Deadline: 18-Aug-2023
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from local qualified entities to implement the Integrated Social Behavior and Change Activity program.
Activity Goal: The overall goal of the Activity is to increase the adoption of targeted positive health behaviors at the individual, household, and community level, in multiple, intersecting areas of public health. This includes sectors such as family planning and reproductive health; HIV; maternal, child health, and nutrition; water, sanitation, and hygiene. In addition, this includes other epidemic and emerging public health threats such as COVID-19, cholera, tuberculosis, and other primary care, including consideration of gender-based violence in health programs.
Objectives and Expected Results
- The Activity will work hand-in-hand with MSPP and USAID’s service-delivery implementing partners to apply SBC across the service continuum—before, during, and after services to maximize the impact of their health programming. It will use SBC to motivate clients to access services (before services), to improve the client-provider interaction and the environment in which services are delivered (during services), and to boost adherence and maintenance (after services).
- Goal: Increased adoption of targeted positive health practices at the individual, household, and community level
- Result 1: Barriers to the consistent practice of healthy behaviors reduced
- IR 1.1: Targeted health behaviors and barriers are identified through research and in collaboration with stakeholders
- IR 1.2: SBC interventions for individuals, households, and communities are designed, implemented and monitored
- IR 1.3: SBC interventions to address provider behavior and service delivery environment are implemented and monitored
- Result 2: Capacity of local actors to collect and utilize evidence and implement integrated SBC approaches improved
- IR 2.1 MSPP staff are supported in the development, implementation and institutionalization of a harmonized SBC approach
- IR 2.2 Key health service actors and other stakeholders trained and monitored on utilizing effective SBC methodology/tools in their work with patients/clients and communities
- IR 2.3: Local organizations engage in SBC research, data analysis and utilization, and design/implementation of interventions.
Funding Information
- Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide $10,000,000 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.
Guiding Principles
- USAID considers the following to be characteristics of a successful Activity:
- Equitable, strategic partnerships and local resources: Promoting equitable and collaborative relationships among implementing partners, including prime awardees and their sub-partners, as well as including local, regional and/or international non-governmental and private sector organizations as both beneficiaries and implementing partners, to draw on their local knowledge, expertise, and relationships, and institutionalize change responsive to local needs.
- Collaboration with Other Activities: Coordinating with other USAID implementing partners working in relevant sectors, in particular USAID/Haiti health implementing partners, and/or implementing partners of other donors, in order to implement SBC interventions in collaboration with them within health service facilities and with stakeholders that they support.
- Country ownership: Ensuring GoH leadership in the coordination of all health sector activities to ensure sustainability and institutionalize capacity building support, in particular to ensure that initiatives and that interventions reflect health sector priorities and are embedded in the health system.
- Inclusion and gender equity: Consideration of how gender norms, decision-making practices, and gender-based violence (GBV) play a role in service delivery, access to messages and services, resources, treatment and subsequent health outcomes, and how programming will affect/be affected by gender dynamics.
- Youth and adolescent engagement and empowerment: Prioritizing the engagement of youth and adolescents, including emancipated minors, in the design and implementation of interventions, in particular in reproductive health and HIV programming.
- Effective Technology Use: Relying on evidence-based and cost-effective use of technology and innovations in digital communication, as well as utilizing no-tech and low-tech approaches where appropriate.
- Adaptation, Flexibility and Learning: Planning for piloting/testing then refining/scaling up interventions, and continually assessing whether the timing, selected approach, participants, location, etc. are still appropriate, effective, and achieving the anticipated results.
- Sustainability: Ensuring the sustainability of interventions and partnerships beyond the life of the activity, including through financially sustainable commitments, and prioritizing the integration of materials and resources within the health system to ensure institutionalization and standardization, particularly in light of continually evolving GoH priorities, emerging public health threats, and other external shocks, including the security situation.
Geographic Scope
- Under their bilateral agreement with the Government of Haiti, the U.S. Government has committed to support improved health service delivery to a significant portion of the population in Haiti within a certain number of primary health care facilities and in hard-to-reach geographic regions. For over three decades, USAID-supported service delivery projects have been implementing activities in all ten departments targeting the most vulnerable within their communities.
- The Activity is designed to have national coverage and will support multi-channel efforts (electronic and non-electronic), including mass media initiatives that are national in reach. However, in some instances, the Activity may work with selected partners to target and tailor interventions to specific Haitian contexts and cultures. Interventions, whether national or targeted, will ensure appropriate coverage and reach to achieve impact on priority health outcomes. The Activity will support implementation by other partners by developing and adapting evidence-based SBC approaches and materials.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility is restricted to local entities. Prime local entities may have US or non-US organizations as sub-awardees.
- Locally led development has been identified for the Health Service Delivery – Integrated Social and Behavior Change Activity because changing social norms and behaviors requires in-depth knowledge and connections within the targeted communities. Restricting eligibility to local entities for this activity supports USAID’s Localization Vision and Approach, which seeks to expand the share of USAID programming that is locally led, and that engages with local actors as partners rather than as agents and beneficiaries.
- Only local entities as defined below are eligible for award. USAID defines a “local entity” in ADS 303.6(b) as an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:
- Is legally organized under the laws of; and
- Has as its principal place of business or operations in; and
- Is
- majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and
- managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the country receiving assistance.
- For purposes of this definition, ‘majority owned’ and ‘managed by’ include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization’s managers or a majority of the organization’s governing body by any means.
- USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
- Faith-based organizations who meet the criteria of being local entities are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.