Board Decisions

GF/B14/DP09

Approved by the Board on: 03 November 2006

Establishment of a Rolling Continuation Channel Allowing Country Coordinating Mechanisms to Apply for Continued Funding for Expiring Grants

The Board approves the establishment of a funding channel ("rolling continuation channel") that provides an opportunity for Country Coordinating Mechanisms ("CCMs") to apply for continued funding for grants that are reaching the end of their funding terms ("expiring grants") under conditions different from those available for proposals submitted as part of new rounds of financing ("rounds-based channel").

The rolling continuation channel shall operate according to the following principles:

1. The Secretariat shall conduct a review of all grants before the end of their Phase 2 (the "determination of qualification") to determine whether they qualify to apply for continuation of funding through the rolling continuation channel. The Secretariat's determination of qualification shall be final and not subject to appeal.
2. The Secretariat shall establish a standing cross-functional panel (the "qualification panel") to conduct the determination of qualification of grants. This panel will conduct its work several times each year, scheduling determinations of qualification so that grants that do not qualify for the rolling continuation channel have sufficient time to apply through the rounds-based channel.
3. The qualification panel shall base its determination of qualification on the following factors:
   1. The primary factors shall be the following:
      1. Strong performance, as determined by the Secretariat having assigned to the grant a performance rating of 'A' in more than half of its reviews of the grant's progress updates over the 18 months immediately preceding the determination of qualification; and
      2. Evidence of potential for impact by, for example, demonstration of the grant contributing to a national effort that has had, or has the potential to have in the near future, a measurable impact on the burden of the relevant disease.
   2. In addition, in making a final determination, the qualification panel shall consider the following factors:
   1. Sustainability, as determined by the extent to which the grant contributes to a national plan which is inclusive of civil society and the private sector and transparently shows the financial contributions made to the plan by major funding sources, including domestic sources; and
   2. Whether, in exceptional cases, severe and unexpected changes in circumstances have had a material negative impact on program implementation.
4. On the basis of the above factors, the Board expects (based on information provided by the Secretariat) that between a quarter and a third of the grants that expire in a given year would qualify to apply through the rolling continuation channel. The Secretariat will monitor the share of grants that qualify for the rolling continuation channel and report this information to the Board as part of its annual reporting process.
5. Upon completion of each determination of qualification, the qualification panel shall provide feedback to the CCM on the grant's overall performance in a standardized format, and highlight any implementation challenges or sustainability issues that the CCM might address in a subsequent grant proposal. It shall also provide this standardized feedback to the Chair and the Vice Chair of the Technical Review Panel under revised terms of reference and membership(henceforth referred to as "the TRP") to inform consideration by the TRP of a subsequent proposal by that CCM.
6. The determination of qualification shall rely, as much as possible, on existing processes and information, so as to minimize additional work and transaction costs.
7. CCMs that qualify to submit a proposal for continuation of funding through the rolling continuation channel may apply either through the rolling continuation channel or the rounds based channel, but the CCM may not submit proposals covering the same activities through both channels.
8. The process for grant proposals submitted through the rolling continuation channel shall include proposal submission, independent technical review, funding recommendation and if relevant, Board approval, all of which shall occur on a rolling basis.³ The proposal submission and review process shall be as light as possible, without sacrificing technical rigor.
9. The Secretariat shall modify the proposal requirements and review criteria for the rolling continuation channel as appropriate compared to those for the rounds-based channel. As is the case for proposals for the rounds-based channel, they shall reflect considerations of sustainability and alignment with national strategies and plans.
10. CCMs may submit rolling continuation proposals that allow for the continuation of the broader package of interventions to which the expiring grant was contributing. The TRP shall determine whether a proposal's scope demonstrates a material difference, as defined by the Secretariat, compared to the scope of the grant it seeks to continue. A proposal that the TRP deems materially different from the original one shall not be allowable under the rolling continuation channel.
11. The Secretariat shall propose principles-based guidance in the proposal form or guidelines on the extent to which CCMs may increase the scale of the activities financed by expiring grants in rolling continuation proposals.⁵
12. All rolling continuation proposals shall undergo a level of independent technical review as rigorous as that for the rounds-based channel. This review shall be performed by the TRP.
13. The Secretariat shall present to the Board the TRP's funding recommendations not more often than once every three months, unless it is necessary, because of exceptional circumstances, to present a recommendation to the Board more frequently.
14. The TRP shall have the authority to recommend that the Board make its approval of a rolling continuation proposal conditional upon the CCM removing a limited set of specific elements from the proposal.
15. There shall be an appeals process for unsuccessful rolling continuation proposals. The primary grounds for appeal shall be a significant and obvious error made by the TRP regarding information contained in the proposal.⁶
16. CCMs may submit proposals under the rolling continuation channel covering a maximum term of six years, in two phases of three years each, with funding for the second phase subject to the approval of the Board based on a mid-point performance review. The Board shall approve rolling continuation of funding proposals for the entire term of the proposal, with a financial commitment for the initial three years. Grants funded under the rolling continuation channel shall undergo assessments at each disbursement similar to those done for grants funded through the rounds-based channel.
17. The Global Fund shall prioritize funding for proposals submitted through the rolling continuation channel below the funding of Phase 2 renewals of proposals submitted through the rounds based channel and funding of Extraordinary Requests for Continued Funding of Treatment under the Continuity of Services Policy, but above the funding of proposals submitted through the rounds-based channel. The Secretariat, in consultation with the Finance and Audit Committee, shall communicate to the Board at the end of a given financial year a projection of the financial resources potentially available for these funding channels for the subsequent year, specifically noting confirmed pledges.

The Board delegates authority to the Portfolio Committee to apply the principles set out in this decision point and (i) approve the proposal form and guidelines for the rolling continuation channel, and (ii) approve the appropriate policy guidance in relation to the appropriate appeals process for unsuccessful rolling continuation proposals, and requests it to do so by end of March 2007.

The Board requests the Policy and Strategy Committee to present for approval at the Fifteenth Board meeting the appropriate procedure for the Board to make funding decisions on proposals for rolling continuation funding recommended by the TRP in accordance with the principles set out in this decision point.

The Board requests the Finance and Audit Committee to present for approval at the Fifteenth Board meeting appropriate amendments that arise from this decision to each of the following: (i) the Comprehensive Funding Policy approved at the Sixth Board Meeting (and amended at the Thirteenth Board Meeting); and (ii) the decision on prioritization of Phase 2 funding approved at the Eighth Board Meeting (GF/B9/2, p. 9).

Budgetary Implications

The budgetary implications of this decision in 2007 are estimated to be US$268,500.