Country Coordinating Mechanism of Zambia
REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
CCM of The Global Fund
to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria
Zambia Country Coordinating Mechanism(CCM-Z)
Oversight Plan
Country Coordinating Mechanism
Lusaka, Zambia
Preface
This Oversight Plan aims to guide the Country Coordinating Mechanism Zambia in carrying out its grant oversight responsibilities. It provides a framework for consistent, transparent oversight by CCM-Z of the implementation of Global Fund grants. This plan outlines the CCM-Z oversight procedures and processes.
Intended users of this manual are all members of CCM Zambia, its secretariat, and specifically the members of the CCM Zambia Oversight Committees.
Inquiries regarding the content of this manual should be directed to the Country Coordinating Mechanism Zambia.
Chairperson
Country Coordinating Mechanism Zambia
Contents
1.0 Introduction 5
1.1 Definition and Mandate 5
1.2 Principles of CCM Oversight Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.0 Institutional Arrangements: Oversight Roles and Responsibilities 7
2.1 Country Coordinating Mechanism Zambia (CCM-Z) 7
2.1.1 Full CCM-Z 7
2.1.2 CCM-Z Oversight Committees 8
2.1.3 CCM-Z Secretariat 8
2.2 Principal Recipients 9
2.3 Sub-recipients 9
2.4 The Global Fund’s Local Fund Agent (LFA) 10
3.0 Oversight System 10
3.1 Identification of a Grant’s Programmatic Indicators for Oversight 10
3.2 Oversight Data Management and Reporting Tool – The Dashboard 11
3.3 Sources of Information 11
3.4 Regular Data Collection by PRs 12
3.5 CCM-Z Analysis and Reporting 13
3.6 CCM-Z Decision Making and Follow-up 13
3.7 Reporting and Communications 15
3.8 Orientation and Training of CCM-Z Members 15
3.9 Oversight Work Plan and Budget 15
3.10 Indicators of the CCM-Z’s own Oversight Performance 16
Annex 1 Guidelines for CCM-Z Oversight Site Visits 19
Annex 2 Site Visit Reporting Forms 21
Annex 3 Orientation to Oversight for CCM-Z Members – Sample Agendas 23
Annex 4 ToR: Finance, Audit & Procurement Committee 27
Annex 5 ToR: Programme Implementation Oversight Committee 29
Annex 6 Dashboard Activity Cycle 31
Annex 7 Framework of CCM-Z Oversight Activities and Frequency 32
Terms and Acronyms
CCM / Country Coordinating MechanismCCM-Z / Country Coordinating Mechanism of Zambia
C’ttee / Committee
CP / condition precedent
FPM / Fund Portfolio Manager (Global Fund staff overseeing grants)
LFA / Local Fund Agent (of the Global Fund)
M&E / monitoring and evaluation
PR / principal recipient
PU/DR / Progress Update and Disbursement Request (by PR to Global Fund)
SR / Sub-recipient
ToR / Terms of Reference
Technical support for this Oversight Plan was made possible by the American People through USAID and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID; the United States Government; or the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Zambia Country Coordinating Mechanism
CCM Oversight Plan
1.0 Introduction
Oversight of Global Fund grants is a core function of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) and covers proposal development, grant negotiation, grant implementation, and grant closure. It is mandated by the CCM Manual of Procedure, Section 2.0: “The CCM assumes the responsibility for carrying out five major functions” including “oversight of Global Fund project implementation.”
This Oversight Plan provides the CCM-Z with a framework for consistent, transparent oversight of the implementation of Global Fund grants in Zambia-. It outlines the oversight procedures and processes. This plan is written to:
· Guide CCM-Z members in their oversight roles and responsibilities
· Support Principal Recipient(s) in the implementation of grants
· Identify bottlenecks in grant implementation and offer solutions
· Be informed of grant implementation for purposes of transparency, accountability, and the preparation of new grant proposals
· Promote stronger relationships between the PR(s) and the CCM-Z
· Describe the oversight process to other grant stakeholders
1.1 Definition of Oversight
Oversight is a coordinated set of activities including gathering information, analyzing information, taking action, and reporting on results in order to support and ensure that grant activities are implemented as planned, and that issues and bottlenecks in grant implementation are identified and resolved.
