PR and Coordinating Mechanism (CM) Communication and Governance

PR-Coordinating Mechanism Communication Modalities

The Coordinating Mechanism, which includes Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) and Regional Coordinating Mechanisms (RCMs) or Regional Organizations (ROs), develops and submits grant proposals to the Global Fund based on priority needs at the national level. After grant approval, they oversee progress during implementation. The CCM – or, for a regional grant, a regional coordinating mechanism – is responsible for overseeing the performance of the grants and making strategic decisions at key opportunities during grant implementation, including endorsing requests for reprogramming or changing implementation arrangements. It is important for the Principal Recipient (PR) to maintain regular communication with the CCM at every stage of the grant cycle to ensure progress is actively monitored and any bottlenecks or challenges are addressed in a timely manner.​

Examples of PR-CCM best practice communication modalities include (but are not limited to):

• PR regularly attends CCM meetings and provides updates on grant implementation progress and implementation issues;
• PR shares with the CCM progress updates and/or disbursement requests submitted to the Global Fund including the Global Fund feedback and decision;
• PR proactively shares with the CCM any Performance Letters or Notification Letters shared by the Global Fund, in case the CCM was not copied;
• PR involves the CCM in any reprogramming and extension requests that they may submit to the Global Fund and provides evidence of CCM’s endorsement of the requests; and
• At the time of grant closure, PR involves the CCM in the preparation of the closeout plan and budget that should be endorsed by the CCM prior to submission to the Global Fund for approval.

The RO's main communicating line should be the COs, who can then reach out to the UNDP Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST) for guidance.

Governance Arrangements

All Coordinating Mechanisms should have a governance manual or a “constitution” that details the roles and responsibilities of each member and explains how the CCM, RCM, or RO will conduct oversight and conflict mitigation. In certain instances, the organization which submits the funding proposal (i.e. the Regional Organization) may also serve as a Sub-recipient (SR), thereby introducing potential conflicts of interest and potential for lack of clarity over accountability and reporting lines (UNDP-SR; UNDP-RO). A governance manual should be developed by the RO – and reviewed by UNDP for inputs --and should detail the respective roles and responsibilities of all parties. The manual should also include an agreed-upon Conflict of Interest policy for each CCM member (or equivalent for a regional organization). In practice, where there is confusion over the roles of the RO who serves a dual capacity as an SR, or lack of compliance with the policy, Country Offices are requested to contact their Programme Advisor, Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST), for guidance.