About

The United States Agency for International Development to improve the enabling environment for equitable and sustainable health services, supplies, and delivery systems through policy development and implementation; adequate, predictable, and sustainable health financing; enhanced government stewardship, transparency, and accountability; and use of evidence-based advocacy approaches at global, national, and subnational levels to promote best practices.

RTI is a partner on the USAID PROPEL Health project, which prioritizes localizing policy, advocacy, financing, and governance (PAFG) leadership, technical assistance, and capacity development to enhance resilience and sustainability. RTI serves as the governance lead under PROPEL Health. The project actively supports USAID’s localization strategy by drawing on local actors to co-create country designs and lead implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The project focuses on family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH), and the integration of FP/RH with HIV and maternal and child health (MCH) with a lens to enable economic empowerment, positive youth development.

Objectives

• Many countries have made remarkable progress in reaching their health and development goals, particularly related to family planning (FP) and reproductive health. Advocates recognize the many benefits of FP related to health and development, yet FP is not consistently included or prioritized in multisectoral policy frameworks or programs. This oversight can result in missed opportunities for FP to:

  • Access additional domestic resources

  • Inclusion in comprehensive efforts to address broader development outcomes

  • Help ensure that other sectors achieve their specific objectives, especially economic objectives and poverty alleviation goals. 

Grant Scope 

• The next phase of this activity is to conduct a user-led application of the RAPID model and accompanying FP advocacy toolkit. The goal of the application is to improve how the Kenyan NCPD and MOH use data to lead and sustain FP advocacy efforts. The overarching proposed objectives of the user-led application include: 

  • Engage local institutions to utilize the revised beta RAPID model and supplemental FP advocacy toolkit 

  • Improve how the RAPID model can be used at a subnational level to achieve FP-related advocacy goals in decentralized settings, with a scope to be defined during co-creation 

  • Receive user feedback on and validate a finalized RAPID model and supplemental FP advocacy toolkit

Funding Information

• All grants will be negotiated and funded in Kenyan Shillings. All costs funded by the grant must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable.

• Estimated Ceiling Amount of Funds Available: KES 3,870,000 or approximately $30,000 USD. This ceiling will cover all direct and indirect activity costs incurred by the proposed technical approach. 

• Program Duration: The duration of the activities funded under this RFA will be for 10-12 months with an anticipated start date in January 2025 and a performance period of up to December 31st, 2025.

Key Activities

• A specific implementation plan will be developed upon award in collaboration with PROPEL Health, NCPD, and MOH. Below are the anticipated key activities that Applicants can use to guide completion of the Technical Application. Under each activity is an illustrative FAA deliverable to be completed by the grantee for milestone payments. Finalization of the FAA deliverables are subject to negotiation and approval of the FAA milestone payment plan.

  • Co-creation workshop. Grantee will participate in an initial co-creation workshop. The workshop will include a training of the beta RAPID model and orientation to use the draft FP advocacy toolkit resources. Participants will review the goals of the User-led Application to reach consensus on 1-3 top FP advocacy goals and develop a plan that utilizes RAPID and the toolkit to reach said goals, including decisions on subnational engagement. Participants may include PROPEL Health staff, staff of the grantee organization, NCPD, and MOH. The grantee may be asked to support with logistics of the co-creation workshop as a part of the scope of work under this Award and should consider the costs needed to fulfill related tasks.

  • Application period. Grantee will use the beta RAPID model and toolkit resources to implement the advocacy plan from the co-creation workshop. PROPEL Health and grantee will negotiate timeline for interim deliverables/milestones within the application period. Grantee will use tools to improve their understanding of how to use evidence in ongoing policy and advocacy initiatives; identify the entry points and further bottlenecks; what evidence is most effective and how. Subject to availability of funds and consensus of NCPD and MOH partners, PROPEL Health is interested in exploring subnational use of RAPID and the FP advocacy toolkit.

  • Validation meeting. After PROPEL Health incorporates grantee feedback on the RAPID model and toolkit, the grantee will support PROPEL Health in convening a validation meeting with NCPD, MOH, and other key stakeholders to result in final RAPID model + FP advocacy toolkit. The grantee may be asked to support with logistics of the validation workshop as a part of the scope of work under this Award and should consider the costs needed to fulfill related tasks.

Ineligible Applicants

• Government-owned entities or individuals, or entity is currently debarred or suspended from receiving federal government funding. 

• Applicant’s failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of an application deadline will result in the application being rejected. Applicants should submit documentation to support an eligibility determination, including registration certificate, tax registration, organization profile.

Eligibility

• To be considered for this sub-award, the Applicant must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria: 

  • Must be legally registered with the government of Kenya and compliant with government tax laws (Provide a letter of accreditation/ registration, existing Tax identification number, copy of a current tax complaint certificate) 

  • The organization must be Kenya non-government or private organizations (civil society, faith-based organizations (FBO), community-based organizations (CBO), or for-profit firms. 

  • Must have a bank account in operation (provide correct bank account details) 

  • Must have a governance structure in place i.e. active board of directors for oversight (provide evidence of existence of the board of directors) 

  • Must have a demonstrated record of ensuring accountability and transparency with donor, beneficiaries, government stakeholder (provide evidence)

  • Should have organizational capability to fully execute the proposed activities within the timeline proposed 

  • Ideally, the Applicant has received less than USD 25 Million in direct or indirect award from USAID over the last five years, to promote USAID’s New Partnership Initiative agenda for localization.

Post Date: December 19, 2024