Deadline: 31 May 2019
The Australian Government, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security (CHS) within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), is accepting Activity Proposals for partnership grants under the ASEAN-Pacific Infectious Disease Detection and Response (APIDDaR) Program.
The APIDDaR Program is a component of the $300 million, five-year Health Security Initiative for the Indo-Pacific region managed by CHS.
This request is for Activity Proposals to address health security issues in developing Southeast Asia (any of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia or Timor-Leste), Papua New Guinea and priority Pacific island countries (any of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue).
Operational Objectives
Activity Proposals must align, within the relevant geographic regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with the objective and desired end-of-program outcomes of the APIDDaR program, as follows:
- Objective: To build capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks through laboratory strengthening; targeted public health workforce development; and support for improved outbreak detection and management systems.
- End-of-Program Outcomes: Measurable progress towards sustainable capacity, relative to globally accepted World Health Organization (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) or other relevant capacity assessment methodologies and processes, in the program component areas of:
- Capacity building in public health and veterinary diagnostic laboratories.
- Public health workforce development with particular attention to building field epidemiology and public health leadership capacity.
- Strengthening outbreak detection and management systems and processes.
- Activity Proposals should be presented as broad concepts addressing one or more of the three program component areas above, making reference to the indicative program logic outlined in the APIDDaR Investment Concept. Proposals should outline activities that will add value to existing investments and activities or fill clearly identified gaps, and should offer good prospects for achieving sustainable results in the long-term while also achieving concrete and significant intermediate outcomes over the three-year investment period.
- Proponents will be selected on the basis of their organisational capabilities, track records, and the quality of their broad activity concepts. DFAT does not require at this stage fully specified activity designs. Activity designs, including project milestones, monitoring, evaluation and learning plans and detailed budgets will be developed through a collaborative design process, involving both CHS and other selected program partners, following partner selection. The approval or endorsement of partner governments for proposed activities is not required at this stage but will in general need to be obtained prior to finalisation of full activity designs.
- The program will not support investments:
- Without strong potential to have a positive impact on health systems and/or health policy and, in turn, health security in the region.
- Duplicating current programs and projects.
- Focused on the provision of infrastructure.
- Including salary replacement or supplementation for in-country partners.
- Involving social research of a primarily investigational nature (certain operational or implementation research activities may be considered where there is judged to be strong potential for policy and/or human resource development impacts).
Grant Information
Total funding allocated to the APIDDaR program is $28 million over three years from July 2019 to June 2022.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organisation eligibility
- Activity Proposals are open to all organisations – public, private, academic and research, and non-government. Regional and international organisations may participate in or associate themselves with consortia.
- Where two or more organisations wish to enter into a consortium arrangement, one partner must be nominated as the Lead Organisation that will sign the Grant Agreement if successful. This organisation will be accountable to DFAT for financial management and the performance of the consortium in achieving activity objectives.
- Consortia that include partnerships between Lead Organisations and organisations within the relevant region (Southeast Asia and the Pacific) are encouraged.
- Consortium proposals are required to be supported by letters of association from each partner, noting the relationship between the Lead Organisation and partner organisation(s) and expressing the intention to collaborate.
- There are no restrictions on consortium membership and organisations may be involved in several consortia for the purpose of responding to this call for proposals.
- DFAT reserves the right to reassess any proposal if, following submission, the membership of a consortium proposal changes, including through the withdrawal of a consortium member.
- Individuals can apply as project team members on a maximum of two (2) proposals for this program.
- Individuals with conflicting commitments and current and recent DFAT employees (see below) must not be included in the Activity Proposal or as individuals who may be engaged if selected through the assessment process. DFAT may reject any Activity Proposal that does not disclose that a proposed team member has an existing and continuing commitment to another program or project.
- Activity Proposals compiled with the assistance of current or recent DFAT employees will be excluded from assessment.
- Recent DFAT employees are those whose employment ceased within the nine months prior to the submission of the Activity Proposals and who were substantially involved in the design, preparation, appraisal and/or review of this or substantially related programs.
- Applicants must ensure that proposals meet all eligibility requirements at the time of submission and for the duration of the period of assessment and review.
- Proposals that do not meet eligibility requirements will be ruled ineligible and excluded from assessment.
- An eligibility ruling may be made by DFAT at any stage following the close of applications, including during review. Where an eligibility ruling is being considered, DFAT may request further information in order to assess whether eligibility requirements have been met. Organisations will be notified in writing of ineligible proposals and are responsible for advising consortium partners (where relevant).
- An Activity Proposal may be excluded from further consideration if it contravenes an eligibility rule or other requirement as set out in these Guidelines or of organisations and/or people named in the Proposal contravene an applicable law or code.
- Country eligibility
- The program will be implemented in developing Southeast Asia (any of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia or Timor-Leste), PNG and priority Pacific island countries (any of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue).
- Grant decisions will ensure an appropriate balance of support across the relevant countries, and will in general seek to avoid an undue concentration of benefits in any one country within individual activities and across the suite of activities supported.
How to Apply
Completed Activity Proposals, with supporting documents, must be submitted via email at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/business-opportunities/Pages/request-for-activity-proposals-under-the-apiddar-program.aspx