GLOBAL FUND RELEASES PDF VERSION OF ROUND 5 APPLICATION FORM

Author:

Bernard Rivers

Article Type:

Article Number: 3

ABSTRACT One month late, the Global Fund Secretariat has released the PDF version of the Round 5 application form.

One month late, the Global Fund Secretariat today released the PDF version of the Round 5 application form. This version involves some “smart technology,” whereby answers provided in one part of the form determine the questions asked in other parts, where numbers provided in some tables are automatically carried over into other tables, and where totals and percentages are automatically computed.

Applicants are free to use either the new PDF version, or the Word version that was released with the original Call for Proposals on March 17. The questions that have to be answered are the same in both versions. The disadvantages of the Word version are that applicants will have to bypass some questions not relevant to them; they will have to ensure that data they enter is consistent from one part of the form to another; and they will probably have to do a fair amount of copying and pasting. The disadvantages of the PDF version are that it is not that easy to use (the instruction booklet is expected to be over 50 pages long); that it has only just become available; and that as with all software products, there is a risk of bugs.

The Fund prefers applicants to use the PDF version because it will be easier for the Fund to import answers into its central database. However, applicants will probably find the Word version easier to use.

The PDF version is available at www.theglobalfund.org/en/apply/call5/documents. Click on the PDF icon for the language of choice under “2. Proposal Form”, enter email address and password (or apply to be given a password), right-click on the same icon as before, then click on “Save target as”. At present, only the English version of the PDF form is available.

The instructions for use of the PDF version are not yet available. When ready, they will be posted on the same web page.

Within a day or two of the release of the instructions for use of the PDF version, Aidspan will publish at www.aidspan.org/guides the second edition of “The Aidspan Guide to Round 5 Applications to the Global Fund,” with additional text regarding the PDF version.