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8th Floor, ABC Towers, ABC Place, Waiyaki Way,
PO Box 40612‐00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +252 20 2806000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mnhcicf.org The County Innovation Challenge Fund Frequently Asked Questions (As at April 2015) The Fund 1. What is the County Innovation Challenge Fund? The County Innovation Challenge Fund (CICF) is a £16 million, three‐year grant fund created in 2015. The CICF is funded by the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) supporting the Government of Kenya’s (GOK) efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. 2. Which counties does CICF target? The CICF can only support projects implemented in one or more of the following six counties: Bungoma, Garissa, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Nairobi (Embakasi and Kamukunji only) and Turkana. 3. Who are the target beneficiaries of the challenge fund? The Fund will support the design and delivery of innovative interventions, products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that will reduce maternal and newborn mortality. These need to be readily available to one or more of the following: 
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poor women of reproductive age county and sub‐county health management teams health facilities and community units 4. How does CICF operate? The Fund is organised as a challenge fund running competitions. It will invite applications for funding in at least two separate funding rounds. Each will offer two separate funding competitions, the innovation competition, and the scaling competition. The first round of competitions will be open on 27 March 2015 and funding applications will be due on 31 May 2015. The Fund plans to open a second round of competitions on 1 June 2015 and funding applications will be due in 31 July 2015. 8th Floor, ABC Towers, ABC Place, Waiyaki Way,
PO Box 40612‐00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +252 20 2806000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mnhcicf.org 5. What type of projects do you target to fund? Funding applications to the Innovation Competition should demonstrate new and untried innovative local solutions in service delivery, financing, technology, processes and products that are readily available to and will impact quality of maternal and new‐born health services in low‐resource settings. Funding applications to the Scaling Competition should demonstrate deliberate efforts to increase impact of innovative interventions, service models or technologies; that have been successfully tested and are supported by evidence of programmatic effectiveness and can easily be replicated to benefit more people, is sustainable and can demonstrate potential to improve quality of maternal and new‐
born health services in low‐resource settings. 6. Who can apply for CICF funding? The Fund will consider applications from legally registered organisations that have been in operation for more than 2 years. These can be international, national or community based organisations/institutions from non‐governmental organisations, faith‐based organisations, civil society organisations, academic or research institutions, innovation hubs, social enterprises or private sector organisations. The Application Process 7. How do I apply for CICF funding? From the website (www.mnchcicf.org), you need to download and complete the application form and submit it to the Fund before the deadline of each competition. The application will require you to provide some basic information about your company and an outline description of the project you are proposing. 8. How many applications can be made per organisation? The Fund allows multiple submissions from an institution/organisation. We encourage applicants to submit their best idea(s). 9. Do I have to be based in an eligible county to apply? No. As long as the project is going to be implemented in at least one of the six target counties and has a positive impact towards increasing access to and utilisation of quality maternal and newborn health services, you can apply for CICF funding. 8th Floor, ABC Towers, ABC Place, Waiyaki Way,
PO Box 40612‐00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +252 20 2806000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mnhcicf.org 10. What is the maximum amount I can ask for from CICF? Project funding will respond to the scope and scale of the innovation but will be limited to a maximum of £250,000 per innovation project and £1,000,000 per scaling project. 11. What size of organisation should apply for CICF? Only registered organisations that have been operating for more than 2 years can apply. There is no specific limit on the size of the organisation, however, grantees should only request for a grant that their organisations could absorb. 12. Can two or more organisations apply for CICF as a consortium? Yes. However, one organisation must be the lead recipient responsible for the implementation of the project. 13. What should I include in my application? The application form that is downloadable from the website is a template that contains information on what to include in your application form. 14. How will I know whether I am successful or not? The CICF will communicate the results of your application through the email address from which you submitted the application. This will include, in brief, information on why you were not successful to enable you prepare better for another competition. 15. How long will it take to know my application results? First step, allocation of unique application numbers. When the competition closes, the CICF will acknowledge receipt of the funding application using the submission email. Once the funding application has been processed, and if your application is correctly completed, the Fund will send you a Unique Project ID Number through email. This process will be completed within 2 weeks of the closing date. Second step, assessment of the funding application. The assessment of the application will take about 2 months from the closing date. At this point, the Grants Selection Committee will have met and provisionally selected projects that receive funding. 16. If I was not successful in the first round, can I apply for the second round? Applicants who were not successful in the first round can apply for the second round. However, they do well to take into account feedback provided in the first application. 8th Floor, ABC Towers, ABC Place, Waiyaki Way,
PO Box 40612‐00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +252 20 2806000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mnhcicf.org 17. For how long will my project be funded? The CICF will fund Innovation and Scale‐up projects for a period of up to 21 months. 18. Are matching funds required? No. The Fund does not have a matching fund requirement. 19. If I am successful, what are the conditions of the CICF grant? The terms and conditions of the CICF grant are contained in the CICF grant agreement and will be communicated once an applicant is successful but before the grant agreement signing. This includes information on project implementation monitoring and review. 20. Whom may I contact to discuss about my application before submission? All queries regarding your application can be channelled through [email protected].