USAID Development Innovation Accelerator
Broad Agency Announcement for
Global Health Challenges
I.
Overview
A.
This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeks opportunities to co-create, co-design, coinvest, and collaborate in the development, testing, and scaling of innovative approaches that
address critical global health challenges. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) invites organizations and companies to participate with USAID, in
cooperation with its partners, in response to a Global Health Challenge Addenda issued under
this BAA, as described below, to provide innovative interventions and technologies that further
the U.S. Government’s commitment to prevent and manage critical global health challenges.
B.
Federal Agency Name:
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and administered through the
Global Health Bureau.
C.
Opportunity Title:
The USAID Global Health Development Innovation Accelerator BAA
D.
Announcement Type:
This BAA serves to inform the public of the opportunity for funding from USAID, in cooperation
with its partners, to address pressing global health challenges. Actual opportunities for funding
and partnering will be issued as Global Health Challenge Addenda to this BAA. The terms of this
BAA apply to each Global Health Challenge Addendum. Individual Global Health Challenge
Addenda may have specific requirements for evaluation criteria and administrative information,
such as the requirements for expressions of interest, concept papers, and response deadlines.
E.
Opportunity Number:
BAA-GLOBAL HEALTH-2015
F.
Authority:
This BAA is issued under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 35.016(c). This is not a FAR
Part 15 procurement.
G.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:
98.001, USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas.
H.
Response Date: The response date, as well as instructions to responders, is established
by individual Addenda to this BAA.
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II.
Overall Purpose and Specific Rights Reserved for the Government under this BAA
A.
This BAA is a competitive approach to consider proposals that harness scientific
research and innovation to help prevent and manage critical global health challenges, allowing
USAID and other funding Partners to:
1.
Reach out to potential partners with recognized expertise in relevant areas, and
2.
Co-create, co-design, co-invest, and collaborate with partners.
B.
Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under
this BAA will depend on the concepts received and the availability of funds. Some award types
may not include any funding.
C.
This BAA reserves specific rights for the Government, in addition to rights described
elsewhere in this document or by law or regulation, including:
1.
The right to select for negotiation and award all, some, one, or none of the
proposals received in response to this solicitation.
2.
The right to make awards without discussions, or to conduct discussions and/or
negotiations, whichever is determined to be in the Government’s interest.
3.
The right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of
proposals for award or co-investment.
4.
The right to select for award an instrument type that is appropriate to the
specific development context, partner relationship, and concept selected for
award. Instruments types include but are not limited to contracts, grants,
cooperative agreements, Global Development Alliance agreements,
Development Innovation Agreements, Inter Agency Agreements, Government
to Government Agreements, Donor to Donor Agreements, and Memorandums
of Understanding. In addition, the Government may craft a new instrument
type to meet the needs of a specific relationship.
5.
The right to co-create projects with one or more submitter under this BAA,
when it is in the best interest of the Government.
6.
The right to request any additional, necessary documentation upon initial
review. Such additional information may include, but is not limited to, a further
detailed proposal, budget, and representations and certifications.
7.
The right to fund or co-invest in proposals in phases, with options for continued
work at the end of one or more of the phases.
8.
The right to remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail
to reach agreement on award terms, conditions, and cost/price within a
reasonable time, the proposer fails to timely provide requested additional
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information, or the Government believes it is in its best interest.
III.
Opportunity Information
A.
Global Health Priorities
USAID is committed to ending preventable child and maternal deaths and fostering an AIDS-free
generation.
PROBLEM:
In 2012, 6.6 million children died before their fifth birthday. The year before, 289,000 women
died during pregnancy or childbirth and there were 390,000 new HIV infections in children, with
the odds in life already stacked against them. Infectious, life-threatening diseases like
pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria are further exacerbated by endemic rates of malnutrition and
poor access to health services.
While the death of a mother is a tragedy in itself, it has devastating effects for the survival of her
children, the economic stability of the family, and the productivity of the community. Children
who are healthy avoid permanent disability and spend more time in school. Healthy children
grow into healthy adults, who miss fewer days of work, earn more wages, and contribute to
strong economies.
