PEPFAR_Zambia_CLM_Scorecard.docx

U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) U.S. Embassy Zambia Scorecard for Community Led Monitoring-Notice of Funding Opportunity

Section 1: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

Program Description

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Zambia in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council (NAC) requests applications for an open competition from key population-led organizations to develop and implement a scorecard as part of PEPFAR Zambia’s efforts to strengthen community-led monitoring (CLM). The scorecard will assess the quality of and barriers to HIV prevention and treatment for key populations in Lusaka and Livingstone districts.

PEPFAR defines a key population-led organization as an organization in which the majority of leadership and/or decision-making staff identify as members or former members of key population. PEPFAR recognizes the necessity of key population involvement in the collection and use of data to improve health outcomes and strengthen technical capacity.

This funding opportunity seeks to improve the uptake and quality of HIV services for key population communities in Zambia. This will be done in a systematic approach by soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback from key population recipients of care to identify gaps in HIV service provision. In addition, the MOH supported sites will be engaged to provide information on key population accessed HIV services.

The proposed scorecard is a participatory monitoring tool aimed at engaging key populations to assess the availability and quality of HIV prevention and treatment services and track the implementation of actionable recommendations to facilitate improvements. The tool is participatory in nature as it brings together the service providers (MOH) and users (key populations) in a respectful way to jointly monitor and evaluate services provided at the health facilities and address identified barriers. The scorecard will be a CLM tool designed by and implemented by a key population-led organization.

Subject to availability of funding, implementation of the scorecard will be phased beginning with a pilot in Lusaka and Livingstone districts. The lessons learned will inform a potential expansion to other districts using a harmonized approach from the pilot phase. This opportunity is open to not-for-profit, key population-led organizations with the capacity to collaborate with MOH, PEPFAR, other KP organizations and communities, key stakeholders, as well as community-level recipients of care of PEPFAR-supported services. Potential grantees should build on past work providing service to key populations, be able to implement the scorecard to promote collaboration in addressing gaps in HIV services delivery, encourage key populations to share their experience, and facilitate discussion that will strengthen the HIV response in Zambia.

Program Objectives PEPFAR Zambia recognizes the value of engaging key populations to address gaps in HIV service delivery, especially for key population communities. This effort will advance the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals by 2025 by documenting, understanding, and addressing barriers to HIV prevention and services faced by key populations. The purpose of the key populations focused scorecard under the CLM initiative is to facilitate a respectful and participatory approach in assessing the availability, access, and quality of key population-friendly services in Lusaka and Livingstone districts. The findings from the scorecard will be presented and discussed at quarterly CLM meetings with GRZ, stakeholders and USG implementing partners. PEPFAR Zambia seeks applicants from key population-led organizations to respond to this funding opportunity. The grantee will focus solely on using the scorecard to collect feedback from key population recipients of care at MOH facilities and share findings at CLM quarterly meetings. The awardee will have oversight of the scorecard implementation and facilitate sharing of collected feedback with all key stakeholders.

The deliverables are:

1. Demonstrate eligibility to be designated a KP-led organization.

2. A scorecard for key populations HIV services that include prevention and treatment services.

3. List of indicators that may be used in the scorecard.

4. Develop the scorecard’s Standard Operating Procedure for implementation including:

a. Detailed description of the institutions, networks, and community structures your organization will engage to expand the reach of key populations accessing HIV related services at MOH sites in Lusaka and Southern provinces.

b. Description of how the grantee will implement the scorecard at the facility, district, and provincial level.

c. Description of how the grantee will provide field teams with technical supervision to ensure recipients of care are respectfully engaged and the scorecard is correctly implemented. This will include monthly and quarterly progress reports and timely submission throughout the lifecycle of the grant.

5. Mapping of key population-friendly health facilities and services in Lusaka and Southern provinces.

6. Develop a plan to share and monitor the implementation of actionable recommendations. This should include feedback provision for health facilities through MOH.

7. Plan for continued respectful dialogue with stakeholders at national level. In partnership with MOH, NAC and PEPFAR implementing partners develop tangible best practices for service provision for key populations.

The following types of programs are not eligible for funding:

· Programs relating to partisan political activity;

· Charitable or development activities;

· Construction programs;

· Programs that support specific religious activities;

· Fund-raising campaigns;

· Lobbying for specific legislation or programs;

· Scientific research;

· Programs intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization; or

· Programs that duplicate existing programs.

Section 2: AWARD INFORMATION

Length of performance period: October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024 (12 months)

Number of awards anticipated: 1 award

Award amount: Award may range up to the maximum of the Kwacha equivalent of $50,000 USD

Total available funding: Up to $$50,000 USD

Type of funding: FY2024/COP23 Allocated Funds

Anticipated program start date: October 1, 2023

Funding instrument type: Cooperative Agreement

Program performance period: Proposed programs should be completed no later than September 30, 2024.

