PartnersGF - 2004-05-22
Discussion and recommendations on CCMs
GF Asia Pacific Regional Consultation
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(Siem Reap, Cambodia, 21 23 April 2004)
I. Introduction and Background
This report captures the overview and recommendations on the first theme of the Partnership Forum, namely CCMs, as discussed at the Asia Pacific Regional meeting of the Global Fund held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 21 23 April 2004. The meeting was organised for Round 1, 2 and 3 grant recipients from 17 countries in the Asia Region and stakeholders and partners at country level, represented mainly by people involved in the implementation of grants including principal recipients, sub-recipients, members of civil society and the private sector, CCM members, technical partners and LFAs, supported by a team from the Global Fund Secretariat.
The regional meeting devoted almost a whole day to a discussion on the Partnership Forum themes with a view to providing input to the online discussion forum as well as to the final recommendations that will emerge from the Forum process and event.
It transpired that many of the broader issues related to implementation and in-country issues had connections to the concerns surrounding the CCM. In many cases the participants requested more formal or more comprehensive guidance from the Global Fund itself on managing the CCM issue.
II. Overview of Discussions
The discussions at the meeting were wide-ranging and although many of the topics on the agenda specifically singled out CCMs for discussion, the role, structure, responsibility and accountability of the CCM came up in almost every session as a key aspect of the implementation modality and in-country governance.
The workings groups discussed CCM structure and reached some initial conclusions regarding this aspect. They noted that to ensure national representation the selection of members should be based on selection criteria and that one of the provisions should be the assurance of constituency representation by the member. CCM members should not serve in an individual capacity but rather as representatives of a recognised constituency. CCMs should have clear Terms of Reference. Consideration should also be given to innovative mechanisms to strengthen CCM structure such as technical working groups to review applications for grant submissions or sub-national committees in large countries.
Regarding roles and responsibilities of the CCM participants pointed to what was called the three cs, namely, constituency consultation, communication and coordination. The point being that without these three essentials no CCM could perform their role adequately.
In considering the capacity of the CCM to work effectively it was noted that a stable CCM Secretariat with defined terms of reference was a considerable advantage towards a well-functioning CCM. There were exchanges of views on how to access funding to run the Secretariat and the related issues of accountability and transparency in the use of these funds.
There were also suggestions that more be done in relation to capacity building for CCMs (by accessing technical assistance from partners). This capacity building could focus on some or all of the following areas:
- review of the function and how to perform it
- the oversight role
- financial responsibilities and accountability
- disease specific training
- negotiating skills and consensus building expertise .
III. Recommendations
The following recommendations emerged on the final day of the meeting after workshops intended specifically for the development of recommendations to the Partnership Forum. The recommendations on CCMs focus on two areas recommendations to CCMs themselves and then recommendations to the Global Fund.
A: Recommendations to CCMs
- Ensure that the size of the CCM is manageable, but includes all stakeholders;
- Institute governance procedures and tools which ensure representation of Civil Society including Affected Communities; transparency and accountability through open communication forums and good information dissemination processes;
- The CCM should endorse non-CCM member proposals provided that they are technically sound and meet national objectives;
- Put in place selection/election criteria and a rotation policies for membership to CCM;
- Mechanisms should be established to enable community groups full participation in the CCM, including questions of resources to attend meetings and effectively communicate with constituencies, capacity (including addressing language issues) and skills (for example, in managing meeting procedure).
B: Recommendations to the Global Fund
- The Global Fund should develop criteria to assess if CCMs are operationalising the principles of the fund;
- The Global Fund should allow funds to strengthen technical capacity of CCM members in particular that of Civil Society for meaningful participation;
- The Global Fund should provide clarification on procedures and guidance on Conflict of Interest issues;
- The Global Fund should consider using CCM functionality as one of the criteria for Phase 2 decisions and future proposal rounds.
Summary produced and submitted by the Global Fund Secretariat
(3 May 2004)
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