CHALLENGE:
To accelerate progress towards ending preventable child and maternal deaths and creating an
AIDS-free generation by harnessing the power of science, technology, and innovation to provide
new knowledge, tools, and approaches. USAID and its partners will work to rapidly implement
solutions and create an environment for sustainability, scalability, and ultimately health impact.
B.
Global Health Challenge Addenda
USAID will issue Addenda to this BAA that will present specific health-related challenges. These
Addenda will focus on identified problems, solutions, scalability opportunities, feasibility
studies, and other research and development initiatives to contribute to:
(1) ending preventable child and maternal deaths ; or
(2) creating an AIDS-free generation.
As stated above, potential partners will respond to individual Addenda, not to this BAA.
C.
Collaboration. The intent of this BAA is to allow co-creation and co-design to the
maximum extent to create high quality, effective partnerships with great efficiency in time and
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resources. The types of collaboration include:
1. Co-creation. Co-creation occurs after an expression of interest is submitted, but before
the concept paper is developed. The potential partner(s) and the Government,
represented by the Activity Manager, work together to write and/or revise the concept
paper, and jointly present the concept paper to the Global Health Review Board.
2. Co-design. Co-design occurs after the Global Health Review Board recommends the
project for further development, and the Contracting Officer or Agreement Officer has
determined the submitter to be an Apparently Successful Partner. At this point, the
Contracting Officer or Agreement Officer may determine the general nature of the award
type or the specific award type, depending on the nature of the project, to facilitate
project design. During co-design, the Apparently Successful Partner and the Activity
Manager will design the technical approach, general resource requirements, and
management control of the project under the guidance of the Contracting
Officer/Agreement Officer.
3. Co-invest. Co-invest refers to the Government’s strategic aim that the partnerships
resulting from the individual BAA awards represent opportunities to achieve mutual or
complimentary development goals of the Partner and USAID, and therefore embrace
shared responsibility, shared risk, and shared resourcing. Shared resourcing may be
accomplished though funding by both parties, either through cash resources or the
exchange of other resources, both tangible and intangible, such as in-kind contributions,
expertise, intellectual property, brand value, high-value coordination, and access to key
people, places, and information. Co-investing does not require equally shared resourcing
(such as 1:1 leverage), but rather resource contributions that are appropriate to the
specific project’s objectives, considering the comparative advantages brought by the
participation of each party and the award type.
IV.
General Criteria for Consideration
A. Each individual BAA Addendum will specify the criteria for selection. This section provides
general information on USAID’s priorities for project consideration. Where partnerships with
other donors are involved, those joint priorities will be described in the relevant Addenda.
Submissions are not evaluated against other submissions, but solely against the evaluation
criteria from this BAA and applicable BAA Addenda.
B. Decisions regarding USAID’s pursuit of a particular project, technology, or relationship are
based on the available evidence, data, and resulting analysis. The Global Health Bureau and
fellow donors, if applicable, seek solutions that can have a significant impact in global health
and can achieve that impact sustainably at scale.
C. Depending on the stage of development, USAID will consider different levels of risk,
evidence, and data on the potential for impact and scale.
D. At the initial stage of sourcing or prototype, the design of the innovation should be a new or
dramatically-improved approach with the potential for significant impact at a lower cost and
without any reduction in efficacy as compared to the current standard.
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E. At the piloting and validation stage, the product or service must be viable and demonstrate
significant impact, behavioral change, and customer demand (i.e. proof of concept).
F. At the transitioning to scale stage, data and evidence must indicate that significant impact
can be achieved at a lower price point, a business or other implementation model is being
tested and sustainability demonstrated, any legal or regulatory challenges are understood
as part of a market strategy, and the quality of the impact, product, or service will not be
significantly affected by expansion or widespread adoption.
G. Innovations that demonstrate such evidence will be reviewed for endorsement to scale
across multiple countries.
H. The reputations of organizations, their past performance, the managerial and technical
ability of the person or team of people engaged in the endeavor are always significant
considerations in assessing the potential and the risks associated with each award.
V.
Award Process.
