Global Fund Releases Detailed Operational Guide

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 2

ABSTRACT The purpose of the new Operational Guide is to help implementers understand Global Fund policies and to provide guidance on the various processes that have to be followed during the lifetime of a grant.

The Global Fund has issued a new Operational Guide targeted primary at implementers of Global Fund grants. Entitled “Operational Guide: The Key to Global Fund Policies and Processes,” the 118-page document is available (in English) at www.theglobalfund.org/en/policies. French- and Spanish-language translations are underway.

The purpose of the guide is to help implementers understand Global Fund policies and to provide guidance on the various processes that have to be followed during the lifetime of a grant. Most of this information already exists on the Global Fund website and in existing guidelines; the Operational Guide brings the information together in a single document.

To keep the guide to a manageable size, some of the information is in shortened form. For example, the Operational Guide may summarise a policy and then provide information on where to obtain the full policy. However, the Operational Guide is still quite detailed. For example, the part on grant signing lists the documents required for signing, explains how grant negotiations are organised within the Global Fund Secretariat, discusses the roles of the LFA and CCM in grant negotiations, and provides guidance on issues such as how much money the PR can expect upon signing, and whether the PR can access grant funds prior to signing.

In addition to the section on grant signing, there are sections on implementing grants, requesting continued funding, closing grants, and risk management. Although the guide is targeting implementers, there is also a section on accessing funding, as well as an introduction to the Global Fund. In addition, there is a section describing the new grant architecture.

The Global Fund used to have an Operations Manual, which covered some of the same areas as the Operational Guide, but the manual was not widely available and has not been kept up to date. The Fund plans to release some “operational policy notes” in the near future. These notes will provide more in-depth information on some of the implementation topics covered in the Operational Guide.