Section 3: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Eligible Applicants:

Only applicants who meet the following conditions are considered eligible for this funding opportunity:

1. Not-for-profit key population-led civil society organizations. A key population-led organization is an organization in which the majority of leadership and/or decision-making staff identify as members or former members of key population communities in which they serve.

2. Organizations registered with the Government of the Republic of Zambia

3. Must have experience of successfully implementing similar programs with funding of a minimum of $15,000.

4. Must have established offices at least 12 months prior to application submission.

Organization must provide a support letter from the National Key Population Technical Working Group.

Other Eligibility Requirements:

All organizations applying to this notice of funding opportunity, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active registration with System for Award Management (SAM) www.SAM.gov.A UEI is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282 and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal award.

Note: As of April 2022, a DUNS number is no longer required for federal assistance applications.

The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible.

· Organizations based outside of the United States and that do not pay employees within the United States do not need an Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS but do need a UEI number prior to registering in SAM.gov.

· Please note that as of November 2022 and February 2022 respectively, organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code or CAGE code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove a CAGE or NCAGE code from their SAM.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service Desk (FSD) online at fsd.gov using the following language: “I do not intend to seek financial assistance from the Department of Defense. I do not wish to obtain a CAGE or NCAGE code. I understand that I will need to submit my registration after this incident is resolved in order to have my registration activated.”

· Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. Registering with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, it may take weeks to have the registration validated and confirmed. It is recommended that the registration process is begun immediately to ensure that the process is completed well in advance of the deadline for applications. Until that process is complete, you will not be issued a user password for Grants.gov, which is required for application submission.

· There are four steps that must be completed before being able to register: (1) Request a Unique Entity ID for organization with the System for Award Management (SAM) www.SAM.gov; (2) register organization with System for Award Management (SAM) www.SAM.gov; (3) register as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (4) be authorized as an AOR by your organization. For more information, go to www.grants.gov. Please note that SAM registration must be annually renewed. Failure to renew your SAM registration may prohibit submission of a grant application through Grants.gov.

The U.S. Department of State will not make an award to an applicant without a valid and active SAM registration by the time the Department is ready to make an award.

The 2 CFR 200 requires that sub-grantees obtain a UEI. The UEI for sub-grantees is not required at the time of application but will be required before an award is processed and/or directed to a sub-grantee.

Section 4: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Instructions:

Please follow all application instructions carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will not be eligible.

Applicants must ensure that:

1. The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity;

2. All documents are in English;

3. All budgets are in U.S. Dollars (USD) and calculated at USD 1=K16 (as of June 2022);

4. All pages are numbered; and

5. All materials are submitted through Grants.gov, by close of business June 30, 2023.

The following documents are required:

1. Mandatory Applications forms (these forms are included in the package downloaded from Grants.gov):

a) SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)

b) SF-424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs)

c) SF-424B (Assurance for Non-Construction Programs)

2. Summary Page: Cover sheet stating the organization’s name and brief overview of your organization’s scorecard development and implementation plan.

3. Proposal: The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with scorecard development and implementation would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. You may use your own proposal format, but it must include all the items below:

a. Proposal Summary: Short narrative that outlines your organization’s proposed development and implementation of the scorecard for community led monitoring in Lusaka and Livingstone districts, including plans to reach and collect feedback on the service experience of key population communities. The summary should indicate the key population, the length and type of experience and how your organization qualifies as a key population-led organization.

a) Introduction to the Organization Applying: A description of past and present operations, showing the ability to fully develop and successfully implement the Scorecard under the CLM initiative, including the descriptions of funding programs of at least/minimum $15,000, and all previous grants from U.S. government agencies.

b) Program Methodology and Monitoring Plan: A description of how your organization will engage and train their staff within the two districts to collect and consolidate feedback from recipients of care. Address the following:

· Include a detailed description of the institutions, networks, and community structures your organization will engage to expand the reach of all key population communities and their intersectional identities to access HIV related services within the two districts.

· Detailed description of respectful and safe key population engagement.

· Describe how your organization will provide field team technical support and supervision to ensure feedback is collected correctly and reports are submitted on a monthly and quarterly basis in a timely manner throughout the lifecycle of the cooperative agreement.

· Provide detailed description of how recipients of care will be engaged in collaboration with health facilities and other community structures.

· Provide a plan to review and update the scorecard for the CLM program.

· Provide assurance to not engage in a competing interest to this program.

· For sub-awarding: Describe how the scorecard work will be managed and tracked, and all reporting requirements met with the sub-awardee.

c) Key Personnel: Names, titles, roles, and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the development and implementation of scorecard under the CLM program. What proportion of their time will be used in support of the scorecard program?

d) Program Partners: List the names of any type of involvement of partner organizations and/or sub-awardees.

