About DiPS Governance
The applications to the DiPS fund are assessed by the Afghan and Somali Advisory Boards, CISU and DiPS. The DiPS Executive Committee then takes the final decision on which applications are selected for the develop phase.
DiPS Team
The DiPS team is responsible for the implementation, daily management, and decision-making related to DiPS. During the assessment of applications, the team is responsible for the initial review and scoring of the applications. The draft scores take into account the input given by the Advisory Board and CISU at the assessment meetings and are later changed or approved by the Executive Committee (ExComm).
Advisory Boards
The DiPS Advisory Boards include one Afghan and one Somali Advisory Board with five members in each. The current Advisory Board members were elected at the DiPS Annual Grand Meeting on November 2023 and have been elected for a two-year term. The next elections will take place at the Annual Grand Meeting in fall 2025.
The main roles of the DiPS Advisory Boards include:
- Give advice and inputs to DiPS on applications for DiPS funding submitted by diaspora organizations.
- Enhance transparency and accountability of DiPS by sharing information about DiPS with the diaspora community and vice versa.
- Provide inputs and recommendations about DiPS programming and activities.
During the assessment of applications submitted to DiPS the Advisory Board reads all applications submitted and provides input to DiPS in relation to the assessment criteria. The Advisory Board also participates as an observer in the meeting between ExComm and DiPS where the final scoring and selection of applications is done.
The Advisory Boards have a consultative role only. The decision on which project applications are selected to continue to the project development phase is made by the DiPS Executive Committee (ExComm).
CISU (Civilsamfund i Udvikling) Representative
CISU is a Danish association made up of 270+ member organizations engaged in international development work. An advisor from CISU`s civil society funding mechanism participates in the Advisory Board assessment meetings and provides input based on their expertise in Danish and international civil society engagement and development aid.
Executive Commitee
The DiPS Executive Committee (ExComm) consists of three experts from DRC's Civil Society Engagement Unit. The members of ExComm have a range of experience with the context in Somalia and Afghanistan, civil society engagement and localization, and diaspora engagement in development and humanitarian response.
The ExComm is responsible for reviewing, making changes to, and approving the scores for the applications during the assessment. The ExComm makes the final decision regarding which applications submitted to DiPS will be selected to continue to the project development phase. They may also provide DIPS with advice on changes to assessment criteria or other processes and on project-specific questions when relevant.
