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What is PPIAF? PPIAF is a multidonor facility managed by the World Bank. It provides small technical assistance grants to developing country governments to help them improve their infrastructure services through public-private partnerships. PPIAF funds are grants provided on a demand-driven basis. About half the grants are under US$75,000. The average size of a PPIAF grant is US$215,000. PPIAF is governed by a Program Council composed of bilateral and multilateral donors. The Program Council is responsible for approving the annual work program and financial plan as well as defining PPIAF’s policies and strategies. The Program Council is advised by an independent Technical Advisory Panel of six members, the majority of whom are from developing countries. PPIAF has offices in Dakar, Manila, Nairobi, and New Delhi with a Program Management Unit in Washington, DC. What kind of work does PPIAF support with its grants? PPIAF assists governments with a wide range of policy, legal, and regulatory support to explore alternative and appropriate arrangements for improving delivery of services. PPIAF technical assistance grants support governments’ efforts to improve the provision of infrastructure services. Governments ask for financial help to design infrastructure strategies, seek advice on which policies and regulations will work best, organize training programs, host stakeholder workshops, and create outreach and communication programs to engage with stakeholders. PPIAF's Sub-National Technical Assistance Program provides technical assistance grants to local governments, publicly owned utilities, and other sub-national entities that want to improve their creditworthiness to access market-based financing without sovereign guarantees. Why does PPIAF support private participation in infrastructure? Investment in infrastructure must be doubled to reach the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals. The public sector currently funds about 70 percent of infrastructure investment, but this is clearly not enough. Governments, donors, the private sector, and consumers all have a role in helping to meet the targets. Back to top PPIAF funds are grants, provided to governments (not the private sector) at their specific request, and are not associated with any conditionality that the government enter into a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement. Governments who receive PPIAF support, typically during their exploration phase, end up choosing a variety of institutional options, including, in many cases using PPIAF-funded analysis to finally select an institutional arrangement with public sector provision or limited forms of private participation. How does PPIAF help improve services for the poor? PPIAF directs two-thirds of its commitments to low-income countries, and in fiscal 2007 directed almost half to Africa. In addition, PPIAF’s support early in a reform process helps ensure that a poverty focus is part of the policy, legal, and regulatory framework. And, PPIAF gives priority to countries, sectors, and types of activities where its assistance directly supports infrastructure strategies that alleviate poverty, by helping to find solutions for increasing access to infrastructure for poor people at affordable prices.
PPIAF funds are used to hire consultants to provide technical assistance to governments. Consultant procurement is untied, competitively bid, and not limited to companies representing PPIAF’s donors. Procurement will in all cases be in accordance with World Bank guidelines. Who can apply for PPIAF grants? Although most proposals originate through governments, the application process is open to all. However, each application must include an endorsement in writing from the relevant government for the proposal to be considered. How long does the process take? For small proposals (involving PPIAF support of US$75,000 or less), applications are evaluated on a rolling basis, and the Program Management Unit aims to notify applicants of the outcome of the evaluation within two to three weeks of submission. For medium-size and large proposals (involving PPIAF support of more than US$75,000), applications are batched on a quarterly basis, and the Program Management Unit aims to notify applicants of the outcome of the evaluation within six to eight weeks. If a proposal is rejected, an explanation will be provided to the applicant.
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