CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The Pandemic Fund has opened its first Call for Proposals (CfP) on March 3, 2023 and is inviting interested Eligible Countries, Regional Entities and Implementing Entities to develop full proposals for potential projects to be supported by this initial funding. The submission portal will open on May 1 and will be closed on May 19, 2023.
The Pandemic Fund Governing Board has approved an envelope of $300 million in financing for its first round of funding to help developing countries better prepare for and respond to future pandemics.
Timeline and process for the first round of funding
January 31, 2023:
Launch of the first round of funding.
February 3 -24, 2023:
Submission of Expression of Interests (EOI). This was a voluntary step and over 600 proposals have been received. The Secretariat will be in touch with those who submitted EOIs shortly to confirm receipt and eligibility of the EOI, as well as address questions or requests made by the applicants.
March 3 – May 19, 2023:
Development of detailed proposals. This is a mandatory step for all applicants requesting financing. For more information, please see the documents section.
May 1-19, 2023:
Submission of proposals through the Pandemic Fund Application Portal.
May – June 2023:
Review of eligible proposals by the Technical Advisory Panel.
July 2023:
Review of eligible proposals by the Governing Board. Announcement of selected proposals to be funded
Priority areas of funding
This Call for Proposals will prioritize high-impact investments in: i) comprehensive disease surveillance and early warning; ii) laboratory systems; and iii) human resources and public health and community workforce capacity, in line with relevant Joint External Evaluation 3rd edition (JEE) targets, National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), One Health and related national and regional health and community systems strengthening plans, as applicable, as well as with the Pandemic Fund’s Results Framework.
Financing is intended for projects that will help strengthen core capacities in one or more of these three priority areas, which present the promise of generating a visible impact in terms of prevention and preparedness to effectively detect and respond to disease outbreaks.
The deadline for submission of proposals is May 19, 2023 at 23:59 Eastern Time.
For details on eligibility and other requirements, please download the Cover Note and annexes below.
Call for Proposals – Cover Note
Annex 2 – Funding Proposal Template
Annex 3 – TAP Evaluation Scoring and Weighting Methodology
Annex 4 – Guiding Principles for Co-financing, Co-investment and Country Ownership
The Cover Note and select Annexes are also available in the other six official World Bank languages below for your convenience, however the English version should be used as the base.
Arabic / عربي [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Chinese / 中文 [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
French / Français [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Portuguese (Continental) / Português continental [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Portuguese (Brazilian) / Português brasileiro [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Russian / русский [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Spanish / Español [Cover Letter] [Annex 2] [Annex 3]
Information Session Recording and Presentation
To view the information session recording, please click the following link and type the passcode: HL73&A=G.
How to submit your proposal
The Funding Proposal Template should be completed on the Pandemic Fund’s application portal here:
https://worldbank.smapply.io/prog/the_pandemic_fund_first_call_for_proposal
Please see here a video on how to access the application portal and submit your application
For additional information, please refer to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs), which will be continuously updated.
If you have other questions or require technical support on the application portal, please submit a question to the HelpDesk using this https://airtable.com/shrfypb56KOmP2Emk. The HelpDesk will be continuously monitored until May 19.
In the case that you have difficulties or constraints in accessing the portal, or any question related to the Call for Proposals, please contact the Pandemic Fund Secretariat at pandemicfundcfp@worldbank.org.
Language of submission
Proposals, including all accompanying documentation, should be submitted in English. If you will have difficulties submitting the proposal and accompanying documentation in English, please contact the Secretariat by May 1, 2023 at pandemicfundcfp@worldbank.org to make alternative arrangements.
Privacy Notice
To participate in this Call for Proposals, the World Bank will collect personal details pertaining to name, business email, business phone, business address and signature. This data will be destroyed 3 years after the end of the completion of the selection process, except for the selected proposals, where information associated with the applicants’ names may be published by the World Bank and kept for longer. The World Bank may also collect additional information which will be used to produce statistics and aggregated analysis, but such information will be kept in an anonymized format. The World Bank will process your details in accordance with the Call for Proposals and with our Privacy Notice for the World Bank webpages. By submitting a proposal, you agree to World Bank’s use of your proposal details and processing of your personal data as part of the application process. The World Bank may also publish the applicant’s name in the official page of the Call for Proposals.
ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES AND REGIONAL ENTITIES
All countries that are eligible to receive financing from the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) are eligible to apply for project funding from the Pandemic Fund (Eligible Countries).
Regional entities or platforms that are specialized technical institutions established by the governments of one or more Eligible Country (-ies) to support their public health initiatives and strengthen pandemic PPR capacity. Regional development communities or economic organizations may also be considered. Regional arms of a global organization, generally consisting of Member States grouped within a geographical region of that global organization, would typically not be eligible.
The Pandemic Fund will channel its financing under this first round through the Implementing Entities that have been approved to date by the Board to support project implementation. Each proposal must identify at least one Implementing Entity from among the thirteen (13) currently approved Implementing Entities: African Development Bank; Asian Development Bank; Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; European Investment Bank; Inter-American Development Bank; International Finance Corporation; World Bank; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; UNICEF; World Health Organization; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.