Just this once, we’re taking you behind the scenes of our projects. This June is a crucial month for our team as it marks the final stretch before we submit our programme proposal for funding from the Belgian government for the next five years.

On 15 June, we will be submitting our future DGD (Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid) programme, which sets out all the projects we hope to see funded by the Belgian government between 2027 and 2031. Needless to say, the whole team is hard at work to ensure this task is successfully completed.

But how do we decide on the content of this programme? On the projects and activities we want to carry out? Sophie Wyseur, Head of Operations, tells us more: “This new programme is based, on the one hand, on whether or not it is appropriate to continue a project depending on the impact it has (or has not) had on local communities. On the other hand, it is based on the results of the mid-term evaluations of the previous programme, which guide us on the needs that remain on the ground and the actions required to address them. We also refer to our strategic plan, which serves, in a way, as our compass. Finally, it is important to take into account the priorities of the Minister for Cooperation, which are: climate and biodiversity, global health and stability.”

Within our team, we have formed pairs of lead and supporting staff, each responsible for identifying and developing a project – that is, a set of initiatives centred on a specific theme and area. In each pair, there is one person working in the field, close to the partners and with a thorough understanding of the context and the needs of the local communities; and one person from Head Office, who is well versed in procedures, administrative formalities and the requirements of the DGD.

Eight key steps

Work on drafting the DGD programme began several months ago, with our contribution to the drafting of the 2027–2031 Common Strategic Frameworks (CSFs). These are reference documents drawn up by all Belgian organisations operating in a given country, setting out the actions they intend to carry out there in the coming years.

Next, our teams on the ground drew up a “concept note ” for each proposed project, in which they identified the needs and the necessary and feasible actions, based on the skills and expertise of Louvain Coopération and its partners. From there, 12 projects were identified. For each project, we drafted a “Theory of Change” (ToC), a document setting out the concrete changes we hope to see at the end of the five-year programme.

This was followed by the drafting of the “logical frameworks ”, which set out, for each project, the overall objective, the expected outcomes and the activities to be carried out each year to achieve these outcomes. Although this step is not required by the DGD, we believe it is necessary for the effective monitoring of projects. At the same time, our finance department has devised and drawn up budgets for each project, striving to be as effective and efficient as possible.

The sixth stage, which we are currently working on, involves drafting the programme itself. This involves setting out the rationale for each project, its relevance, effectiveness, anticipated sustainability, impact and coherence, as well as potential synergies and collaborations, and how it contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals...

By 15 June at the latest, all these documents must be submitted to the DGD via a dedicated software platform. It is worth noting that we are not working on this alone. We are developing a joint programme called UNI4COOP, in collaboration with three other university-based NGOs. In total, this programme comprises 17 projects, 12 of which we are actively involved in.

A wait of several months

After 15 June, there will be a period of several months during which the DGD will review each proposal. In November, we should receive the initial assessment, to which we can respond if necessary. The DGD’s final decision will be communicated to us in December 2026. We already know that a project must score at least 70% to be funded. However, there remains considerable uncertainty as to how the 25% cut in subsidies announced by the government will be implemented. In the meantime, we are working tirelessly to carry out as many activities as possible that will improve living conditions and strengthen the resilience of those who need it most.