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Quest Training

Grant Management & Compliance for Donor-Funded Projects Training Course

Helps NGO, UN-partner and government grant teams meet donor rules on eligible costs, budgets, financial reporting, audits and grant close-out.

GPPM · Government Project & Program ManagementAll Levels#2995ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Government & Public SectorCategories:Government Project & Program Management

Course Overview

The Grant Management & Compliance for Donor-Funded Projects Training Course is designed for the project, grant, and finance teams of NGOs, UN partner organizations, and government project units that implement donor grants. Rather than covering the general project lifecycle or results measurement, the course concentrates on what donors require once a grant is signed: understanding grant agreements, building compliant budgets, controlling eligible costs, producing accurate financial reports, passing donor audits, and closing grants without disallowed expenditure. Donor funding brings strict contractual obligations. Implementing organizations must interpret general and special conditions, respect budget flexibility limits, apply cost eligibility rules, document every transaction, manage advances and exchange rates, and oversee sub-grantees who spend part of the funds. Weak compliance leads to questioned costs, refund demands, suspended disbursements, and reputational damage that can affect future funding. Procurement under multilateral rules is covered in a separate course and is referenced here only where it affects cost eligibility and audit evidence. The program follows the grant compliance cycle from pre-award assessment and agreement review through grant budgeting, cost allocation, budget monitoring, financial reporting, internal controls, sub-grantee oversight, audits, and close-out. Participants learn to build compliance matrices, distinguish direct, shared, and indirect costs, analyze burn rates, prepare budget revision requests, reconcile financial and narrative reports, and maintain a complete audit trail. Through grant agreement reviews, budget exercises, financial reporting simulations, sub-grantee monitoring cases, and mock donor audits, participants develop practical tools they can apply immediately to protect their organizations, satisfy donor requirements, and use grant resources responsibly and transparently.

Learning Objectives

  • Interpret grant agreements, general and special conditions, and the donor rules that govern implementation and spending.
  • Conduct pre-award assessments and partner due diligence to identify financial and compliance risks.
  • Develop compliance matrices that translate donor obligations into responsibilities, deadlines, and evidence.
  • Prepare grant budgets with clear budget notes, cost assumptions, cost share, and justified indirect costs.
  • Apply cost eligibility tests to confirm that expenditure is necessary, reasonable, allocable, and documented.
  • Allocate shared costs across multiple grants using fair and documented methods.
  • Monitor budget-versus-actual performance, burn rates, and cash needs.
  • Manage budget revisions and donor approval requests within agreed flexibility limits.
  • Prepare accurate interim and final financial reports reconciled with accounting records.
  • Strengthen internal controls, documentation standards, and fraud prevention over grant funds.
  • Oversee sub-grantees through risk-based monitoring and corrective action follow-up.
  • Prepare for donor audits and close-out by maintaining a complete audit trail.

Who Should Attend

This training course is designed for grant managers, project managers, program officers, finance and grants officers, project accountants, compliance officers, and administrative staff responsible for implementing and reporting on donor-funded grants. It is particularly relevant to non-governmental organizations, UN partner and implementing organizations, government project implementation units, ministries and public agencies managing externally funded programs, and foundations or civil society bodies that pass funds to sub-grantees. The program will also benefit internal auditors, partnership and sub-grant managers, finance directors, and senior managers who sign grant agreements or financial reports and need confidence that their organization can demonstrate compliance, defend its costs, and pass donor audits.

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain the main types of donor funding and the obligations created by grant agreements.
  • Identify the general and special conditions that drive compliance risk.
  • Build a compliance matrix and obligations calendar for a donor-funded grant.
  • Prepare a grant budget with justified unit costs, budget notes, and indirect cost recovery.
  • Determine whether specific expenses are eligible under donor cost principles.
  • Apply documented methods for allocating shared costs across several grants.
  • Analyze budget variances and burn rates and recommend timely corrective actions.
  • Prepare budget revision requests and accurate financial reports.
  • Assess internal controls, supporting documentation, and asset records for grant funds.
  • Design a risk-based monitoring plan for sub-grantees.
  • Prepare for donor audits and respond effectively to findings and questioned costs.
  • Plan a compliant grant close-out covering refunds, asset disposition, and record retention.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

Donor Requirements, Grant Agreements & Compliance Planning

  • Types of donor funding: grants, contribution agreements, and sub-grants
  • Grant agreement structure: general conditions, special conditions, and annexes
  • Hierarchy of donor rules, national laws, and internal policies
  • Pre-award assessments and partner due diligence
  • Roles of grant, program, and finance teams
  • Building a compliance matrix and obligations calendar
  • Practical application: Review a sample grant agreement and build a compliance matrix of its key obligations
Day 2

