AERDO Interagency GIK Standards,
January 1999

< Return to Table of Contents

Appendix D - Sample GIK Acceptance Criteria

The purpose of this document is to delineate acceptance criteria in order to provide guidance in decisions regarding the acceptance of specific GIK donations and to define minimum and maximum levels of authority for approval for GIK donations. It is understood that this provides a framework, as procurement decisions are not an exact science and that the decision-makers have a responsibility to adhere to the intent of this document, seeking outside expertise and/or resources as needed. Responsibility for the acceptance decision lies primarily with the [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] staff; however, feedback from recipients, although after-the-fact, will guide and inform for future decisions.

1. GIK Acceptance Criteria
   
   1.1  Consistency with Mission and Strategy Relieve human suffering.
   
   - Save lives
   - Stimulate transformational, sustainable development
   - Increase the self-reliance of local communities
   - If procured for a specific country or program, it should be consistent with the program’s overall strategy.
   
   1.2  Appropriateness
   
   - Appropriateness is primarily defined at the field or recipient level and is consistent with mission and strategy, as defined above.
   - Products which are not in keeping with [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME]’s ethos will NOT be accepted.
   - GIK will be appropriate to the culture, climate, political conditions, and medical/health conditions of the recipient area.
   - Food products are generally manufactured for American tastes, thus they must be carefully considered by GIK program development staff before acceptance when restricted by donors for international use only.
   
   1.3  Usefulness
   
   - Is determined by the field office at the point of acceptance.
   - Can be used in the form given; will not need a companion product(s) which does not accompany the donation to be useful. (To the extent that this can be known in advance). Medical equipment, in particular, must have all parts and manuals and be fully operational with correct voltage and cycles.
   - Will be able to be used to meet specific requests or general ongoing needs.
   - Will not create artificial dependencies when product is no longer available.
   - Will not be a disincentive to the local economy.
   
   1.4  Product/Industry Type
   
   - In general, GIK donations in the following industries represent the priority focus for procurement: medical supplies; pharmaceuticals; building materials and supplies; clothing and textiles; seeds and agricultural tools; books, journals, educational materials and school supplies; basic hygiene products; and nonperishable food products. All product areas will receive careful review prior to acceptance.
   
   - In general, the following product/industry areas should always receive additional scrutiny prior to acceptance and do not generally reflect priority areas of procurement currently for [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME]: medical equipment; personal care products (other than shampoos, soap, or toothpaste); baby formula; perishable food products.
   
   1.5  Handling Costs (Transportation, Storage, Time Involved in Sorting and Repackaging, etc.)
   
   - [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME]’s aggregate value to cost ratio for GIK donation is currently 32.8: 1 (FY99).
   - The 32.8:1 value to cost ratio will be considered prior to acceptance. While individual donations will have higher and lower value-to-cost ratios, individual donations cannot be accepted if they endanger the ability to maintain this aggregate average.
   - Items with low estimated dollar value and high projected handling costs (or time) must be discussed with the department/office manager prior to acceptance.
   - Donor will be solicited to provide transport at the same time as they are asked to donate to reduce handling costs.
   - In general, items reflecting specific field needs or opportunities to establish strategic donor relationships should be considered independently from value to cost ratio.
   
   1.6  Valuation (Known or Estimated)
   
   - In general, donations worth a value less than $10,000 should not be accepted unless a designated recipient can be identified for acceptance and there are minimal or no handling costs to [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME].
   - [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] can accept donations as long as the donor and/or recipient absorb all costs.
   - If a donor cannot provide a value prior to acceptance, like-kind analysis will be done to estimate approximate value within thirty (30) days.
   - In times of national disaster, valuation needs will be waived so that multiple items can be collected for shipment to the disaster site.
   
   1.7  Miscellaneous
   
   - Known or suspected encumbrances, such as expiration dating, defects, or seconds, must be taken into account prior to the acceptance of any donation.
   - Donation of pharmaceuticals or other items with expiration dating for [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] shall be not less than 12 months at the date of anticipated shipment unless specific exceptions are approved by [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] management and by the senior vice president/chief operating officer of [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] for international shipments.
   - Any known or suspected condition of goods, such as water or fire damage, need for repackaging, etc., must be taken into account prior to donation acceptance. In cases where condition of goods will significantly impact the normal or existing handling/processing of product, these impacts must be discussed and assessed prior to acceptance of these donations.
   - For donations in which [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] staff do not have prior experience or specific expertise, necessary expertise or experience must be available from other sources.
   - Since GIK donations may have somewhat unique public relations risks associated with them, the risk associated with acceptance of a given donation must be known and understood by Innovative Programs management prior to acceptance. It must be determined by management that such risks are acceptable when they are identified. Potential risk exposure shall be documented to file, with written rationale for acceptance.
   - On those GIKs which are referred by offices/persons outside [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] GIK procurement staff must be involved in final acceptance decisions.
   
2. Procurement Approval Authority
   
   2.1  Procurement officers shall have authority to approve donations consistent with the acceptance criteria above for estimated or known valuations of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000.
   
   2.2  Departmental or office managers shall have authority to approve donations consistent with the acceptance criteria above, with a valuation not less than $1,000 and not greater than $500,000.
   
   2.3  The division director shall have authority to approve donations consistent with the acceptance criteria above with an estimated or known valuation of not greater than $750,00. 2.4  Individual donations with an estimated or known valuation greater than $750,000 shall be approved by the CEO or COO of [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] prior to final acceptance.
   
3. Donation Review Process These guidelines provide overall boundaries for decisions around the acceptance criteria and approval authority for GIK donations. However, it is clearly recognized that the interpretation and application of such guidelines is a matter of subjective judgment rather than objective consensus.
   
   As judgments vary between individuals, there will be occasions when differences of opinion exist concerning the approval of a particular donation. In such instances, it is useful and important to establish a process which allows the expression of all opinions.
   
   It is understood that some donations require immediate decisions, and thus this process must be quickly expedited. It must also be understood that delaying decisions may impact future donations, as well as the donation under current considerations.
   
   If an individual member of the team has concerns regarding a particular donation, the process for the review of such concerns shall be as follows:
   
   3.1  The staff member will first discuss the issue with her/his supervisor or department/office manager.
   
   3.2  The supervisor or manager will respond to the staff member’s concern in writing.
   
   3.3  If the staff member still believes that further discussion is merited, she/he may request that the issue be reviewed by the divisional management team.
   
   3.4  The management team shall provide a written response to the member’s concerns, with a copy to the COO/CEO after such discussion.

< Return to Table of Contents