Partnership for Learning: Global Fund Round 7 Proposal Writing Process

A CASE STUDY ON GLOBAL FUND ROUND 7 PROPOSAL WRITING PROCESS

Theme Unity of Purpose: Partnership as an opportunity for learning and growing

Composition of ZRC on HIV&AIDS • Family Health Trust • Forum of African Women Educationists of Zambia • Girl Guides Association of Zambia • Network of ARV Users • Society of Women and AIDS in Zambia • Tasintha Programme • Women and Law in Southern Africa • Young Women’s Christian Association

Selection of Coalition members • This was based on the core business of the Organizations and their involvement in addressing HIV & AIDS issues affecting Women and Girls • Consideration was given to each organization’s comparative advantage

Global Fund Round 7 Process • Rapid Response to OSISA call for proposals and was successful • Developed TORs to guide the interactions of member organizations within the coalition • Set up Secretariat for coordination purposes and elected Chairperson, a position that will be held on a rotating basis • 3 members attended an information sharing working in Johannesburg • Several Planning meetings were held • Desk reviews were conducted

Process Contd.. • Received funding from OSISA • 2 Consultative meetings were held to inform the proposal of the real needs of women and girls • Lobbying CCM members was an ongoing process • Sourcing of additional funding from UNAIDS to meet costs of local consultant • Final product of the process was the development of GF proposal • Repackaging of proposal for submission to ZNAN and other donors

Achievements • Ability to source for Consultancy Fees from UNAIDS – Consultant was available throughout the process of proposal development • Development of TORs to which all coalition members appended their signatures – harmonized the different expectations • Successful lobbying of some CCM members • Repackaging proposal • Unity and Team spirit exhibited throughout the process • Maximum acknowledgement of the different levels of capacities of partners in the coalition

Challenges Organizational • Inadequate capacity in project proposal and budgeting techniques among some Coalition members • Budgetary constraints which limited the number of consultative meetings held to feed into the proposal • Technological failure in the Communication process in some cases was a major challenge as some coalition members did not receive information on time about the coalition activities • Clash of time allocation between organization and coalition tasks leading to some coalition members failing to attend meetings or carry out assigned tasks. • Inconsistency of representation at meetings by some coalition members which led to poor feedback and ownership of decisions taken

Challenges Contd…… Technical • Completing the Global Fund Proposal Template Political/External • Timeframe for developing the proposal was too short. • Some key CCM members, especially high profile ones, were difficult to access during the lobbying process • Unavailability of up to date statistics on women and girls affected and infected by HIV/AIDS resulting in the use of outdated data in the proposal • ZRC on HIV and AIDS proposal could not be submitted directly to global fund – Had to be channelled through ZNAN one of the 04 existing Principal Recipients. • Failure by the Government to bid for HIV/AIDS in round 7

Lessons Learnt Organisational • Capacity building in project proposal and budgeting techniques is needed for coalition members. • Consultation is healthy and helps to build consensus as it presents an opportunity to take every one on board. • Effective communication is important to ensure that all coalition members are informed and kept abreast with the coalition’s activities. • There is need for a Project Officer to help with the coordination of the coalition activities to supplement efforts of the coalition members. Technical • The specialised skills of an experienced consultant are critical in order for the proposal template to be filled in correctly

Lessons Learnt Contd… Political/External • Time allocated for proposal development was too short. For effective proposal writing, it is important to start the process early – adequate time is needed • More research on the situation of women and girls affected and infected by HIV & AIDS is needed for better programming • There is need for stakeholders to advocate for timely use of resources by PRs so that the opportunity to mobilise more resources in future is not missed. • It is important to scan the environment for latest developments – Identification of Opportunities & Threats e.g The emerging NGO Bill

Way Forward • Continued regular meetings to share ideas on the process of submitting a proposal for round 8. • The coalition recognizes that lobbying should be an ongoing activity to lay a foundation for the submission of the proposal for HIV & AIDS Round 8. All the CCM members have since been identified and targeted for lobbying so that they are aware of the coalition’s intention to submit a proposal for GF round 8 • Identification of possible funders for capacity building coalition members in project proposal writing is ongoing • Consultations with local partners are an ongoing activity through the various forums at which the individual coalition members participate.

Lastly • Siabonga • Merci • Thank you • Dzikomo • Obrigado

Partnership for Learning: Global Fund Round 7 Proposal Writing Process