Aidspan, publisher of GFO, would like to hear from people who have been involved in implementing Global Fund grants about good and bad experiences they may have had during this work.

These experiences are needed not for GFO articles, but to help in drafting Volume 2 of The Aidspan Guide to Effective Implementation of Global Fund Grants. This Guide is designed to help grant recipients understand the processes involved in implementing newly approved projects. It focuses on challenges that can arise during implementation, particularly regarding interactions with the Global Fund Secretariat and the Local Fund Agent. The primary intended audience for the Guide is CCMs, Principal Recipients and Sub-Recipients.

Volume 1, which was released four months ago, describes the period from approval of the grant to signature of the Grant Agreement. Volume 1 can be downloaded at www.aidspan.org/guides.

Volume 2, which will be released later this year, covers the period from signature of the Grant Agreement to approval of Phase 2 of the grant. Aidspan wishes to ensure that Volume 2 reflects the issues that arise on the ground as a project is being implemented. For example, Aidspan would like to include a chapter on the common problems that can arise during the first few months of implementation, the consequences of these problems, the actions that PRs can take to resolve them, and the ways in which CCMs can be of assistance. These problems might include the following:

• delayed signing of the grant agreement;
• difficulties in communications among the various players;
• delays in the preparation or approval of the procurement plan;
• difficulties or conflicts concerning the roles of the various players; and
• inadequate capacity.

If you have had experiences - positive or negative - that you think will be relevant and that you can describe by email in English or French, please contact David Garmaise, the author of Volumes 1 and 2, at garmaise@aidspan.org. Any correspondence will be entirely private. Information you provide will not be used without your permission, and even then, countries will rarely be identified and names will never be identified. David will also be pleased to hear your suggestions regarding other people he should ask for input.