Elton John AIDS Foundation’s RADIAN Unmet Need Fund to Support Local Initiatives across the EECA Region

Deadline: 15 December 2019

Applicants are invited to apply for the RADIAN ‘Unmet Need’ fund that will support local initiatives across the EECA region. Initiatives selected will focus on prevention and care, education, community empowerment, and novel partnerships. The programme will be implemented locally, working with key stakeholders and partners.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation, in partnership with Gilead Sciences, has launched the ground breaking initiative “RADIAN”, to meaningfully address new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS related illnesses in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) through focussed action, investment and resourcing to improve the quality of prevention and care for people at risk of or living with HIV in the region.

Grant Information

The fund is looking for proposed solutions in the range of $500,000- $1,000,000.

Grant Types

The fund will support two grant types:

• Type I: Breaking Barriers: Innovating Healthcare Delivery
• Type II: Building Bridges: Community Innovation & Education

Type I: Breaking Barries: Innovating Healthcare Delivery

• Breaking Barriers grants will address the root causes of the large treatment gap in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Supported solutions will be cost-effective and scalable strategies that reduce barriers for initiation and adherence to ART regimens to maximise numbers of people receiving treatment services.
• Examples of approaches funded through a Breaking Barriers grant include (but are not limited to):
  • Approaches that remove barriers preventing uptake of existing HIV treatment services and improve existing HIV treatment services, e.g.,
  • Efforts to improve HIV services design, accessibility and implementation, including needs assessments and patient-centred design interventions that improve clinic processes and make healthcare facilities non-discriminatory, friendlier and more desirable places to visit to initiate and adhere to treatment
  • Changes to models of care, including improvement of patient algorithms, introduction of differentiated care, offering of telephone consultations, total quality improvement approaches, and other approaches that increase the capacity of healthcare settings to offer high-quality HIV treatment services to large numbers of key populations
  • Decentralisation of HIV treatment services provision, e.g. HIV care in community, mobile or other (non-HIV) healthcare settings (e.g., pharmacy, primary care), with strong linkage to AIDS centres
  • Strategies that systematically identify and reduce administrative barriers to treatment access
  • Mechanisms for community feedback to troubleshoot problems with initiating and adherence to treatment, and make services more respectful and appropriate
  • Tackling of data safety and security issues to ensure confidentiality
  • Strategies that systematically identify and reduce barriers to adherence in care
  • Capacity-strengthening of AIDS centres on monitoring and evaluation, documentation and data-tracking systems, as well as measures to change organisational culture within healthcare settings
• Interventions that directly protect key populations from stigma, discrimination and violence, as it presents a barrier to initiation and retention to treatment, e.g.,
  • Sensitisation of existing health services to make them friendly and accessible for key populations
  • Training and sensitisation f health workers and other workers in health settings to reduce stigma and discrimination, and create friendly, welcoming environments where key populations feel comfortable receiving treatment services
  • Tackling internal and external stigma and discrimination in broader societal structures
  • Incorporation of violence response systems into health services, community groups and other relevant organisations

Type II: Building Bridges: Community Innovation & Education

• Building Bridges grants will supports cost-effective and salable strategies for integrating key populations into HIV prevention and treatment services, including harm reduction services, through service delivery, community education and advocacy projects. Supported solutions are likely to be designed for scale and led by organisations with a track record of providing HIV services for key populations.
• Examples of approaches funded through a Building Bridges: Community Innovation and Education include (but are not limited to):
  • The provision of new or improved services for key populations in high-incidence and high prevalence areas, e.g.,
    • Community-led comprehensive HIV services
    • Provision of key population-specific health and harm reduction HIV services, including prevention testing and treatment, in mainstream public health clinics, or in drop-in centers
    • Integration of HIV services with other related services (harm reduction, psychosocial support, adherence support) in one physical location etc.
    • Provision of adherence support interventions, including support groups, reminders and community ART provision
    • Cross-cutting approaches, e.g., community mobilization or community-based approaches integrated into clinical services
    • Special strategies for particular hard-to-reach individuals from key population groups
• Interventions that increase the demand among key populations for HIV prevention, harm reduction, testing and treatment services, e.g.,
  • Use of social media and other technology to improve prevention and treatment literacy and to create demand for HIV treatment services
  • Peer outreach and behavior change interventions
  • Linkage of key populations to friendly providers
  • Strategies to re-engage into care those who have dropped off or lost to follow up
• Advocacy and education activities that strengthen community systems, empower communities and mobilise and engage stakeholders to create appropriate HIV prevention, harm reduction, testing and treatment services for key populations, e.g.,
  • Training and sensitisation of health workers, police, government authorities to reduce stigma and discrimination
  • Community mobilisation for advocacy to create enabling environments and sustainable services
  • Strategic planning with local government and stack holders (e.g. PEPFAR, Global Fund, UN family)
  • Contributions to national policy guidance and operational frameworks
  • Participation in local, regional or national accountability and decision-making mechanisms
• The above are examples, and the fund also welcomes other potential innovative solutions that take under 36 months to implement and achieve the Fund’s objectives.

