The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition has launched a new Innovation Fund that promises to translate into action new ideas and approaches for advancing global reproductive health supply security. Made possible by a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Innovation Fund will provide over US$2 million over the next two years to member organizations in each of the Coalition’s three Working Groups.

The aim of the Innovation Fund is to further the Coalition’s strategic vision and goals. It does so by enabling member organizations of the Coalition’s three Working Groups to undertake activities in line with their Group’s objectives and workplans. All proposed activities must have been discussed and vetted by Working Group members and endorsed by the relevant Working Group leader.

Applicants to the Innovation Fund must be active members of a Working Group, and routine participants in that Group’s meetings, communications, and decision-making processes. The proposed activity must also correspond to the specific thematic focus of the Working Group (market development, resource mobilization, or systems strengthening) to which the applicant belongs. Application materials and instructions for each round of funding can be accessed by clicking on the link at right.

Funding applications are reviewed three times a year by a panel comprising representatives of the Executive Committee, the Secretariat, and PATH, supplemented as necessary by relevant technical experts. The next deadline for receipt is posted on the top of the page.

The Innovation Fund is currently supporting the following activities:

Round 1

• John Snow, Inc. and Abt Associates of the Market Development Approaches Working Group are jointly conducting a Total Market Initiative in Honduras. The eight-month effort aims to facilitate collaboration among providers of family planning products and services, as well as to segment the family planning market to better meet the needs of clients.
• John Snow, Inc. of the Systems Strengthening Working Group is completing a comprehensive inventory of English- French-, and Spanish-language professional development training programs for public-sector supply chain managers in developing countries.
• Marie Stopes International of the Systems Strengthening Working Group is conducting an assessment of logistics systems in three crisis settings, with a view toward understanding better the challenges facing agencies that deliver emergency RH supplies.

Round 2

• Action Canada for Population and Development  of the Resource Mobilization and Awareness Working Group is using Canada’s upcoming Presidency of the G8 to heighten global awareness of Canada’s contribution to commodity security, and to increase Canadian government support for the issue and for the work of the Coalition.
• Équilibres & Populations of the Resource Mobilization and Awareness Working Group is undertaking a two-year effort to raise awareness of supply security, particularly in francophone Africa, and to strengthen the French-language networks, communications media, and other tools needed to meet countries' supply needs.
• Marie Stopes International, Futures Group, and UNFPA/Madagascar of the Market Development Approaches Working Group are jointly conducting an evidence-based Total Market Initiative in Madagascar. The fifteen-month collaborative effort aims to build public sector support for a total market approach by demonstrating how greater involvement of the private sector can increase contraceptive prevalence and benefit the country’s vulnerable and poor populations.
• Population Action International of the Resource Mobilization and Awareness Working Group is producing and promoting an advocacy film, which is designed to put a human face on the issue of reproductive health supplies. This film will showcase the work of Coalition members and partners, and provide advocates with a powerful means to communicate key advocacy messages.

Round 3

• John Snow, Inc., through the Systems Strengthening Working Group, will identify, develop, and disseminate best practices in supply chain management for community based distribution programs, thereby helping to increase access to family planning products and services.
• The Concept Foundation, through the Market Development Approaches Working Group, will raise awareness of the WHO Prequalification Program and calculate the potential benefits to manufacturers of becoming prequalified. The initiative will identify hormonal contraceptive manufactures with the best prospects for achieving WHO prequalification in the shortest timeframe and will help them understand the actions, level of investment, and time requirements needed to do so. Click here for more information.
• John Snow, Inc., through the Systems Strengthening Working Group, will strengthen the effectiveness of AccessRH by exploring factors that drive manufacturers' business practices and market behaviors; this will ultimately shape successful buyer-supplier partnerships. The initiative will also call on the knowledge and skills of the Coalition's Working Groups as a means of increasing global awareness and uptake of the new procurement mechanism.