Search
Grant Management Solutions (GMS) was started in 2007 with funding from the government of the USA, via a contract with Management Sciences for Health (MSH), to provide solutions to countries experiencing bottlenecks in their grants from the Global Fund. During 2007-2012, GMS’ mandate centred on conducting demand-driven technical support assignments to help Global Fund recipient countries. Support was classified into four major areas: governance, principal recipient (PR) management, monitoring and evaluation and health products management. A second contract was signed in 2012 and ended in 2017. During 2012-17, GMS continued its primary focus on providing demand-driven technical support. Following changes in the Global Fund’s funding model in 2013, the focus of demand for technical support also changed, shifting primarily toward PR management and strengthening of country coordinating mechanisms (CCMs) capacity in governance.
The GMS approach to supporting CCMs is grounded in principles of country ownership and effective strategic governance by multi-sectoral coordination bodies. GMS technical support to CCMs focuses mainly on two areas: helping CCMs to attain and sustain eligibility to obtain Global Fund financing; and strengthening governance and oversight to ensure adequate CCM functioning including representation of key populations.
Specific support for the PRs included:
- Assisting new PRs to define performance based funding management arrangements and facilitating the development of a common Grants Operations Manual
- Assisting PRs to finalize performance frameworks and overall sector M&E Plans and facilitation of an M&E System Strengthening Tool (MESST) workshop
- Defining financial management systems and overall packages for the management of grant funds
- Conducting on the job training for members of the grant management units
- Assisting in responding to conditions precedent for grant signature
Specific support for the CCMs included:
- Assessing governance, structural and membership issues and providing options for CCM reform
- Establishing and/or revising CCM membership constituencies and revising CCM organizational structures including in certain cases the establishment of an Executive Committee, Oversight Committee and Gap Analysis, Harmonization & Proposal Development Committee
- Assisting with the development of CCM Operations Manuals and CCM framework documentation
- Developing oversight plans, ToRs for Standing Committees, and CCM work plans and corresponding budgets for activities that relate to core CCM functions
More recently GMS provided technical support to PRs in the introduction of management dashboards for individual country grants as well as for regional grants. These dashboards provide a one-page visual display of key indicators that allows drilling down to the sub-recipient level. The technical support includes orientation to the management-change framework associated with adopting these dashboards; assistance with selection of indicators and their thresholds; help with installing and configuring dashboards; coaching in analysis of dashboard data; and guidance on navigating management and technological issues arising that may hamper effective use of dashboards. In 2014 in collaboration with the Global Fund Secretariat and the Alliance, GMS defined modalities for the whole-of-country approach, where PR dashboards are introduced for all PRs and the CCM Summary is introduced once PR dashboard introduction is achieved.
During the ten-year period 2007-2017 EHG has provided technical support to 26 countries.
The countries included:
Angola, Afghanistan, Armenia, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, El Salvador, Fiji, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uganda, Zanzibar.