The award process under this BAA generally has the following steps:
1. Expression of Interest. Potential partners will submit an expression of interest in response
to a Global Health Challenge Addendum. Expressions of Interest are generally short (2-7
pages) and contain information as outlined in the Global Health Challenge Addendum, such
as the specific focus area, the expected impact, any partner and resource relationships, and
proposed funding from USAID and/or other Partners. USAID will perform an initial review
of the research and development idea presented in the expression of interest. Note that
USAID may reach out to potential partners and request an expression of interest.
2. Development of the Concept Paper. For Expressions of Interest that are deemed to have
merit by USAID, USAID will issue an invitation to collaborate to the potential partner.
Working together, USAID and the potential partner will collaborate on a Concept Paper. It is
during this phase of co-creation and co-design that the parties will begin to determine
additional partners and resources to complement the project. The Concept Paper, generally
5-10 pages, will further detail and explain the project as initially provided in the Expression
of Interest.
3. Review by the Global Health Review Board. All Concept Papers will be reviewed by the
Global Health Review Board, which is comprised of health, business, and development
experts from USAID, partners, and outside parties. The Review Board will review Concept
Papers and recommend which applicants should be considered Apparently Successful
Partners. Using its technical expertise, the Global Health Review Board will suggest
revisions/additions to the project, and potential partners and resources.
4. Contracting/Agreement Officer Determination. The Contracting/Agreement officer will
review the Global Health Review Board’s recommendations and consider other information,
such as resource availability, preliminary partner responsibility assessment, and Agency
priorities, and will make a determination that the respondent is an Apparently Successful
Partner. The Contracting/Agreement Officer may also identify or narrow down the
anticipated instrument type to facilitate project design.
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5. Request for Additional Information. USAID will work with partners identified by the Global
Health Review Board, and co-design the project and assist the partner to provide additional
information with respect to the proposer’s technical approach, capacity, management and
organization, past performance, and budget, as well as representations and certifications, as
needed.
6. Additional Partners/Resources. During the project co-creation and co-design, both the
Apparently Successful Partner and USAID (and other funding Partners, where applicable)
will identify additional partners and resources, and whether additional mechanisms are
necessary to implement the project.
7. Final Review and Negotiation. For USAID-managed projects, the USAID Contract/
Agreement Officer will engage in final review, negotiation, and determinations of
instrument type, responsibility, cost reasonableness, etc., and will craft an award instrument
with the Apparently Successful Partner. If the Apparently Successful Applicant and USAID
cannot arrive at a mutually agreeable arrangement, the Contract/ Agreement Officer will
cancel the project at no cost to the Government.
8. Award. For USAID-managed projects, the USAID Contract/ Agreement Officer will award the
instrument.
VI.
Award Information
A.
Awards under this BAA will be based on responses to individual Addenda to this BAA,
which provide the specific health-related challenge.
B.
No responses will be considered under this BAA until an Addendum has been issued;
only submissions that are responsive to a specific Global Health Challenge Addendum will be
considered. Any proposal, concept paper, or expression of interest received that is not in
response to a Global Health Challenge Addendum will not be considered.
C.
Awards under this BAA will be made to Apparently Successful Partners on the basis of
their ability to further the U.S. Government’s goal of addressing and significantly reducing the
disease burdens of the developing world. USAID is seeking new and innovative applications of
science, technologies, interventions, and partnerships that provide the best value to the
Government and have the potential to substantially contribute to this goal.
D.
For USAID-managed awards, proposals identified for negotiation may result in a
contract, grant, cooperative agreement, Global Development Alliance agreement, Development
Innovation Agreement, Inter Agency Agreement, Government to Government Agreement,
Donor to Donor Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding or alternative agreement type,
depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of Government
involvement, and other factors. The Government Contracting/Agreement Officer will determine
award instrument type and negotiate instrument terms and conditions with selectees. USAID
may select the award instruments it deems appropriate.
E.
Eligibility Information. Public, private, for-profit, and non-profit organizations, as well as
institutions of higher education, public international organizations, non-governmental
organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. government organizations, and international donor
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organizations are eligible under this BAA, unless otherwise stated in the individual BAA
Addendum. All organizations must be determined to be responsive to this BAA and sufficiently
responsible to perform or participate in the final award type.
F.
