PRECISE DATES REGARDING ROUND 9 ARE NOW KNOWN

Author:

Bernard Rivers

Article Type:

Article Number: 3

ABSTRACT A detailed timetable is provided of “what will happen when” regarding Round 9. There is nothing to prevent CCMs from starting work right now on their Round 9 proposals.

As previously reported, Round 9 will take place nearly six months earlier than had originally been anticipated; it will be launched on 1 October 2008. This represents only the second time that two calls for proposals have been launched within a single year. Round 10 is then expected to begin in April 2009.

The Fund has now informed CCMs of the following precise dates regarding Rounds 8, 9 and 10. Explanatory comments are by Aidspan, not the Fund.

1 September 2008: Notification to CCMs on whether WHO and UNAIDS have identified any additions to the Round 8 country eligibility list, based on disease burden.

Late August / early September: TRP meets to review Round 8 proposals.

1 October: Formal launch of Round 9, using a Proposal Form and Guidelines that will be virtually identical to the ones used in Round 8. (The changes will be mainly cosmetic, such as changing “8” to “9.”)

By 6 October: TRP recommendations regarding Round 8 proposals are sent to the Board.

By 13 October: Each Round 8 applicant is informed of what the TRP has recommended to the Board regarding its proposal. (This is not a final decision – the Board retains the right to make a decision different to the TRP’s recommendations. But in the past the Board has always followed the TRP’s advice.) Note: When the TRP writes its comments on non-approved Round 8 proposals that it assigns to Category 3 (not recommended for approval in Round 8, but strongly encouraged to resubmit in Round 9), it will not just list strengths and weaknesses, it will also recommend the types of change that need to be made to strengthen the proposal for resubmission.

From 13 October: Round 8 applicants who are informed that the TRP has recommended that their proposal be assigned to Category 3 can immediately start revising their Round 8 proposal for re-submission in Round 9. They can re-submit using the original Round 8 form. (Note: This does not prevent them from also submitting a separate new proposal, for the same component, in Round 9.)

7-8 November: Board reviews the TRP recommendations regarding Round 8 proposals and makes final decisions. (These will be announced on the Global Fund website, and in GFO.)

By 15 November: All members of CCMs that submitted Round 8 proposals are directly informed of the Board’s decision.

21 January 2009 (12 noon, Geneva time): Closing date for submission of Round 9 proposals.

2-13 March 2009(provisional dates): Round 9 TRP meeting.

1 April 2009 (provisional date): Launch of Round 10.

By 6 April 2009: TRP recommendations regarding Round 9 proposals are sent to the Board.

By 13 April 2009: Each Round 9 applicant is informed what the TRP has recommended to the Board regarding their proposal.

7-8 May 2009: Board reviews TRP recommendations regarding Round 9 proposals and makes final decisions.

Note: Although Round 9 will not be formally launched until 1 October 2008, CCMs are totally free to start their preparation of Round 9 proposals any time prior to 1 October, using the Round 8 form and guidelines, which have been available at the Fund’s site for many months. CCMs do not need to wait until 1 October to start thinking about whether to submit, and how to handle, a Round 9 proposal. Those who wait until then could be at a disadvantage compared with those that have already started.