5.4 EXAMEN ECOGRÁFICO

Pact, a U.S.-based PVO, was awarded the HIV/AIDS rapid response mechanism in 2001. One of Pact’s core competencies is to provide stewardship of donor resources that engage local NGOs at the grassroots level through sub-grants, technical assistance, and capacity building. In the three years since receiving the award, Pact’s leader program, Community REACH, has reached over 90 local organizations working in over 110 communities in 21 countries through a variety of models and is continuing to grow. Pact has developed the following guiding principles that have been crucial to its successful engagement of local NGOs in the response to HIV/AIDS:

2transparent, competitive selection process 2stakeholder involvement

2focused RFAs

2targeting local organizations 2rigorous selection process 2appropriate resource levels

2multi-year commitments 2focus on results

Transparent, competitive selection process USAID’s RFA for the rapid response mechanism for HIV/AIDS anticipated a competitive grants program. In addition to meeting the expectations of USAID,

Community REACH believed a transparent, competitive process would improve the effectiveness and

performance of the program. Clear solicitation documents would convey programmatic priorities for improved service delivery and coordination among organizations responding to the pandemic and identify an appropriate match between those priorities and organizations capable of meeting them.

Stakeholder involvement

In planning for the competitive award of grants under Community REACH, Pact relied on input from a

number of technical experts in HIV/AIDS, development, and program planning and implementation. Pact solicited input through a number of focus group meetings and through recruitment of HIV/AIDS professionals to act as a program advisory council. Stakeholder input was critical in developing the focus of the program, for identifying critical gaps in service delivery and identify promising models for scale-up and replication.

Focused RFAs

Informed by stakeholder input, Community REACH developed "themes" within the focus areas of the program for primary prevention and education,

voluntary counseling and testing, and care and support for those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. Each RFA targeted funding into a narrow range of interventions that addressed a specific area of the pandemic, such as voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for youth. Through this narrow focus, Community REACH sought to inspire innovation and identify promising models for

SECTION 3

Experience Engaging Local NGOs

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replication and scale-up. In addition, by funding a number of local NGOs on a global scale to address specific service areas, Community REACH saw an opportunity to learn from these programs and share the lessons learned across the program and to the broader HIV/AIDS community.

Targeting local organizations

One of the lessons learned early on was that targeting local organizations has to be intentional and explicit. INGOs will apply for small amounts of money and have the advantage of superior proposal writing resources and skills that ensure their success. Some pre-work must involve identifying effective outreach mechanisms to small, local NGOs and FBOs such as NGO mailing lists, national NGO/FBO networks, etc. Further, it is not enough to state a preference for working with local organizations. Defining the nature of the relationship and the level and purpose of resources transferred to local partners must be communicated.

Rigorous selection process

For each themed RFA, Community REACH conducted an extensive literature search and identified technical expertise within the theme area to evaluate, score, critique, and recommend applications. Technical reviewers provided valuable input into selected applications for opportunities to improve program implementation and service delivery. Technical experts also graciously helped unsuccessful applicants by detailing the strengths and weaknesses in their applications and program designs to improve future submissions.

Appropriate resource levels

Community REACH has learned that local organizations respond to RFAs that offer resources in a range that is realistic for them and reflect a level with which they are comfortable and at which they are competent to manage. According to a recent Save the Children study

(Foster, 2005), "community-based organizations need funding that is ‘drip fed’—continuous, steady, small amounts of resources."

Multi-year commitments

A key determinant of Community REACH’s success building the capacity of the organizations it supports is the ability to make multi-year commitments. Multi-year grants led to increased collaboration between the government and other NGOs because of the time available to develop relationships and collaborative memorandums of understanding (MOUs). One of the weaknesses of local NGOs is the disruption of the continuity of program activities and the need to redirect and retarget program activities to conform to different donor requirements. Community REACH’s ability to make long-term commitments of time and resources have allowed the local organizations it supports to make long-term commitments to staff and resources and to invest in long-range targeting and planning that would not be possible if funding was made available on a year-to-year basis.

Focus on results

Beginning in the initial program design, emphasis was placed on demonstrating results. Knowing the

difficulties and the biases against working with local organizations, Community REACH recognized that they needed to focus on, and demonstrate the ability to, quantify results through local groups. To that end, funds were reserved for the purpose of providing technical assistance specifically in monitoring and evaluating program results. Organizations were mentored directly in program reporting formats, selection of indicators, and interpretation of data. This investment has paid off in verifiable results that demonstrate the effectiveness of Community REACH’s local partners.

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