Cost Sharing or Leveraging. Whether cost share and/or leverage are required will be
determined by the individual BAA Addendum, final award type, and/or the mutual agreement of
the parties. Nothing in this BAA precludes reasonable cost sharing, leveraging, or other
exchange of resource arrangements, and proposers are encouraged to suggest creative
approaches to resourcing projects.
VII.
Standard Clauses and Provisions of Award. The standard clauses or provisions for awards are
generally prescribed by law and regulation, and will vary considerably by award type. Information
regarding clauses and provisions will be offered to the proposer when the award type is identified.
VIII.
Obtaining the BAA and Addenda. This BAA and any future Addenda can be downloaded from
http://www.grants.gov and http://www.fbo.gov. Issuance of this BAA does not constitute an award
commitment on the part of USAID, nor does it commit USAID or any of its funding Partners to pay for
costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Further, USAID reserves the right to
reject any or all proposals received.
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Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development
Addendum 01
to
The USAID Development Innovation Accelerator Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for
Global Health Challenges
SECTION A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Program
Summary
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the
Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand
Challenges Canada, and UK’s Department of International Development
(DFID) have joined together to launch the fifth round of Saving Lives at Birth:
A Grand Challenge for Development.
Together, we call for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for
pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the
time of childbirth. The estimated 2.6 million stillbirths, 2.9 million neonatal deaths
and 287,000 maternal deaths that occur globally each year signal a major gap for
intervention specifically around childbirth and the early postnatal period – a time
when mothers and babies are most vulnerable and global progress in reducing
mortality has been particularly poor. This gap in interventions is particularly acute in
poor, underserved communities and among women who are disadvantaged.
Innovative ideas that can leapfrog conventional approaches are critical in this
area. If we are to accelerate substantial and sustainable progress in reducing
maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths at the community level- and
contribute to the goals and targets of Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality and
Every Newborn Action Plan - we need to support and scale innovative prevention
and treatment approaches across three main domains:
(1) Science & technology;
(2) Service delivery; and
(3) Demand-side innovation that empowers pregnant women and their
families to practice healthy behaviors and be aware of and access health
care during pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period,
especially the first two days after birth.
We are particularly interested in investing in and supporting approaches that
integrate the latest behavior change approaches with scientific and/or
technological advances and service delivery platforms into radical solutions for
widespread impact on maternal and newborn health. We encourage these ideas
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that integrate scientific / technological, social and business innovation 1 to foster
sustainability.
Significant breakthroughs in innovation often come about when new ideas and
disciplines are applied to long-entrenched problems. New approaches can
transform insurmountable development challenges into solvable problems. To
harness this ingenuity, we encourage partnerships that bring together diverse
expertise from non-traditional partners, particularly those that include private
sector partners. We are calling on for-profit companies, non-governmental
organizations, academic/medical research institutions, faith-based organizations,
civic groups and foundations across a range of disciplines to take up this
challenge.
Diverse partnerships also catalyze successful implementation at scale.
Multidisciplinary/cross-sector teams are encouraged, where necessary, to ensure
relevant scientific, social, and business expertise. Engaging private and/or public
sector expertise will deploy stronger and more sustainable solutions. Bold ideas
also need to be championed by effective, results-driven leaders with the capacity
to convene and engage with key influencers. Where partnerships include
innovators from low-and middle-income countries, we encourage the partnership
to designate the low- and or middle-income country partner as the Project
Manager/ Principle Investigator (PI).
Critical to the sustained success of innovative solutions is a clear understanding of
how best to implement them at scale. Applicants should take into account
country programs, policies, and priorities. Development of new interventions,
technologies or approaches and their successful scale up should complement
efforts to strengthen health systems and address broader determinants of health
including poverty, inequity, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation
resources, all of which are needed to address this grand challenge for
development.
Audacious but achievable ideas with the potential to lead to transformational
change will be swiftly funded through at least one of three funding streams:
(1) Seed Funds to develop and assess the feasibility of innovative ideas,
(2) Validation Funds to introduce and validate the effectiveness of innovations
to reach proof-of-concept, and
(3) Transition Funds to transition innovations with demonstrated proof-ofconcept toward scale up.
