Trust seeks efficiency in the allocation and use of funding, including having particular
regard to the desirability of applicants using matching or supplemental funding from other
sources, ie. higher co-funding (either in-kind or cash) helps
c)
Preference will be given to projects that achieve practical results over projects that are
purely for research purposes
d)
The Trust requires that adequate regard be given to the Vision and Strategy in
applications, including clear demonstration of how proposed projects will give effect to
the Vision and Strategy
e)
The Trust requires that adequate regard be given to the report of the Waikato River
Independent Scoping Study
f)
The Trust requires that adequate regard be given to any other relevant research (either
within or outside the Waikato Catchment)
Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River
10