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Completing the Application

Eligibility Requirements

Review Criteria

Completing the Application 

Required Forms

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicants are required to demonstrate their willingness to undertake the commitments of a partner required under the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center partnership model, including significant in-kind contributions, travel to the partnership/project site, hosting partners, reporting on partnership activities and outcomes, and attending partnership orientations, workshops, and conferences. Partner institutions are expected to contribute the human resource component of partnership-related activities and forego customary institutional indirect charges.
• Applicants must agree to adhere to the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center's objective-setting and results-oriented approach, including the Twinning Center’s quarterly programmatic and monthly financial reporting and its accountability procedures and requirements.  Partner institutions must also participate in program monitoring and evaluations to assess partnership progress and achievements.
• Applicants are expected to be flexible and responsive to changing needs of the partnership/project.
• Applicants must agree to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their counterpart partner institution(s) and with the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center. The MOU delineates specific objectives of the partnership/project and responsibilities of its signatories.
• Applicants must be willing to share information openly and participate fully in the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center's efforts to exchange information with other partnerships through the Twinning Center Web site and through dissemination conferences and seminars.
• Applicants must be willing to brief and debrief with donor organizations, the ministry of health and government officials in the host country, and other stakeholders as needed.
• Lead partners are expected to work with their counterparts as equals and peers, jointly developing partnership workplans and implementing programs.
• The lead partner institution is required to designate a partnership coordinator whose role is to oversee the programmatic and administrative activities in support of the partnership and to serve as the point person in relations with the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center. A partnership coordinator is typically an existing employee at the lead partner institution and serves in the position on a voluntary basis. AIHA provides partners with a detailed description of the partnership coordinator role and responsibilities which include:
  • overseeing and guiding development of partnership workplans
  • identifying and recruiting volunteers to participate in the partnership
  • coordinating partnership exchanges, trainings, and other activities
  • monitoring progress of the partnership against stated objectives
  • submitting progress reports and other required paperwork to the Twinning Center
  • managing partnership budgets
  • representing the partnership at official functions, conferences, and meetings 

Each participating institution which receives funding through a subgrant from the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center is also required to designate a partnership administrator. Partnership funds may be used to support the person in this position. Generally, up to approximately 20 percent of the sub-grant funds may be used for partnership administrative expenses, including salary support for a partnership administrator.) The partnership administrator is responsible for providing support in coordinating travel logistics, preparing program and financial reports for the program coordinator's review, orienting volunteers and helping to develop exchange agendas, and general coordination with the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center's program and finance staff.  

Partnership activities are centered on training exchanges between the partnership institution sites which may involve as many as 20 person trips per year in each direction. Additional travel may need to be undertaken for partnership orientations, study tours, and collaborative partnership workshops and conferences. 

Review Criteria 

The following key factors are usually considered in selecting successful applicants (specific criteria may be different depending on the specific partnership/project for which solicitation announcements are made). 

General

• Clear and strong support of senior leadership and board(s) of directors of lead institution and any other institutions involved in the application.
• Clear understanding of and commitment to voluntary nature of partnership program. 

Institutional Capability and Past Performance

• Evidence of successful past performance on similar programs or initiatives.
• Evidence of strong project management capability.
• Evidence of strong financial management capability and internal controls.
• Potential for sustainable relationship beyond Twinning Center funding.  

Technical Proposal

• Available technical and human resources to meet program goals.
• Demonstrated understanding of the partnership methodology, particularly the collaborative and peer-to-peer aspects.
• Adequacy of proposed approaches to project components and related institutional experience and capacity to address these components.
• Sound and realistic approaches and timeline for meeting programmatic goals within the partnership timeframe.
• Clearly articulated approaches to gathering information and conducting assessments related to identified project components.
• Proposed approach to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), evidence of experience in measuring program outcomes, and a willingness to participate in the Twinning Center's M&E activities.
• Approaches to maintaining partnership communications and progress between exchange visits.
• Clearly stated commitment to participate in Twinning Center activities outside of grant activities, including annual conferences, publications, evaluations, etc.
• Demonstrated willingness to work collaboratively with other related programs and organizations, as well as with government ministries and other local entities.
• Potential for meeting long-term needs of the overall partnership program by working with other institutions and by conveying lessons learned in the partnership (discussion of mechanisms for dissemination of partnership successes).  

Personnel Capability and Experience 

• Clear description of how the partnership will be coordinated and managed, with an identified partnership coordinator and mechanisms for communication among key partners.
• Appropriate qualifications and relevant experience of partnership coordinator and other key individuals involved in managing the partnership. Adequacy of Partnership coordinator’s skills in technical and managerial areas, including consensus building, necessary to provide guidance and oversight to the partnership.
• Range and extent of technical expertise available to contribute to accomplishing project goals.  