These investments in potentially high-return projects are aimed to identify and
support transformational approaches to women’s and newborns’ health that can
be scaled up to dramatically – and sustainably – reduce deaths and poor birth
This approach is referred to as Integrated Innovation, for more information visit:
http://www.grandchallenges.ca/integrated-innovation/
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outcomes for millions of women and newborns in the hardest to reach
communities of the world.
For more information on the Saving Lives at Birth program, please visit our website
(www.savinglivesatbirth.net).
Problem
Statement
The onset of labor marks the start of a high-risk period for both mother and baby
that do not ease until at least 48 hours after birth. During this short period of time,
an estimated 145,000 maternal deaths, 1.45 million neonatal deaths, and 1.2
million stillbirths occur annually.
• For the mother, the critical conditions occurring during pregnancy and after
labor include hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders such as preeclampsia and
eclampsia, serious infections, and obstructed labor.
• For the newborn, the critical conditions occurring after birth are serious
infections (sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, and diarrhea), intrapartum-related
deaths (“birth asphyxia”), and complications of preterm birth.
• Important causes of stillbirth include intrapartum asphyxia, maternal and
antepartum hemorrhage, fetal bacterial infection, obstructed labor, syphilis,
and malaria.
• Important causes of maternal and newborn complications result from births that
are spaced too closely.
Almost all of the deaths during this high-risk period occur in low- and middleincome countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where access
to quality care is also the poorest. Evidence-based interventions—such as skilled
attendance at delivery; emergency obstetric and newborn care; parenteral
administration of drugs; blood transfusions; kangaroo care for newborns; early
initiation of breastfeeding; hygiene; and rapid diagnosis and early treatment of
infections—do exist to manage complications around the time of birth. However,
these interventions are not always available to the women and children who need
them. Since many opportunities to optimize birth outcomes occur before and
after the time of birth, it is also important to improve women’s access to evidencebased prenatal care, family planning resources (including contraception), birth
spacing and delay, proper nutrition, and postnatal care.
In resource-poor settings, care at the time of birth is further impeded by the fact
that people often lack material resources, electricity, clean water and adequate
transportation to travel to hospitals, and that there are few trained health
professionals or facilities capable of providing basic and comprehensive
emergency obstetric care. Where trained professionals and facilities exist, quality
of care can be further impeded by poor management and supervision, nonfunctioning supply chains, and lack of adherence to standard guidelines and
protocols. Finally, gender norms, cultural beliefs, and traditions that limit a
woman’s autonomy and decision making power, may also prevent women and
their families from practicing healthy behaviors, and seeking and receiving lifesaving care at and around the time of birth.
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Taken together, these limitations leave poor, underserved women—who have the
greatest geographical, financial and structural challenges in securing quality care
at the time of delivery—and their infants at the highest risk of poor pregnancy
outcomes.
Objective
For the purposes of this Addendum, the Saving Lives at Birth partners are seeking
creative solutions to address roadblocks to healthy pregnancies and births in three
major domains, alone or in combination:
•
Science & Technology: lack of dissemination and uptake of the most recent
scientific evidence applicable delivery of care in low-resource settings; lack of
affordable and effective medical solutions appropriate for the community or
clinic setting;
•
Service Delivery: lack of quality health services, including inadequate numbers
of trained, motivated, equipped and properly located and supervised health
staff and caregivers; operating without adherence to up-to-date guidelines or
evidence-based practices and limited by operational bottlenecks;
•
Demand: lack of opportunity, ability, motivation, and empowerment to access
health care or adopt healthy behaviors before, during, and after pregnancy.
Since many opportunities to optimize maternal and birth outcomes occur before
and after the time of birth, solutions do not need to focus solely on the window
between labor and 48 hours post-delivery. Where life-saving interventions exist but
have not been successfully deployed or implemented, we invite bold ideas for
overcoming specific barriers to scaling up.
What We
Are
Looking For
Interventions that:
• Substantially increase demand for and access to primary health interventions
for women and newborns (for example, by at least 50 percent for interventions
with low coverage);
• Substantially improve the quality of care as measured by health outcomes;
and
• Improve and sustain healthy behaviors.
