U.S. Embassy in Tanzania: Community-Led Monitoring Program

Deadline: 26-Jan-21

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Tanzania (PEPFAR) through the Ambassador’s Fund for HIV/AIDS Relief (AFHR) is pleased to announce an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) activities.

Community-led monitoring is a process initiated and implemented by local community-based organizations and other civil society groups that gathers quantitative and/or qualitative data about HIV services.

Through this funding opportunity, PEPFAR seeks grantees that will focus on implementing CLM and sharing the results to help to implement partners, local governments, and health facilities improve the quality and accessibility of HIV services. In short, CLM will be used to improve the patient experience, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Specifically, PEPFAR is seeking for registered non-profit Tanzanian organizations to systematically gather quantitative and qualitative data about HIV services.

Objectives

PEPFAR Tanzania recognizes the importance of placing communities and patients at the center of the HIV response to control the HIV epidemic. Beginning March 2021, PEPFAR will support Community-Led Monitoring activities/programs to ensure that patient feedback is incorporated into quality improvement activities. CLM data should be collected and reported quarterly using standardized tools.
CLM should be analyzed and presented in collaboration with stakeholders to pinpoint persistent problems and identify solutions to address quality concerns and barriers to service uptake from the patient perspective at the facility-level.

Funding Information

Number of awards anticipated: 12 awards.
Award amounts: Grants can be between $5,000 and $24,999 USD (Budget should be submitted in Tanzanian shillings and is calculated on the daily exchange rate if awarded).
Total available funding: $300,000.

Deliverables

The deliverables are:

Participate in CLM training on indicators and methods for data collection.
Collect quarterly data from a sample of PEPFAR-supported health facilities within a geographic area of focus from people receiving care and treatment services.
Timely analysis of quarterly data summarized in a written report and presentation formats.
Participate in quarterly meetings with stakeholders, for in-depth discussion of results and to develop concrete quality improvement strategies.
Targeted beneficiaries of the PEPFAR Tanzania Ambassador’s Fund for HIV/AIDS Relief (AFHR) Community-Led Monitoring proposal are recipients of HIV services in PEPFAR-supported health facilities.

Funding Restrictions

Funding cannot be used for the following purposes:
- Construction of buildings.
- Land purchase, security guards, motor vehicles (including motorcycles, but excluding bicycles), motor vehicle repairs or upkeep.
- Capital funding for any VSLA, SACCO or other micro-finance effort.
- Outside audits (not required by the PEPFAR Tanzania Small Grants Office).
- Purchase of alcoholic beverages.
The budget narrative should:
- Typical grant proposal budgets have several cost categories – among them – personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
- Budgets should focus only on items that are necessary for this grant award.
- Indicate the base salary and time each person will spend on the project.
- Administrative and non-direct costs should not exceed 10% of the total budget.

Criteria

The General Criteria to be used for Identifying CLM Project Grantees Include:

Organizations that are productive, collaborative, respectful, and solutions-oriented.
Ability to collect quarterly data based on the needs identified by local communities that provide “added value” to complement existing quality improvement initiatives, and does not duplicate data already collected by PEPFAR.
Capacity to analyze data and present findings on a quarterly basis in both narrative and visual formats.
Ensure mechanisms and channels are established for quarterly feedback with PEPFAR, health facilities, and local government and health authorities to share findings and develop quality improvement solutions.
Preferred focus for Community-led monitoring to improve the quality of services for PLHIV accessing ARVs at health facilities in Shinyanga DC, Uyui DC, Ukerewe DC, Moshi DC, Chalinze DC, Nyasa DC, Sikonge DC, Kisarawe DC, Songea DC, or Mpimbwe DC.

Eligible Applicants

Independent Non-profit Tanzanian organizations including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Only organizations registered with the government of Tanzania will be considered eligible organizations.
Eligible organizations must have experience in data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Review Criteria

Each proposal will be evaluated and rated based on the evaluation criteria outlined below out of a possible total of 100 points.

Proposal completion (required): The proposal is complete. All sections are filled in and required documentation is included. Information is clear and consistent throughout the proposal. Proposal rules for submission are followed. The proposal is not changed or transformed in any way.
Organizational capacity and experience (25%): The organization is a registered Tanzanian NGO, CSO, CBO, or FBO with a TIN registration or tax-exempt status. Organizations must have identified existing partnerships, linkages, and support systems in the project community. This includes health centers, other NGO/CBO/FBO organizations, PEPFAR Tanzania implementing partners, and the Tanzanian Government. Describe any prior experience implementing CLM projects, or other monitoring and evaluation and research projects. Has key staff in its stated field and a bank account.
Quality of project idea, goals objectives (30%): The organization demonstrates a strong understanding of CLM is and the role CLM has in quality improvement. The CLM project idea proposed is well developed with specific details about how the organization plans to implement its activities and how the project will incorporate and build on already established sites/facilities health mechanism. All goals, objectives, and activities are clearly defined and will provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.
Budget (20%): The budget justification narrative is detailed. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities. Unallowable items are not included. The budget is in Tanzanian shillings using the current exchange rate.
Monitoring and evaluation plan (15%): Organization demonstrates it can measure program success against key indicators and provide milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal. The project includes output and outcome indicators that can be externally verified and shows how and when those will be measured. The organization provides a clear plan to prepare reports, monitor and evaluate activities, and produce, collect and analyze performance data of the proposed activities.
Sustainability and Innovation (10%): Project Monitoring and Evaluation activities are systematic and routine to ensure follow up and continuous improvement and includes creative and effective strategies to engage with beneficiaries.