The USG SI team will develop an Annual Program Statement (APS) that will solicit proposals from international and Mozambican NGOs. This mechanism is proposed in response to a comprehensive review of the SI M&E TA portfolio in country which demonstrated multiple areas of redundancy within USG and between USG and other donors and areas of untapped potential for collaborations with other stakeholders. The APS offers the opportunity to strategically redesign USG technical assistance for M&E to include more local partners, to better align with national institutions and other donors, and to have more flexible funding mechanisms that leverage USG efforts in other areas such as malaria and maternal child health to provide more effective TA and thus build more capacity for M&E within all levels of the HIV multisectoral response. The APS will align with the Partnership Framework goals of engagement, flexibility, and decentralization with a primary goal of ensuring a focused and comprehensive approach to TA in all M&E activities where USG supports GOM at the central and provincial levels. The APS will focus on capacity building and TA to the NAC and the Ministry of Women and Social Action (MMAS) and improving linkages to the better-developed data systems of the MOH to improve coordination within the national response. Activities will include training and harmonization of information systems related to M&E, and enhancement of technical and financial capacity of provincial and local units of both GOM and civil society institutions related to the NAC (provincial level Multisectoral Working Groups). To be determined partner(s) will be required to engage other stakeholders such as UNAIDS and ensure that activities are complementary and well-coordinated.

Under this APS, preference will be given to local partners and all international partners will be required to include capacity building activities and to delineate a clear strategy for transition of knowledge and skills to local staff institutions and staff. Activities will focus primarily on the central and provincial level capacity building. While it is expected that the geographic coverage will be in at least 6 of the 11 national provinces, these decisions will be coordinated with the partners based on their regional capacity and the specific areas of geographic need as defined by the NAC. In line with priorities provided to USG by NAC and MMAS, the APS will focus on M&E capacity building and support in the two areas covered by these two Ministries, support and coordination for the multisectoral HIV response in Mozambique and for all activities related to OVC, respectively.

The implementing partner(s) of this APS will be responsible for developing a work plan that will provide benchmarks and critical performance indicators that will be regularly reported during the life of the APS. Benchmarks combined with quantitative indicators will provide a nuanced assessment of partner performance for the range of activities.

The APS will provide cross-cutting M&E support to both GOM institutions and selected civil-society organizations. Activities will specifically include development/improvement/implementation of data systems and tools and training and mentorship in data analysis and use and evidence-based program planning. The APS activities will ensure that critical GOM and civil society staff have the M&E skills necessary for a robust multisectoral response to the HIV epidemic in Mozambique and a response that is managed and driven by Mozambicans.

It is expected that this APS will provide cost-efficiencies over time after initial investments in infrastructure and training yield more efficient systems and help define best practices. All APS activities will be assessed for compatibility and coordination with other USG and other donor activities to eliminate duplicative resource allocation. In particular, the APS activities will seek to harmonize and institutionalize M&E training to ensure that the right people are trained on the right content within defined national standards and programs.

The implementing partner(s) will work with central- and provincial level MMAS staff throughout Mozambique and community based organizations working in the area of OVC programs to increase M&E capacity and technical assistance. Specifically, the implementing partner(s) will work with both the

central- and provincial-level MMAS staff to develop and implement a tool that will lead to the collection and reporting of a national OVC data set. Currently, there is very little information around the level of OVC services being provided by the GOM. The implementing partner(s) will work with MMAS to develop this tool and ensure its utilization at the provincial-level. In addition, the implementing partner(s) will be reponsible for supporting the implementation of a standardized set of OVC patient-tracking tools at the point-of-service level. In addition, the implementing partner(s) will be responsible for ensuring M&E capacity at the provincial-level MMAS and civil society and community organization offering OVC services.

As a new initiative and as a central focus for FY 2010 M&E activities, this APS and the associated

implementing partner(s) will provide national-level capacity building to GOM institutions and select

Mozambican NGOs. At this central level, the implementing partner(s) will continue to work with critical

staff at NAC and MMAS to support the development of strategic implementation plans and methods. In

addition, the implementing partner(s) will identify critical Mozambican NGOs and work towards increasing

M&E capacity. It is expected that these selected Mozambican NGOs can potentially become prime SI

USG implementing partner(s) in the future.

A key priority of this APS will be for the implementing partner(s) to increase the capacity of local institutions to design, implement and develop monitoring and evaluation activities that respond to the Mozambican epidemic. The program should enhance the technical and organizational capacity of local nongovernmental organizations (NGO), community based organizations (CBO), faith based organizations (FBO), community members, and/or government institutions.

The primary areas of focus will include knowledge and skills of monitoring and evaluation, epidemiology, surveillance, data quality assurance and assesment and program management and leadership. The implementing partner(s) will follow-up on other M&E systems strengthening activities taking place in Mozambique to ensure the continued harmonization and institutionalization of M&E core concepts and technqiues at selected learning institutions and within key goverment of Mozambique institutions.

The implementing partner(s) will be responsible for ensuring increased M&E capacity and strengthened

systems at both the central- and provincial-level around HIV Other Prevention activities. In this capacity,

the implementing partner(s) will develop a plan of M&E capacity building and technical assistance that

will reach both GOM and civil society staff. Specifically, the implementing partner(s) will focus on

ensuring that M&E systems are supported to allow for accurate and timely data collection and monitoring

around OP activities at the provincial and point-of-service level. In addition, the implementing partner(s)

will ensure that provincial-level staff are equipped with the capacity to utilize data for evidence-based

programming around OP activities. In addition, the implementing partner(s) will work with the NAC to

identify and hire provincial-level technical advisors that will support the provincial-level NAC offices in

improved OP intervention planning and development. The implementing partner(s) will also work with

these staff providing technical assistance to the provincial-level NAC to ensure that data collection

activities and data quality assurance activities are able to be implemented at the district and point-of-

service level. In addition, the implementing partner(s) will work with NAC and provide support in

increasing the capacity and scope of the district-level staff structures and knowledge base. Provincial and

district level outlets of the NAC have limited resources and are not empowered to provide the leadership

necessary for a multisectoral response at a local level. Activities will focus on training in the technical

aspects of M&E but also emphasize systems development and use of local data to drive programming at

the local level.