Solutions should:
• Be "off the beaten track," daring in premise, and clearly differentiated from
standard practice;
• Enhance uptake, acceptability and provide for sustained use (potential for
sustainability as defined as cost-recovery, sustained use, and sustainable
impact);
• Be low-cost or highly cost-effective;
• Have a strong likelihood of achieving a substantial impact on one or more
important adverse maternal, fetal, or neonatal health conditions described in
the problem statement above;
• Be scalable in resource-poor settings; and
• Be able to be monitored, measured and evaluated.
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Strong
Areas of
Interest
We are particularly interested in novel innovations in any of the following areas,
but not limited to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Approaches to prevent stillbirth and preterm birth, including better monitoring
and management of labor
Approaches targeting individual and collective behaviors and social norms
(particularly gender inequality) to increase access, uptake and retention in
antenatal care, facility based labor and delivery and postnatal care, including
healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies through family planning and
postpartum family planning, early initiation of breastfeeding, Prevention of
Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and other HIV/AIDS prevention,
care and treatment services for pregnant women, infants and children.
Programs to assess and address the challenges of approaches or technologies
proven to work in high-income settings but unproven in low-income settings
such as antenatal steroids, progesterone, etc
Simple, low-cost technologies adapted or designed for use in hard-to-reach,
low-resource settings (e.g., simpler or portable technologies for newborn
resuscitation, identification and care of preterm and low-birth weight
newborns, infection management, prevention and treatment of postpartum
hemorrhage, etc)
Mechanisms to improve referral and transportation of mothers with
complications and sick newborns
Ways that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be used to
improve health, healthcare delivery, and accountability for maternal and
newborn health in low-resource areas in new, measurable, low-cost and
integrated ways.
Interventions that reduce barriers to accessing or receiving appropriate
treatment and evidence-based care, including those that increase coverage
of care around the time of birth and target specific health system bottlenecks
Solutions that recognize the critical roles of the end-user in the development
process.
Solutions that include co-funding from partners is encouraged, as this
demonstrates a key stake in project success by project partners, as well as
demand for the solution
We encourage integrated solutions that bring together cutting-edge science
and/or low-cost technologies, service delivery, and demand innovation in
transformative new ways.
Innovation
Pipeline
The Partners seek solutions across the three stages of development (seed,
validation, or transition) described below. Under this Addendum, the Partners will
place a greater focus on identifying and supporting innovations to reach scale.
Seed Funds
• Focus: Seed funds will be provided to support the development and feasibility
assessment of ideas capable of impacting health outcomes for pregnant
women and their babies in low-resource settings. It is anticipated that projects
aiming to develop early-stage prototyes and/or conduct feasibility
assessments, including those for scientific advancements, will enter the Saving
Lives at Birth program at this stage.
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•
•
Funding: Funding levels will correspond to the scope and scale of the
innovation but will generally be $250,000 USD per project.
Length of Award: Seed projects will be funded for up to two (2) years.
Validation Funds
• Focus: Validation funds will be provided to support the introduction and
validation of prototypes and innovative approaches in achieving promising
health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies in low-resource settings
(i.e. reaching proof of concept).
• Eligibility: Proposed solutions for validation funds may have been preliminarily
tested (but previous data is not required), but should not be current standard
practice; however, innovative variations on existing approaches may be
considered (e.g., a new means to deliver an existing service or a new way to
make an old model demonstrably more effective or cost effective). Previous
Saving Lives at Birth seed awardees are eligible to apply. However, applicants
do not need a previous seed award to be eligible for validation funds.
• Funding: Funding levels will correspond to the scope and scale of the
innovation but will generally be $250,000 USD per project.
• Length of Award: Validation projects will be funded for up to two (2) years.
Transition Funds
• Focus: Transition awards are intended to further develop, refine and rigorously
test the impact of integrated solutions that have strong evidence in a
controlled or limited setting of promising health outcome(s) and/or the
reduction of significant barrier(s) to health and demand for the solution. These
integrated solutions have the potential to credibly scale to improve the lives of
millions of pregnant women and newborns in multiple countries.
