Applications are now open for the 2020-2021
ESTHER Ireland Grant Program, it has evolved from previous years, based on more
than five years of learning from Irish-South health partnerships, including
internal and external evaluations in 2017. This round of grants reflects the
current global and Irish context with COVID-19 and lessons learned from the
pandemic.
ESTHER Ireland welcome applications from partnerships involving different types
of health institutions, including hospitals, primary care services, public
health units, education and training organisations, universities, and
Government health departments.
As with previous calls, this round of grants has
two categories:
- Band 1: New Partnership Grants:
Irish health organisations and institutions are eligible to apply for a
Band 1 grant to facilitate the development of a new link or partnership
with a counterpart organisation or institution in a low-or middle- income
country. In the context of this programme, they consider a new partnership
to be one that has recently started to work together or has not yet
started working together but has taken preliminarysteps. It should
demonstrate a commitment to adhere to the ESTHER principles of Quality of
Partnerships. Intended outcomes from activities implemented under this
scheme could include formalising an agreement such as an MOU between
partners or developing a shared vision and action plan. Grants must be
spent within 12 months of disbursement.
- Band 2: Established Partnership
Grants: Applications are invited from Irish health institutions and
organisations engaged in established health partnerships. They consider an
established partnership to be one that has been working together for more
than a year and has been formalised, such as through a Memorandum of
Understanding. Partnerships must demonstrate clear evidence of quality of
partnership, such as receiving ESTHER Accreditation for Quality of
Partnership. Partnerships may apply for grants to:
- Implement small scale
innovations or pilot projects
- Undertake activities that
strengthen the working relationship between the partners (e.g. exchange
visits, stakeholder meetings, communication system)
- Build capacity within the
existing partnership to enable it to initiate and implement projects and
programmes (e.g. skills building workshops)
Funding Information
- The ceiling for Band 1 grants
is €8,000.
- The ceiling for Band 2 grants
is €10,000.
Criteria
- Band 1
- Higher priority is given to
partnerships in countries with official Government links through Irish
Aid and/or the HSE:
- Irish Aid key partner
countries providing bilateral support to the health sector (Mozambique,
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Liberia)
- Other Irish Aid key partner
countries (e.g. Zambia, Malawi, Uganda)
- Countries in which HSE is
engaged with through formal agreements (e.g. Mozambique, Sudan, Zambia,
Sierra Leone)
- Coherent with objectives of
Irish Aid development policy, A Better World
- Grant funding should achieve
value for money. Having co-funding is considered an advantage.
- Successful partnerships should
be willing to produce a case study.
- Band 2
- Partnerships should
demonstrate a clear theory of change for how they will improve health
services and health outcomes. Change pathways may include one or more of
a range of interventions areas such as education, training, mentoring,
exchange visits, technical support, service quality improvement and
research.
- Higher priority is given to
partnerships in countries with official Government links through Irish
Aid and/or the HSE:
- Irish Aid key partner
countries providing bilateral support to the health sector (Mozambique,
Ethiopia, Tanzania)
- Other Irish Aid key partner
countries (e.g. Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Sierra Leone)
- Countries in which HSE is
engaged with through formal agreements (e.g. Mozambique, Sudan,
Zambia)
- Preference is given to
partnerships with greater potential to achieve impact:
- Aim to strengthen the
capacity of health institutions to address local health priorities and
unmet health service needs
- Contribute to health systems
strengthening and universal health coverage
- Contribute to and support the
COVID-19 response in partners’ countries.
- Coherent with Irish Aid
development policy, A Better World
- Grant funding should achieve
value for money. Having co-funding is considered an advantage.
- Successful partnerships should
be willing to monitor their partnership using the ESTHER Pilot Effect
Tool and produce a case study.
Post Date - 30-Nov-2020