Eligibility Criteria

• Country: For Unmet Need Fund grants, they welcome applications for funding for projects implemented in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. Applicants must have presence in the country of implementation or partner with a local organisation with in-country presence.
• Type of applicant: The fund encourages applications from non-profit, academic and research organisation. Ineligible entities include individuals and governments. No organisation will be allowed to financially profit from implementation of project activities. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. Programme income earned by the recipient must be deducted from the total project or programme allowable cost in determining the net bur is strongly encouraged. Co-funding from partners is encouraged as this demonstrates a key stake in the project success by project partners, as well as demand for the solution.
• Registration and Bank account: The Applicant must be a registered entity and must have an active organisational bank account.
• Project Timetable: Depending on grant type, the proposed grant should be implemented and all funds disbursed within two-four years from the date the grant agreement is signed within the Applicant or by September 30, 2025, whichever is earlier
• Completeness and Language: All concept note and application information and supporting documentation must be submitted in English; any other language will be considered ineligible. Written submissions must be completed in full to be considered eligible for review; incomplete submission will be considered ineligible.

Selection Criteria

• Strategic Alignment and Impact
  • Alignment: How well does the solution align and advance the goals and objectives of Unmet Need fund?
  • RADIAN Strengths: Do the proposed activities differ substantially from those that other actors, such as the local government and health system, or international donors and NGOs are already undertaking?
  • Theory of Change: Is there a clear idea of what the applicant is looking to change? Is there a treatment gap and a need for additional activities on linkage and retention in the population and location and/or is there high incidence and a need for additional prevention activities in the population and location? What is the likelihood that the solution achieves what it intends to achieve, though the means it proposes to do so, in the given time frame? Is the solution feasible to implement in the local context?
  • Evidence-informed Impact: Is there evidence showing that desired impact is likely through the suggested intervention?
  • Proof of Concept: Is the proposal innovative and likely to improve programming in the wider region?
  • Incremental Value: Will the proposed project complement rather than duplicate existing activities for the population(s), city/cities and country/countries in question? How significant is the unmet need in the specific area and key populations that the proposed solution is looking to support?
• Effectiveness
  • History of Performance: Does the applicant have a history of delivering promised outcomes?
  • Expertise & Relationships: Does the applicant possess deep domain expertise, relationships ad knowledge in the necessary and relevant areas, including partnerships with communities, government, and healthcare organisations required for success?
  • Organisational & Financial Capacity: Does the applicant have the resources to deliver outcomes on time and on budget? Does the grantee have strong financial and management systems?
  • Transparency: Does the applicant have a strong history of transparency and accountability?
  • Cost Effectiveness: Is the project cost-effective in delivering outcomes relative to similar programmes in comparable regions? Do the proposed activities differ substantially from those that other actors, such as the local government and health system, or international donors and NGOs are already undertaking?
  • Budget: Is the budget reasonably estimated, with actual costs likely to be close to budgeted costs?
  • M&E Strategy: Are the right outcomes/metrics identified and ready to be tracked?
• Sustainability
  • Sustainability: Is there a strategy to have impact beyond the life of the grant?

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply online via the given website.

For more information, please visit https://london.ejaf.org/radian/