• Eligibility: Projects for transition funds must have strong evidence in a
controlled or limited setting of promising health outcome(s) and/or the
reduction of significant barrier(s) to health (i.e., proof of concept) and demand
for the solution to warrant expanded support. Submissions must provide
sufficient and credible evidence to demonstrate their proof of concept and
the link to positive impact on maternal and newborn health. Without sufficent
evidence, prospective partners should consider submitting an expression of
interest for another type of award (seed or validation). Transition Funds will be
limited to integrated solutions only (approaches that integrate science and
technology, service delivery, and demand creation domains in innovative
ways). All three components (science and technology, service delivery, and
demand creation) do not need to be novel; the innovation may rest in the
integration of the components that enhances the effect on improved birth
outcomes over that of each component in isolation. Note that components
should be integrated in a meaningful and complementary manner, merely
combining three stand-alone components into one project is not considered
an integrated solution. A key component of achieving sustainability and scale
is partnerships. Reviewers will look for partnerships that contribute expertise
relevant to the scale and sustainability of the idea. Co-funding from partners is
encouraged, as this demonstrates a key stake in project success by project
partners, as well as demand for the solution.
• Funding: Funding levels will correspond to the scope and scale of the
innovation but will not exceed $2 million USD per project.
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Some innovations may require testing at various levels (local, regional, and
across several regions) in the transition stage. Strong justification should be
made as to how the scale of implementation corresponds to the scope of
the project.
Length of Award: Transition awards will be funded for up to four (4) years.
o
•
SECTION B: SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS
Submission
Overview
and
Timeline
Expressions of Interest must indicate the research or development idea which will
work towards discovering potential solutions with impact upon the Objective,
above, by increasing knowledge and understanding of potential solutions and
their implementation at scale, utilizing scientific discoveries or advancements in
technology, processes, methods, devices, or techniques, advancing the state of
the art, or using scientific and technical knowledge in the design, development,
testing, or evaluation of a potential new product or service (or of an improvement
in an existing product or service). The following are instructions for how proposals
shall be submitted and reviewed.
1. Expressions of Interest (EOI) shall be submitted by March 27, 2015 2:00 p.m.
EST.
2. Beginning mid-February, EOIs shall be submitted electronically via
www.savinglivesatbirth.net/apply. More guidance and instructions on
submission can be found on our website. For all submissions, it is the
applicant’s responsibility to ensure that files are complete and transmitted by
the deadline. The applicant bears full responsibility for data errors or omissions.
3. If initial review indicates the EOI merits further consideration , selected
organizations or consortia may be invited, individually or in combination, to
discuss their proposals with the Saving Lives at Birth partners. This process may
result in applicants being invited to submit concept notes and attend the
DevelopmentXChange in Washington, DC July 21-22, 2015.
DevelomentXChange: To take advantage of the presence of a variety of
development actors together in one place, the Partners will host the
DevelopmentXChange in Washington, DC (estimated to be July 21-22, 2015).
Finalists will display their innovations/innovative ideas in an open marketplace.
As part of this event, finalists will have the opportunity to network with each
other, with other development experts and innovators, and other potential
funders. Finalists will also participate in a series of workshops tailored to the
participants’ needs such as business planning, fundraising and monitoring and
evaluation. The Partners will cover the cost for one representative from each
finalist team to attend the DevelopmentXChange. Only one representative
may attend the closed sessions of the DevelopmentXChange.
4. Validation and final selection
An Executive Committee or Governing Board for each of the respective
funding mechanisms will independently review and validate the panel
recommendations to ensure consistency with applicable policies, procedures
and practices of the respective funding organization, inclusive of past
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performance evaluation. As per the BAA, the Partners may engage in codesigning the project and assisting the partner to provide additional
information with respect to the proposer’s technical approach, capacity,
management and organization, partnerships and resources, past
performance, and budget, as well as representations and certifications, as
needed. The final decision regarding awards is the responsibility of the
respective funding organization.
Unsuccessful Projects: Applicants with unsuccessful projects will receive notice
that their project was not selected.
Information
Protection
Saving Lives at Birth’s goal is to identify and scale up transformative prevention
and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns around the time
of birth. Understanding the sensitive nature of submitters’ information, USAID will
work with organizations to protect intellectual property.