1.2 Principles of CCM Oversight
Several principles of CCM Oversight provide the framework for this Oversight Plan:
1. Oversight is a national responsibility. Following the Global Fund’s principle of performance-based funding, disbursements for on-going grants as well as the funding of future proposals depend on documented performance. The CCM has a national responsibility to ensure that Global Fund resources are being used efficiently and effectively. As stated in the Global Fund’s Guidance Paper on CCM Oversight, “the core principle of oversight is to ensure that resources – financial, material, and human – are used efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the country”.[1] CCMs therefore have a national perspective, with a unique responsibility to coordinate the overall management of Global Fund grants within the country.
2. Oversight is different from Monitoring and Evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation of activities focuses on detailed activities of program implementation, and are the appropriate responsibility of Principal Recipients and other implementing agencies. In contrast, oversight focuses on the “big picture” of grant implementation. It is a scan across grants to identify cross-cutting issues, and its emphasis is on identifying and resolving major issues threatening successful grant performance.[2]
3. Oversight focuses on several key areas. Oversight typically focuses on several questions that are at the core of effective grant implementation:
· Where is the money?
· Where are the drugs, medical supplies, and equipment?
· Are Sub Recipients receiving required resources and technical assistance as planned?
· Are the grants being implemented as planned?
· Are the results meeting the performance targets?
4. Oversight is cyclical. Oversight follows grant reporting cycles for reviewing the performance of Principal Recipients as program managers, the timely execution of work plans, and technical results compared to quarterly and annual targets.
5. Oversight is a legitimate CCM function with which Principal Recipient(s) must comply. The Global Fund requires that CCMs must hold Principal Recipients accountable for resources given to the country: In all cases, the Global Funds grant agreement includes a number of articles that give the CCM the legal authority to perform its role, and mandates the PR to cooperate with the CCM in carrying out its oversight responsibilities. These articles include:
- Article 7a: the CCM oversees the implementation of programs financed by the Global Fund.
- Article 7b: PRs are legally obligated to cooperate with CCMs and to be available to meet with them regularly to discuss plans, share information, and communicate on program-related matters. PRs are also legally obligated to provide program-related reports and information to the CCM upon request.
- Article 15: PRs are legally obligated to provide CCMs with a copy of periodic reports submitted to the Global Fund.
- Article 23: The CCM is consulted on any decisions to change PRs.
- Article 25: PRs are legally obligated to copy CCMs on all notices, requests, documents, reports, or other communication exchanges with the Global Fund Secretariat.
- Article 28b: The PR implements programs on behalf of the CCM.
Oversight by the CCM must be exercised with the support of, and in collaboration with Principal Recipients (PRs). “CCMs are required to put in place and maintain a transparent, documented process to oversee program implementation”[3] and PRs are required to provide the information needed for oversight.
Oversight requires strategic direction by the CCM to the PRs as well as consistent follow-through to assure that sub-recipients (SRs) comply with oversight recommendations and requested corrective actions.
2.0 Institutional Arrangements: Oversight Roles and Responsibilities
The key institutions involved in the Global Fund grants, starting with the overall responsibility, include the CCM, the CCM-Z Secretariat, the Principal Recipients, the Sub-Recipients, and the Global Fund’s Local Fund Agent (LFA).
2.1 Country Coordinating Mechanism Zambia (CCM-Z)
2.1.1 Full CCM-Z
The full CCM has the overall responsibility for oversight. While some of the functions below may be delegated to the CCM-Z’s Oversight Committees (see below) the CCM-Z’s responsibility is to:
· Gather information about the grants
· Understand the status and progress of each grant through dashboard reports to the CCM-Z[4] and Progress Update and Disbursement Requests (PU/DRs) submitted by each PR to the Global Fund, taking into consideration the comments of the Oversight Committees
· Seek clarification from the PR on issues arising from the reports
· Seek additional information through site visits as needed (see Annexes 1 and 2 for site visit guidelines)
· Review other information as needed
· Analyze information
· Identify and understand key successes
· Identify and understand key issues and bottlenecks
· Review the recommendations of the Oversight Committees
· Take action
· Decide on which actions should be taken to overcome problems and bottlenecks and to strengthen the grants (actions may include gathering more information needed to resolve a problem)
· Receive feedback on and monitor the status of the recommended actions
· Report
· Report back to the CCM-Z on the progress (to be included in minutes)
In addition, the CCM-Z will
· Review this oversight plan periodically to address challenges and issues emerging over time
· Organize sessions at least once a year to orient or re-orient its members to their oversight role (see Annex 3 for sample orientation agendas)
2.1.2 CCM-Z Oversight Committees
To fulfill its oversight function, the CCM-Z has delegated the oversight activities to two committees: i) Finance, Audit & Procurement Oversight Committee and ii) Programme Implementation Oversight Committee. These Oversight Committees are established in the CCM-Z’s Manual of Procedure, as is the selection of committee members (including both CCM members and external technical experts). The main function of the CCM-Z’s Oversight Committees is to support the full CCM-Z in overseeing each grant. Members must be particularly sensitive to conflict of interest.
Specifically, the Oversight Committees will:
· Gather information about the grants
· Review all Progress Update and Disbursement Requests (PU/DRs) submitted by each PR to the Global Fund
· Review and make comments on the dashboard reports
· Seek clarification from the PR on issues arising from the dashboard reports
· Seek additional information through site visits as needed, with each grant to be visited at least every 12 months (2 trips a year, each planned to cover multiple grants)
· Review other information as needed
· Analyze information:
· Identify key issues and bottlenecks
· Develop recommendations for consideration by Full CCM-Z
· Present the dashboard and other oversight reports, with recommendations to the Full CCM-Z
· Take action
· Monitor the follow-up of the full CCM-Z’s decisions for needed actions
· Report
· Report to the CCM-Z on the process for follow up on the CCM-Z decisions (such as site visits, and special investigation)
It is expected that each Oversight Committee will meet at least once per quarter, synchronizing with the quarterly CCM-Z meetings and quarterly dashboard reports. Annexes 4-5 include the Terms of Reference for the Oversight Committees.
2.1.3 CCM-Z Secretariat
The Secretariat plays an important role in supporting the work of the Oversight Committees and CCM-Z by:
· Organizing orientations and capacity building for CCM-Z members.
· Assisting with routine reporting by the Oversight Committees to the full CCM-Z
· Reviewing the dashboard submitted by each PR: data, comments, and graphs
· Providing the dashboards to the CCM-Z Oversight Committees for review, analysis, comments, and recommendations
· Assisting the oversight committee to seek clarification from the PR on issues identified through the dashboard reports
· Circulating to CCM-Z members the dashboard reports with the Oversight Committees’ comments and recommendations recorded
· Recording in each dashboard the CCM-Z’s decisions regarding any actions to be taken to support the grant
· Maintaining the dashboard archive
· Assisting the PR and Oversight Committees to organize and carry out site visits
· Keeping an up-to-date log of CCM-Z actions and status of the implementation of the actions
2.2 Principal Recipients
An organization acting as the Principal Recipient (PR) has the overall responsibility for monitoring and evaluating its grant. The PR receives reports from sub-recipients, verifies and analyses the data to ensure completeness, accuracy and quality. The PR then completes the Progress Update and Disbursement Request (PU/DR) report, which is submitted to the LFA within 45 days of the end of the reporting period.
In accepting a Global Fund grant, a PR agrees to support the CCM’s oversight role. “The Principal Recipient must cooperate with the CCM and the Global Fund … The Principal Recipient shall be available to meet regularly with the CCM … The Principal Recipient shall provide to the CCM, upon request of the CCM, a copy of the reports and material information relating to the program for information purposes. This may include but is not limited to Requests for Disbursements, items delivered to fulfill a condition precedent, implementation letters and any amendment to this Agreement. In addition, the Principal Recipient shall assist the CCM in the preparation of any Request for Continued Funding. The Principal Recipient understands that the Global Fund may, in its sole discretion, share any information about the Program with the CCM.”[5]
Thus, the role of a PR in the CCM-Z oversight is to:
· Submit data regularly to the CCM-Z – in the form of PU/DRs and dashboard reports
· Submit to the CCM-Z copies of all significant documents (including Grant Agreements, Implementation Letters, audit reports, etc.)
· Provide data to the CCM-Z, on request, on specific issues
· Assist the CCM-Z to arrange and carry out oversight site visits
2.3 Sub-recipients
Sub-recipients and some principal recipients are responsible for direct implementation of the grants. Each sub-recipient (SR) has contractual relationship with a principal recipient (PR), and it is obligated to deliver on specific targets of the programme. These organisations are typically Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), Private Sector Organisations and Line Ministries. They submit activity and financial reports on the grants to their PR for HIV/ AIDS, TB and Malaria activities, based on their work plan and on monitoring guidelines provided by the PR.