Grant Budgeting & Cost Eligibility

  • Designing grant budgets by budget line, activity, and output
  • Budget notes, unit costs, and cost justification
  • Direct costs, shared costs, and indirect cost recovery
  • Cost eligibility tests: necessary, reasonable, allocable, documented, and within the grant period
  • Ineligible costs commonly rejected by donors
  • Cost share, co-financing, and in-kind contributions
  • Practical application: Prepare a donor-compliant grant budget and test selected expenses against eligibility criteria
Day 3

Financial Management, Budget Monitoring & Donor Reporting

  • Grant coding and separate tracking of donor funds
  • Allocating shared staff and operating costs across grants
  • Budget-versus-actual analysis, burn rates, and spending forecasts
  • Budget flexibility limits, revisions, and no-cost extensions
  • Cash advances, tranche requests, and exchange rate differences
  • Interim and final financial reports reconciled with narrative reports
  • Practical application: Analyze a burn-rate scenario, prepare a budget revision request, and complete an interim financial report
Day 4

Internal Controls, Sub-Grantee Oversight & Fraud Risk

  • Internal controls for grant funds and segregation of duties
  • Supporting documentation standards and audit-ready filing
  • Asset management and inventory of donor-funded equipment
  • Sub-grant agreements, risk-based monitoring, and spot checks
  • Fraud, conflicts of interest, and partner screening obligations
  • Reporting irregularities to donors and managing corrective actions
  • Practical application: Design a risk-based monitoring plan for a sub-grantee and assess transactions for control weaknesses
Day 5

Donor Audits, Verifications & Grant Close-Out

  • Donor audits, expenditure verifications, and financial reviews
  • Audit preparation: audit trail and document requests
  • Managing audit findings, questioned costs, and disallowed costs
  • Writing management responses to audit recommendations
  • Grant close-out: final reports, unspent fund refunds, and asset disposition
  • Record retention and building organizational compliance capacity
  • Final workshop: Conduct a mock donor audit of a grant file and develop an integrated compliance and close-out plan covering budgeting, cost eligibility, financial reporting, internal controls, and audit readiness.

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Doha · 13 – 17 Jun 2027 · Classroom

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CityDatesPrice per ParticipantEarly Bird
ManamaScheduled
2 – 6 Nov 2026€4,700—
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OnlineScheduled
8 – 12 Nov 2026€1,700—
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MuscatScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€5,300—
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ParisScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,700—
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AbujaScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,100€4,590until 2 Nov
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SalalahScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,300€4,770until 2 Nov
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AmmanScheduled
29 Nov – 3 Dec 2026€3,100€2,790until 9 Nov
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AmsterdamScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 16 Nov
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BakuScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€4,800€4,320until 16 Nov
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BangkokScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€6,100€5,490until 23 Nov
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BarcelonaScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 30 Nov
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BeirutScheduled
27 – 31 Dec 2026€4,000€3,600until 7 Dec
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CairoScheduled
27 – 31 Dec 2026€3,300€2,970until 7 Dec
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Cape TownScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 14 Dec
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DammamScheduled
10 – 14 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 21 Dec
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CasablancaScheduled
11 – 15 Jan 2027€4,300€3,870until 21 Dec
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DohaScheduled
17 – 21 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 28 Dec
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DubaiScheduled
24 – 28 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 4 Jan
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ErbilScheduled
31 Jan – 4 Feb 2027€3,100€2,790until 11 Jan
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FrankfurtScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€5,800€5,220until 11 Jan
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GenevaScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€6,300€5,670until 18 Jan
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IstanbulScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€4,700€4,230until 18 Jan
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JeddahScheduled
14 – 18 Feb 2027€4,200€3,780until 25 Jan
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KigaliScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,100€4,590until 1 Feb
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Kuala LumpurScheduled
1 – 5 Mar 2027€4,400€3,960until 8 Feb
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LisbonScheduled
1 – 5 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 8 Feb
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LondonScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€5,600€5,040until 15 Feb
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MadinahScheduled
15 – 19 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 22 Feb
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MadridScheduled
15 – 19 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 22 Feb
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MakkahScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 1 Mar
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DohaScheduled
13 – 17 Jun 2027€4,400€3,960until 24 May
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Available in: Istanbul · Dubai · London · Doha · Amsterdam

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