Expressions of Interest should be free of any intellectual property that the submitter
wishes to protect, as the EOI will be shared with Saving Lives at Birth partners as
part of the selection process. However, once submitters have been invited to
engage in further discussions, submitters will work with USAID to identify proprietary
information that requires protection.
Therefore, organizations making submissions under the BAA Addendum hereby
grant USAID a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use, disclose,
reproduce, and prepare derivative works, and to have or permit others to do so to
any information contained in the expressions of interest submitted under the BAA
Addendum. As noted above, if Saving Lives at Birth engages further with the
organization regarding its submission, the parties can negotiate intellectual
property protection for the organization’s intellectual property.
Organizations must ensure that any submissions under the Addendum are free of
any third party proprietary data rights that would impact the license granted to
USAID herein.
Submission
Instructions
Submitters should use the following instructions and follow the simplified submission
format.
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•
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All EOI must be written in English. EOI should be written clearly and with
minimal jargon as reviewers will possess a variety of backgrounds and
technical expertise.
The EOI must be no longer than 3 pages. Any charts or tables included with
the EOI will be considered within the page limits. References and citations to
academic publications or other resources are not required but are
encouraged. If included as a separate page as end notes, references and
citations are not included in the page limits. Biographical descriptions and
letters of support are not included in the stated page limits.
All EOI must use a standard font no smaller than11-point font with one-inch
margins.
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Applicants are strongly encouraged to adhere to the submission instructions and
format found at: www.savinglivesatbirth.net/apply. This guidance includes
presentation instructions for the technical application andsupporting information
(biographical descriptions and letters of support)
Competitive applications will address:
• The anticipated results to be achieved within the lifetime of the award
• The potential scale the innovation could reach
• The context in which the solution will be delivered (e.g., the user’s needs and
wants; community characteristics; connectivity with health authorities and
existing health facilities; local leadership, government and civil society buy-in)
• How the solution will have a substantial impact on maternal and newborn
health, including how the solution will (or can) be adapted to new
environments for even greater impact
• Previous demonstrated proof-of-concept, if applicable
• How the solution will be delivered/administered (e.g., frequency of service,
personnel, etc.)
• How the solution will improve upon the best existing alternative(s) available
today and/or standard practice
• How the solution will (or can) integrate science and low-cost technology,
service delivery and demand
• How the solution addresses underlying determinants of seeking maternal
healthcare
• How the solution will work to avoid potentially harmful unintended
consequences as applicable
• How the organization is positioned to carry out the work successfully (including
organizational and financial sustainability)
• The commitment of partners that contribute expertise relevant to the scale and
sustainability of the idea as applicable
• The duration of the time required to implement proposed solution
• A concrete plan for measuring, evaluating, and sharing results
• How the solution addresses determinants of health, public policies, and other
ethical / social / cultural / legal frameworks that could limit uptake
• How the solution incorporates financial models or business systems to develop
and deliver the solution affordably and sustainably
Evaluation
Criteria
Seed, Validation, and Transition proposals will be evaluated in separate tracks
based on the following criteria. Pioneering innovation is significantly more
important than the other technical criteria.
The final award selection will be based on a combination of technical strength, cost,
and pioneering innovation.
1. Innovation
Demonstration that the proposed solution offers a creative approach to the
problem outlined in the challenge and is clearly differentiated from existing
approaches.
2. Sustained Impact
Demonstration that the proposed solution is relevant to the problem outlined
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in the challenge and potentially transformative, with attention to how impact
achieved could be sustained following the end of Saving Lives at Birth support.
3. Execution
Extent to which the proposed project objectives and interim milestones are
appropriate, feasible and technically sound within the budget and time
allocated for either seed, validation or transition funding.
4. Evaluation Plan
Extent to which the project has proposed a clear, measurable and realistic
monitoring and evaluation plan, including attention to key indicators relevant
to Saving Lives at Birth.
5. Organizational Capacity and Partnerships
Demonstration that the applicant and its partners have the necessary depth
and breadth of talent, experience and leadership in order to execute their
project.
6. Pioneering
Proposals with highest potential to achieve sustainable, groundbreaking
impact and/or to become true game changers in the field.
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