In-kind Contributions/Financial 

• Significant in-kind contribution of resources, including human resources.
• Clear commitment or plan to generate additional in-kind resources, such as equipment, supplies, housing for visiting partners, etc.
• Foregone institutional overhead and other indirect costs.
• Level of funding required for partnership coordination and administrative support.

Completing the Application

The following section provides general instructions for formatting and organizing a grant application. A clearly written and easy-to-read proposal should be the goal of every applicant since the outcome of the review process depends on the reviewers’ understanding of the information provided. Reviewers will use only the information presented in your application to assess your responsiveness to the review criteria. 

1. Page Limits: The main body of the proposal is restricted to a cover sheet, a one (1)-page Executive Summary, and twelve (12) pages of text. Attachments to the proposal are limited to a total of fifteen (15) pages, not counting institutional charters, biographical summaries, and the Financial Certification Form.
2. Typeface and Margins: For the main body of the proposal, any easily readable typeface may be used. The type size should be at least 11-point and lines should be single-spaced. The left, right, top, and bottom margins should be one-inch each.
3. Proposal Outline: The following format and outline should be used in organizing the application: 

• Cover Sheet: Indicate title of the proposal and contact information (name, title, address, telephone, fax number, and e-mail, plus name and title of primary contact person) of lead institution and all other expected partnership institutions, including specific department/division, as appropriate.
• Executive Summary: Maximum one (1) page.
• Institutional Capability and Past Performance: Provide a brief description, including legal or registration status, of the institution(s) to be involved in the partnership and their existing relationship with one another.   Describe how the strengths of the institution(s) match up with the priority needs of the project and partners as identified in the solicitation. Describe applicant’s previous activities and concrete results that are pertinent to the proposed partnership.  
• Technical Proposal: The HIV/AIDS Twinning Center does not require a traditional technical proposal since the actual partnership workplan detailing objectives and activities will be developed jointly with partners based on assessed needs and available resources. However, the applicant is asked to describe both technical resources available to meet the partnership/project goals and possible approaches to addressing the key project areas. The applicant should address the following in this section:
  • Available technical and human resources to meet partnership/project goals and objectives.
  • Proposed approaches to the partnership/project components and related institutional experience and capacity
  • Illustrative approaches and timeline for meeting programmatic goals related to the above components within the partnership timeframe.
  • Approaches to maintaining partnership communications and progress between exchange visits.
  • Approaches to monitoring and evaluation based on the aforementioned components.
• Personnel Capability and Experience: This section should cover both partnership management and technical resource capabilities. Describe the qualifications and relevant experiences of the key individual(s) to be involved in the partnership and indicate the amount of time each is expected to devote to the project. Describe how the overall project will be coordinated and managed, particularly if a consortium arrangement is proposed. List key members of the core planning/management team who will guide and direct partnership activities and participate in activities. Clearly identify the proposed partnership coordinator and describe his/her program management skills. 

Describe the key technical resources or “volunteer experts” who will engage in partnership activities (some of these may also have partnership management responsibilities). Include descriptions of their respective areas of expertise and the specific skills these individuals will bring to bear on behalf of the partnership.  

 

Attach biographical summaries, not to exceed one (1) page each, for up to ten (10) of the individuals listed above. These summaries will not count towards the attachment limit of fifteen (15) pages.  

• In-kind Contributions/Financial Section: Describe the applicant’s commitment to provide voluntary resources and its plan to generate and leverage in-kind contributions from its community and the private sector. If possible, please indicate the value of in-kind time, goods, and services expected to be contributed to the partnership. 

Applicants should clearly indicate whether financial support from the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center will be necessary for administrative support and coordination of partnership activities and estimate the level of funding that will be required.  Generally, up to approximately 20 percent of the partnership sub-grant may be used for this purpose.

 

All applicants must submit a completed Financial Certification Form (which is included as part of any solicitation announcement) signed by the applicant institution's chief executive officer, chief financial officer, or an authorized contracts officer. This form will not count toward the attachment limit of fifteen (15) pages.

Required Forms

This section provides links to key forms required to complete your proposal application, as well as templates for other important documents, including a partnership work plan and quarterly report. 

Financial Survey Questionnaire for Foreign NGOs (MS Word)

Risk Assessment Questionnaire for US Institutions (MS Excel)

Compliance Certificate, PL 108-25 (MS Word)

Sample Compliance Letter, PL 108-25 (MS Word)

Partnership Work Plan Template (MS Word)

Quarterly Report Template (MS Word)