4. Budget Justification Narrative: After filling out the SF-424A Budget form, use a separate Word document to describe each of the budget expenses in detail.

5. Attachments:

a) CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program

b) Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner (if applicable)

c) Three reference letters (One letter must be from an international organization with annual funding of $15,000 or more)

Questions:

For questions on this solicitation please submit questions ONLY to PEPFAR Zambia Grants Team: lusakasmallgrants@state.gov. No questions received through phone calls will be answered.

Questions may be received until May 26, 2023, and the answers to all questions received will be posted by June 09 2023 on the PEPFAR Zambia webpage: https://zm.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/pepfar/. Please check back frequently for any updates.

For questions relating to grants.gov, please contact +1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Submission:

All application materials must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The subject line should be as follows –Applicant Organization name: Scorecard for Community Led Monitoring Program.

All applications must be submitted through www.Grants.gov; Paper or email applications will NOT be accepted.

Application Deadline: June 30, 2023, by close of business.

Section 5: APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

Selection Process:

1. Criteria: Each application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated based on the criteria enumerated in the evaluation section. The criteria are designed to assess the quality of the proposed project, and to determine the likelihood of its success.

2. Acknowledgement of receipt: Applicants will receive acknowledgment of receipt of their proposal submission.

3. Review: A technical review panel will review the proposal and based upon the criteria noted in evaluation section. A determination will be made regarding the Scorecard proposal and activities, and those applications that are the best fit will be given additional consideration.

4. Follow up notification: Applicants will be notified within 60 days after the NOFO deadline regarding the results of the review panel.

Criteria:

Each application will be evaluated and rated based on the evaluation criteria outlined below.

A. Quality and Feasibility of the Scorecard Implementation (25 points)

1. Does the applicant clearly articulate the organization’s clear understanding of how the scorecard contributes to PEPFAR objectives?

2. Does the implementation plan explain how the process by which the applicant will develop the scorecard? Does the proposal incorporate and explain how the scorecard implementation builds on already established community health mechanisms at the neighborhood, district, and provincial levels?

3. Does the applicant clearly articulate which key population community their experience is from?

4. Does the applicant clearly articulate their role and the roles of any proposed sub-grantees in the scorecard initiative?

B. Organizational Capacity (20 points)

1. Is the organization key population led?

2. Does the organization have the expertise for key staff in its stated field?

3. Does the organization have a proven track record of implementing similar projects working with key populations?

4. Does the organization have the necessary internal controls in place to manage Cooperative Agreement funds?

5. Does the organization have a financial management system in place?

6. Does the organization have a bank account?

C. Previous Experience with International Funding (15 points)

1. How many international funding projects has the organization successfully completed?

2. What is total amount of international funding the organization has received in the last 5 years?

3. Recommendations received from previous funders.

D. Budget (15 points)

1. Is the budget justification detailed?

2. Are the costs reasonable in relation to proposed activities and anticipated results?

3. Is the overall budget realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities?

4. Does the applicant provide a clear plan to manage the resources of the program?

5. Consideration will be given to the applicant with the lowest realistic budget proposal.

E. Methodology and Monitoring Plan (15 points)

1. Does the applicant provide sufficient information on field staff engagement and training?

2. Does the applicant clearly outline field team supportive supervision?

3. Does the applicant provide a detailed description of the institutions, networks, and community structures they will engage for feedback collection?

4. Does the applicant provide a plan to review and update the scorecard with stakeholders?

5. If the organization has plans to subaward does their methodology plan include how they will monitor the subawards?

F. Collaboration (10 points)

1. Does the organization have a strong history of working successfully with key stakeholders in Zambia (for example, NAC, MOH, UNAIDS, Global Fund, MOD, and/or USG agencies)?

2. Does the organization have letters of recommendations from any of these organizations?

Section 6: AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Award Notices:

The Cooperative Agreement award will be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the PEPFAR Grant Officer. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document, and it will be provided to the recipient for review and signature. The recipient may only start incurring program expenses beginning on the start date shown on the grant award document signed by the Grants Officer. The awardee will interact with a designated Grant Officer Representative (GOR).

If a proposal is selected for funding, the Department of State has no obligation to provide any additional future funding. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the discretion of the Department of State.

Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government, nor does it commit the U.S. government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Further, the U.S. government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received.

Reporting requirements:

All awards issued under this announcement require both program and financial reports on a frequency specified in the award agreement. The disbursement of funds will be tied to the timely submission of these reports. All details related to award administration will be specified in the award agreement. The point of contact for questions or issues related to the administration of the grant/cooperative agreement will be specified in the award agreement.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements:

Terms and Conditions: Before applying, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications which will apply to this award, to ensure that they will be able to comply. These include: 2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 600, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions which are available at: https://www.state.gov/about-us-office-of-the-procurement-executive/. Note the U.S. Flag branding and marking requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions.