Innovation Fund Information Pack

DFID AIDS Technical Support Team

August 2010
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Table of Contents

Acronyms 3

Part A The Innovation Fund

Introduction 4

Purpose of Innovation Fund 5

Principles & Values 7

Target Groups 7

Estimated amount of grants to be awarded 7

Timeframe and duration 8

Commissioning Principles 8

Confidentiality 9

Conflict of Interest 10

Part B Award of Innovation Grants

General Eligibility Criteria 12

Exclusions 14

Overview of Innovation Fund Process 15

Receiving Applications 15

Review of Expressions of Interest 16

Request for Proposals 17

Proposal Review 17

Presentation of Review Process 19

Part C Expression of Interest Application Form 20

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Acronyms
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
ART Antiretroviral Therapy
CSW Commercial Sex worker
DFID Department for International Development
FSW Female Sex Worker
GOI Government of India
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HRG High Risk Groups
IDU Injecting Drug User
IEC Information, Education and Communication
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MSM Men who have Sex with Men
MTCT Mother-to-child transmission of HIV
NACO National AIDS Control Organisation
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
PLHA People Living with HIV/AIDS
RFP Request for Proposal
SMA State Management Agency
SACS State AIDS Control Societies
STI Sexually Transmitted Infection
TA Technical Assistance
TI Targeted Interventions
TC Technical Cooperation
TORs Terms of Reference
UNAIDS United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS
VCT Voluntary Counselling and Testing

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Part AThe Innovation Fund

Introduction

DFID India has invested significantly in innovative approaches as part of its

broader support to NACP. Since the early development of the Healthy Highways
trucker’s programme that relied on civil society mechanisms to reach long
distance truck drivers in the 1990s, DFID India has supported the inclusion of civil
society participation throughout all areas of the National AIDS Control
Programme. With each phase of the NACP, DFID has allocated resources to
continue to drive innovation and participation from a broad cross-section of civil
society and the private sector. In partnership with NACO, the current NACP III is
able to use the DFID Technical Assistance Support Team, TAST, managed by
Futures Group International India Pvt Ltd, to establish and manage a small
Innovation Fund that will provide resources to test new models and systems for
improving quality and coverage of HIV prevention interventions.

In 2007, the NACP Phase III (2007-2012) [NACP III] was launched with the overall
goal of halting and reversing the epidemic in India over a five-year period. It
places the highest priority on prevention efforts, while, at the same time, seeking
to integrate prevention with care, support and treatment.

The four-pronged strategies of NACP III are:

1. Prevention of new infections in high risk groups and general population

through:
a. Saturation of coverage of high risk groups with Targeted Interventions
(TIs)
b. Scaled up interventions in the general population
2. Providing greater care, support and treatment to larger number of persons
living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA)
3. Strengthening the infrastructure, systems and human resources in prevention,
care, support and treatment programmes at the district, state and national
level
4. Strengthening the nationwide Strategic Information Management System
(SIMS).

In line with the above stated strategies, the NACP III is working towards:

 Preventing new infections through saturated coverage (>80%) of high risk

groups in 2,100 TIs targeting one million FSW, 1.15 million MSM, 190,000 IDU, 3
million long-distance truckers and 8.9 million migrant workers;

 Integrating prevention, treatment, care and support programmes by

expanding care, support and treatment opportunities for people affected by
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HIV by reaching 380,000 PLHA with psychosocial support services, providing

anti-retroviral treatment (ART) to 340,000 people including 40,000 children,
offering opportunistic infection treatment to 330,000 persons; and TB
treatment to 2.8 million persons;

 Strengthening the district and sub-district level response by organizational

restructuring, and capacity building

 Establishing strategic information management system (SIMS) through a SMIS

unit at national and state levels.

A mid-term review (MTR) of NACP III, conducted between November and

December 2009, with the objectives being:

1. Review progress towards project development objectives, assess the

relevance of current targets and suggest possible areas for revision in
strategy
2. Review the adequacy of overall financing for NACP III
3. Review procurement and financial management arrangements of the
project and agree with Government on changes if deemed necessary

The MTR identified a series of recommendations that was felt will help
Government and stakeholders to achieve the objectives of NACP III. Some of
these recommendations could potentially be tested using grants from the
Innovation Fund. Some recommendations identified in the MTR are consistent
with the aims and objectives of the Innovation Fund and the bulleted
recommendations listed below illustrate the type of activity/strategy that the
Innovation Fund may fund:

 The TI focus on IDU partners /female IDUs, partners of MSMs and FSWs has
been weak; and they do not fairly cover groups such as Transgender.
Specific strategies to reach less accessible HRG subgroups need to be
evolved which may demand revision and/or flexibility of TI design and
implementation guidelines.
 NACO should review the current OST initiative including delivery strategies
and alternative drug options.

The Innovation Fund will consist of a small number of grants, awarded to

experienced Non-Government and Civil Society organisations (including, but not
limited to, Community Based Organisations, Faith Based Organisations, Trusts and
Societies, Foundations and other non-profit institutions) to test new approaches
to HIV/AIDS programming through existing networks and partnerships. Innovation
Fund grants will for be 15 months. However, the DFID AIDS TAST Innovation Fund
encourages applications that can demonstrate how the proposed innovation
will contribute to the broader national strategic objectives.

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Purpose of the Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund has been created to specifically address how innovative
projects can a) demonstrate improving the programming capacity of NACP III in
an innovative manner, b) demonstrate through innovative strategies the
improvement in the quality of programming for delivery of services, c) provide
strategies and new ways of working to increase coverage/scaling up of HIV
prevention services, particularly for inclusion into the NACP IV planning cycle.

The Innovation Fund is looking for projects that are proposing something new.
Without being too prescriptive, the Innovation Fund will be looking to award
grants that can clearly demonstrate one the following areas of innovation:

 A new idea
 A new way of doing things/working
 New strategies and processes for reaching most vulnerable populations or
hidden/hard to reach populations and in particular:
o Projects that benefit the most vulnerable populations, particularly
MSM, IDU, Transgender and their sexual partners
o HIV prevention targeting wives and regular sexual partners of Men
who have Sex with Men
o HIV prevention and care for Transgender
o HIV prevention for female Injecting Drug Users
o Addressing sexual health of Injecting Drug Users including wives &
regular sexual partners

The Innovation Fund will also be requiring all grantees to clearly demonstrate and
provide evidence of not only why the project is innovative but also how the
applicant proposes to document and disseminate the successes of their
approach and its impact along with a clear proposed plan for replicating and
scaling-up the successes documented during implementation.

The Innovation Fund aims to identify and support areas of innovation within
NACP III including, but not limited to:

 Projects that benefit the most vulnerable populations, particularly MSM, IDU,
Transgender and their sexual partners
 Innovations in scaling up prevention services
 Addressing barriers to scaling up of prevention, treatment, care and support
services
 Reducing stigma and discrimination
 To provide earmarked funds and technical assistance to grantee

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organisations for evidence building and to document experiences

 To initiate and support dialogue to review national guidelines for TIs in, and
preparation for, NACP IV
 Greater voice, choice and influence to communities over service providers
for improving quality of services

Principles & Values

The key principles and values that the fund will abide by are that it:

 Benefits the most vulnerable populations, particularly MSM, IDU, Transgender

and their sexual partners
 Promotes innovation and/or improvements in the response to HIV and AIDS.
 Adheres to ‘Greater Involvement of People affected by HIV and AIDS’ (GIPA)
principles.
 Enhances partnerships.
 Encourages gender equity
 Emphasises rights-based or social justice approaches
 Understands that it is investing for the future.
 Adheres to demonstrating value for money, transparency and accountability

Target Groups & Areas of Priority

The priority target areas for the Innovation Fund are:

 Supporting existing Targeted Interventions for Men who have Sex with Men
and Injecting Drug Users by expanding access to “hidden” subgroups using
innovative concepts, methodologies and partnerships.
 HIV prevention targeting wives and regular sexual partners of Men who have
Sex with Men
 HIV prevention and care for Transgender
 HIV prevention for female Injecting Drug Users
 Addressing sexual health of Injecting Drug Users including wives & regular
sexual partners
 Positive Prevention
 Stigma reduction

Estimated Grants Available

To give equal opportunity and flexibility to the applicants to structure their

proposals it was decided that the fund would be divided into a range of
budgets. It will also give opportunities for smaller NGOs to apply for funding, as
they may not necessarily have the capacity to absorb large grants. The budget
range is more of a guideline for applicants to decide at which level their
proposal budget will be placed.
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It is expected that a minimum of 10 grants will be awarded outlined in the table

below

Level Budget Budget Range Expected Grants

Range INR1 GB £ Awarded
1 INR 6,95,000 – 13,10,000 10,000 – 20,000 4
2 INR 13,10,000 – 22,92,500 20,000 – 35,000 4
3 INR 22,92,500 – 32,75,000 35,000 – 50,000 2

Indicative Timeframe

The Innovation Fund will be operational until March 2012.

The commissioning of projects will take place between September and October
2010
The implementation of projects will take place between September 2010 and
January 2012
The evaluation and dissemination of the Innovation Fund grants will take place
between January and March 2012.

Projects will be up to a maximum of 15 months

Milestone Date
Announcement of Innovation Fund Monday 30 August 2010
Deadline for submission of Expression of Interest Friday 17 September
via email application only
EOI Review & short listing Wednesday 22 September
Invitations for Request for Proposal sent to Friday 24 September
successful applicants
Pre-Proposal workshop for invited applicants to Friday 1 October
discuss proposal content, expectations from TAST
and any other clarifications
Deadline for submission of proposals Monday 11 October
Proposal Review & short listing Friday 15 October
TAST Steering Committee finalise selected projects Monday 18 October
Inception Phase October 2010
Implementation Phase November 2010
Mid Term Review April/May 2011
Projects completed January/February 2012
Evaluations and close out February - March 2012

1
Based on sterling exchange rate of 1GBP = 65.50 INR. The actual amount available will vary depending
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Commissioning Principles

The DFID AIDS TAST Innovation Fund is committed to ensuring an accountable,

non-biased and reliable process for the management of the Innovation Fund. At
all stages in the process of identifying and selecting organisations, disbursing and
monitoring funds, and reporting and evaluating, the TAST Innovation Fund team
will ensure transparent and robust management standards.

The primary commissioning tool for the Innovation Fund will be based on the
awarding of Grants.

The Innovation Fund is open to any legally registered Civil Society Organisation
such as NGO’s, CBOs, Trusts and Societies that are constituted as a not for profit.

Confidentiality

The TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants will take all necessary measures to
maintain confidentiality throughout the commissioning process. This is designed
not only to protect the integrity of the process, but also to protect individual
applications from any external pressure. The TAST Innovation Fund team have
agreed a series of confidentiality measures:

 Staff members will not share any information relating to the Innovation Fund
with any external stakeholder without prior permission from the TAST
Operations Director and/or DFID India.

 The TAST Innovation Fund team will ensure that all documentation and
organisational information remains the property of DFID and will not be
shared outside the TAST office.

 Any draft or rough paper that has been used for the process will be
destroyed.

 All applications will be kept in a secure (locked) place within the office and
remain sealed until official opening.

 All photocopies of applications will be retained in the TAST office, and once
surplus to requirements will be destroyed.

 The TAST Innovation Fund team will not discuss the names of any potential
application unless as part of the formal review process.

Conflict of Interest

The impartiality, confidentiality and professionalism of the Innovation Fund and

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TAST must be preserved and protected. Accordingly, the TAST Innovation Fund
operations with regard to specific funding allocations shall be entirely
independent of and without influence from individual views or opinions outside
the formal review process. Aside from the possible legal ramifications, even the
appearance of a conflict of interest could irreparably damage the Innovation
Fund’s credibility. To ensure continued professionalism, all members of the TAST
Innovation Fund staff and consultants are subject to an Innovation Fund Conflict
of Interest Policy.

Definitions of “Conflict of Interest”

The term “conflict of interest,” when used in this policy, means an interest or
relationship that creates a bias or might create the appearance of bias on the
part of the Innovation Fund, including:

 A personal bias or prejudice concerning any part of Innovation Fund business

operations (existing or proposed).

 Current or prior employment or other affiliation with a potential contracted

organisation.

 A financial interest in the subject matter of any Innovation Fund tender/

contracting process or any other interest that could be substantially affected
by the Innovation Fund’s business activities.

 Any other interest or relationship that could be reasonably expected to

create an appearance of bias

Conflict of Interest Policy

The TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants have developed the following
guidelines:

 TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants will put Innovation Fund goals
before personal goals, and put the best interests of the fund ahead of
individual desires.

 TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants will formally disclose all potential
and actual conflicts of interest; including each institutional affiliation he or she
has that might possibly involve a conflict of interest. This disclosure will be
copied to DFID. Such disclosure does not preclude or imply ethical
impropriety.

 Other TAST staff and consultants that are not directly involved in the review
process shall not have access to confidential information relating to any
bidding/ tendering process until it is complete.
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 TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants who are involved in the review of
applications will not interfere with another members review activities. (Only
the individual reviewer and the Innovation Fund Advisor will know who is
reviewing which application).

 No TAST Innovation Fund staff member or consultant involved in the review of

applications will discuss an individual application with another reviewer while
it is being reviewed, unless as part of a formal discussion/ quality check or
with agreement of the Innovation Fund Adviser.

 All TAST Innovation Fund staff members and consultants are subject to the
TAST policy on accepting of gifts. This states that no gifts of any kind may be
accepted. This includes lunches or other entertainment. Any gift that it is
difficult to decline for any reason must be declared and surrendered to the
office.

The TAST Innovation Fund staff and consultants have unanimously agreed that
failure to comply with these terms and conditions will be a dismissible action.

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Part B Award of Innovation Fund Grants

General Eligibility Criteria

Innovation Fund grants are designed to provide organisations the opportunity to

try, test, and enhance innovative approaches to responding to HIV and AIDS in
India. This funding scheme aims to provide organisations the opportunity and
flexibility to identify innovative and creative models that can enhance the
accessibility, appropriateness, effectiveness or quality of HIV and AIDS services
from the specified target groups described under the “Target Groups & Areas of
Priority” section on page 5 of this information pack.

Each application will be analysed objectively and based upon the criteria
outlined in the EOI application form. In addition, it is important that the
Innovation Fund supports a balanced portfolio of initiatives, and that fall into one
of more of the following categories:

 A convincing concept for activities that will enhance the national response
to HIV and AIDS, within the context of NACP III and preparations/evidence for
the planning of NACP IV.

 Demonstrate the ability to develop the foundations for future innovation,

develop new programme approaches, or support current programme
innovations.

 Projects that demonstrate a capability for magnitude of impact as well as

those whose strategic frameworks can become models for replication and
adaptation nationally.

 Proposals that demonstrate significant capacity to design and implement

projects that will contribute to the existing and growing evidence base for
innovative approaches to working across a range of HIV and AIDS services.

 Demonstrate a specific documentation and dissemination plan of expected

results of the project that can support dialogue relevant to the review of
national guidelines for Targeted Interventions and in preparation for NACP IV

Projects should identify and support areas of innovation within NACP III including,
but not limited to:
 Innovations to scaling up
 Addressing barriers to scaling up
 Addressing stagnation in TI programming
 Reducing stigma

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There are no geographic restrictions, although projects in high prevalence

districts will be prioritised.

Appreciating the size and scope of the potential work, the Innovation Fund aims
to fund a range of organisations and approaches. The following is a sample of
the types of organisation who might well be invited to submit proposals:

 National NGOs with considerable capacity and a well-documented track

record of delivering HIV/AIDS programmes in India through an established
partnership/ network of organisations.

 Professional associations/ bodies that are registered as not for profit and can
demonstrate the capacity to utilise their network of members to enhance
responses to HIV and AIDS.

 Corporate bodies that have set up not-for-profit units that can utilise
corporate networks (sales/ distribution centres, outreach workers, franchises)
to respond to HIV and AIDS.

The Innovation Fund welcomes applications from consortia of organisations, and

will give preference to national organisations with a head office located in India.

Organisations applying for Innovation Grants will be expected to show how their
efforts contribute to the national response to HIV and AIDS. The TAST Innovation
Fund selection panel aims to identify organisations that can clearly demonstrate:

 Past experience in working on HIV and AIDS and/ or ability to use past
experience to engage in HIV and AIDS.

 A convincing concept for activities that will enhance the national response
to HIV and AIDS, within the context of NACP III and preparations/evidence for
the planning of NACP IV.

 A significant track record and reputation in managing project and delivering

programme outputs on time.

 Confirmed financial capacity to manage and report on funding with reliable

accounting and management systems

 Organisations must have at least three years’ registration as an Indian

organisation.

 Have Foreign Contribution [Regulation] Act (F.C.R.A.) certificate or proof of

other regulations/ agreements that allow an organisation to receive and
disburse foreign funds.

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 Organisations must be registered as a non-profit organisation

 Applicants must demonstrate, as part of their application, past experience

with implementing programmes and expending funds according to
projections. Meeting performance schedules and targets should be high on
their list of organisational capacities.

 Organisations must illustrate how proposed concepts will be sustained

beyond the scope of this programme.

 Organisations must demonstrate how they collaborate with Government at

community, district or state level to ensure complementarities of programme
objectives.

While the above criteria will be important during the review of applications,
special consideration is given to the following:

 Innovation Fund grants can be used to develop the foundations for future
innovation, develop new programme approaches, or support current
programme innovations.

 The Innovation Fund will highly value projects that demonstrate a capability
for magnitude of impact as well as those whose strategic frameworks can
become models for application and adaptation nationally.

Exclusions

Innovation Fund grants cannot be used to fund:

 Areas covered by other DFID funding schemes. Innovation Fund grants will
not support initiatives that fall within the criteria of other funding programmes
operated by DFID that support non-HIV work.

 Organisations that already receive significant funding through DFID such as

UN agencies are not able to apply as the lead agency for Innovation Fund
grants. Similarly, such organisations will not be entitled to apply for Innovation
Fund grants as part of a consortium.

 The focus is on innovation and improvements in the strategic response.

Therefore the fund will not support capital expenditure (e.g. purchase of land,
buildings, equipment and vehicles).

 Innovation Fund grants cannot be used to cover the costs of care and anti-
retroviral therapies.

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 Innovation Fund grants will not be awarded to provide core support to

overseas offices costs.

 Innovation Fund grants will not be awarded to provide overseas training or

conference participation

 Innovation Fund grants will be awarded for 15 months starting October 2010.
All support, however, is based on performance and achievement of
objectives.

Overview of Innovation Fund Process

The commissioning of Innovation Fund Grants is divided into two steps: The first
step is for interested organisations to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI),
summarising overall concepts and capacity. Organisations, which are found to
have presented a convincing case and track record, will be invited to the
second step and to submit a full proposal.

Receiving Applications

Applications will be emailed to the TAST Innovation Fund Coordinator at the

following address: innovationfund@futuresgroup.com . Although emailed EOI
applications are preferred, completed applications may also be sent by mail to
the following address:

Innovation Fund Coordinator

Futures Group International India Pvt Ltd
5th Floor, DLF Building No. 10B
DLF Cyber City, Phase 1,
Gurgaon-122001

Applications must be received by 5.30pm on FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2010

The Innovation Fund Coordinator will:

 Receive the application. The Innovation Fund Coordinator will check the
dedicated email address daily until the EOI deadline.
 The Innovation Fund Coordinator will open the documents and allocate a
registration code. The documents will then be stored as pdf documents to
ensure no alterations can be made. The pdf electronic files will be stored in a
secure folder and the EOI application forms will be sent via email to the
Innovation Fund Adviser.
 The Innovation Fund Coordinator will also be responsible for circulating the
completed EOI application forms to the selection panel
 After the deadline for EOI applications has passed no further applications will

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be registered

Step 1 – Expression of Interest Application

The application process is intended to provide enough information against the

stated criteria for the TAST Innovation Fund selection panel to decide whether or
not an organisation and its project concept are suitable for Innovation Fund
support.

Applications must conform to the standard format and submission requirements,

detailed in the EOI Information Pack for Applicants.

Review of Expression of Interest Applications

The review of EOI applications will be a two-stage process, consisting of a

preliminary review to verify applications conform to key criteria, followed by a
detailed review and analysis of applications.

Preliminary Review

The Preliminary Review process is designed to crosscheck each application

against key ‘killer criteria’ to filter applications that do not meet necessary
criteria/ standard or who have not completed all sections of the application
form and provided all the information requested in the application form.

The Innovation Fund Adviser and Coordinator will conduct the preliminary
review.

Screening and Assessing the Applications (Main Review)

A four-person EOI selection panel, comprising of Innovation Fund staff, DFID and
NACO will conduct the main review with each EOI assessed by two reviewers.
Each EOI will be reviewed and scored according to the following criteria:

 Quality and experience of personnel. (15 points max)

 Applicant’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS programming in India and with Targeted
Interventions in particular. (10 points max)
 Capability of handling assignments addressing one or more of the core areas
of the Innovation Fund (20 points max)
 Previous Experience of working with DFID/ other donors and with Government
partners. (15 points max)

After completion of the preliminary and main reviews, the final list of applications
and their scores will be analysed by the Innovation Fund Adviser who will
develop a final shortlist of recommended EOI’s to invite to submit a full proposal.
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The shortlist and justifications will be discussed with the DFID AIDS TAST Steering
Committee who will examine the recommendations made during the main
review and make a final decision on those to be invited to tender a proposal.

Step 2 – Proposal

The proposal is the detailed document for the TAST Innovation Fund selection
panel to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed initiative and the
extent to which it meets Innovation Fund objectives. It is on the basis of the
information contained in the proposal that the TAST Innovation Fund selection
panel will take decisions over which projects to offer support to.

Full details of the proposal process will be contained within the two schedules of
the ‘Request for Proposal’, which provide applicants detailed guidance and
templates. The details of the Request for Proposal including application forms,
guidance and other relevant information will be sent to only those organisations
who have qualified through the EOI application process.

Selected organisations will be invited to submit a full proposal. The request for
proposal will contain:

 Letter of Invitation
 Terms and Conditions
 Form of Engagement
 Schedule 1 – Proposal Guidelines
 Schedule 2 – Budget Guidelines

A list of organisations invited to submit a proposal and all RFP information will be
made available on the Futures Group website www.futuresgroup.com.

Organisations not invited to submit a proposal will not be informed.

The organisations selected to submit a proposal will also be invited to attend a

workshop organised by the Innovation Fund in Delhi that will be held in October.
The exact timing and location of the workshop will be circulated closer to the
date. The workshop will give the Innovation Fund team an opportunity to provide
specific information to applicants regarding the content of the proposal and
also an opportunity for applicants to ask questions and clarify any queries they
may have regarding the proposal process. The workshop will also give a brief
overview of the management arrangements of the fund and the reporting and
monitoring requirements of successful applicants.

Proposal Review

For the review of the proposals, a selection panel will be set up consisting of six

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members. Representatives from NACO, DFID, UNAIDS will comprise the panel
along with the Futures India Finance Director and two independent consultants.

Each proposal will be scored independently by 2 reviewers who will then

compare their scores and agree a final score.

Proposals will be submitted to the Innovation Fund Adviser, who will manage the
proposals as per the guidelines for applications. Each proposal will be
considered on its own merits, strategies and complementarities with Innovation
Fund objectives. The review process will include the following:

Individual proposal reviews

Joint proposal review, analysis and recommended grade
Final analysis

The proposal review will broadly focus on how the proposed intervention meets
the Innovation Fund objectives and criteria whether the approach is appropriate
for that particular intervention; the extent to which the organisation has sufficient
capacity (i.e. resources, experience) to implement it; whether the budget
proposed is appropriate for the work planned.

The proposals will be scored and rated against the following criteria:

 Innovation (25 points)

 Relevance to NACP III (25 points)
 Plans for documenting the project for rapid scale-up (25 points)
 Value for money (25 points)

The review process will then rank the scores according to a grading system, as
illustrated below:

 Grade A – Recommended Project. A satisfactory proposal that requires no

further major clarifications and, subject to pre-audit compliance, can be
approved for funding. Any minor clarifications may be made during the
course of the programme. For proposals graded ‘A’ that require no further
clarification, organisations may be offered a grant immediately.

 Grade B – Clarifications. A proposal that requires some clarifications related

to the strategies/ methodology/ management arrangements. Such
clarifications are likely to be minor in nature (not relating to overall concept
itself) but will require resolving before funding can be agreed. For Proposals
graded ‘B’ the Innovation Fund Adviser will draft a letter containing any
outstanding issue requiring clarification. This will be sent to the organisation,
either requesting a formal presentation or written response depending on the
nature of the clarifications. If these clarifications are satisfactorily resolved this
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proposal may be regarded as a grade ‘A’.

 Grade C – Borderline Projects. A proposal that is driven by a strong

conceptual case, but there remains a number of significant questions about
the ability of the organisation to deliver the proposed project. This might be
due to questions of organisational capacity or capability to deliver the
proposed activities and might require adjustments to the approach, scale of
interventions or even a re-submission of the proposal. For these proposals the
Innovation Fund Adviser will inform the organisation that the proposal is not
sufficient and invite the organisation to resubmit the proposal. This might be
accompanied by a presentation and/or physical assessment to assess the
organisations capacity to delivery the project proposed.

 Grade D - Unsuitable Applications. A project that fails to present a clear

justification of how the concept will be translated into activities and is
considered unsatisfactory for Innovation Fund support. For these proposals a
formal letter will be sent to the organisation informing them of the TAST
Innovation Fund’s decision. This letter should contain detailed feedback in a
balanced and constructive manner to assist unsuccessful organisations and
to improve the quality of future proposals and to understand why they were
not awarded a grant contract.

Presentation of Review Process

The final decision on which proposals will be funded remains with the TAST
Steering Committee. The TAST Innovation Fund Adviser will present summaries of
each proposal and grades allocated to the Steering Committee for approval.

The entire process for identifying and awarding Innovation Grants will be
summarised and presented to the TAST steering committee during the grant
approval meeting. This will include details of the number of applications
received, number passing preliminary assessment, results of main review, analysis
of applications and the decision-making.

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Application Form to be considered for DFID AIDS TAST Innovation Fund

Please enter the information requested in the spaces provided. Please note that
the only additional information that should be attached to this application form
is requested in sections 4 and 5.

1. Your Details

Your Organisation Name:

Your Address:

Contact Name:

Contact Telephone Number:

E-Mail Address:

2. Organisation Details

How many years have you been in business:

Registration number:

Year of registration:

F.C.R.A. Number:

3. Turnover

What was your company’s total annual turnover in Indian Rupees:

One year ago?

Two years ago?
Three years ago?

What was your turnover in Indian Rupees, for any dedicated HIV/AIDS projects:

One year ago?

Two years ago?
Three years ago?

4. Criteria for Assessing your Expression of Interest

Your completed application will be assessed against the following criteria.

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 Quality and experience of personnel. (15 points)

 Applicant’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS programming in India and with Targeted

Interventions in particular. (10 points)

 Capability of handling assignments addressing one or more of the core areas

of the Innovation Fund (20 points)

 Previous Experience of working with DFID/ other donors and with Government
partners. (5 points)

Please note that DFID AIDS TAST will also take into account the financial standing
of applicants during the Expression of Interest assessing process.

Annex 1: Please attach a Capability Statement, of no more than one A4 page in

font size 12, which illustrates your skills and experience of providing services
outlined against the four criteria listed above.

Annex 2: Please attach maximum of two A4 pages in font size 12 to briefly

describe the overall concept you wish to apply for funding. You must include the
following details:
i) Title
ii) What is the desired impact of the project?
iii) Why is the project innovative?
iv) What is the target group/focus area? (please select from below)
- Supporting existing Targeted Interventions for Men who have Sex with other
Men (MSM) or Injecting Drug Users (IDU)
- HIV prevention targeting wives/partners of MSM
- HIV prevention and care for Transgender
- HIV prevention for female drug users
- Addressing sexual health of IDU including wives & regular sexual partners
- Reducing barriers to ICTC and ART services for high risk groups
- Positive Prevention
- Stigma Reduction
v) Within which grant level will funds be requested. Please identify from the
following

Level 1: INR 6,95,000 – 13,10,000

Level 2: INR 13,10,000 – 22,92,500
Level 3: INR 22,92,500 – 32,75,000

v) What plans will be in place to replicate the project, if successful.

vi) Please explain briefly how you intend to document and disseminate the

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results of your proposed project

5. CV(s) of Key Personnel

Please provide one page abridged CVs of at least two (2) and no more than
four (4) core staff members who will be involved in the management of this
application.

Please use Annex 3 for CVs

6. Closing Date for Applications.

This application together with the requested supporting documents must be

submitted, by 5.30pm on Friday 17 September 2010, to the following email
address:

innovationfund@futuresgroup.com

or by postal delivery to the following address:

Innovation Fund Coordinator

Futures Group International India Pvt Ltd
5th Floor, DLF Building No. 10B
DLF Cyber City, Phase 1,
Gurgaon-122001

No further information or company literature is required

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