Improving Evaluation Capacity within the Government of Tanzania under the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The grant opportunity "Improving Evaluation Capacity within the Government of Tanzania under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)" is a CDC-funded cooperative agreement designed to strengthen Tanzania's ability to generate, manage, and use high-quality evidence for HIV and broader public health decision-making. The award focuses on building durable evaluation, research, laboratory quality, and data systems capacity within the Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), with the broader goal of improving the credibility and policy impact of research and strengthening the country's readiness to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. Because it is structured as a cooperative agreement, the CDC is expected to remain actively involved with the recipient through ongoing technical collaboration rather than operating as a hands-off funder.

At the core of the approach is targeted institutional capacity building, combining hands-on mentoring, formal training, and routine technical coordination to improve how research is designed, reviewed, implemented, and translated into action. A major component is coaching and mentoring support from RTI to NIMR's Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) research team. This is intended to raise day-to-day research performance through practical guidance on methods, operations, and quality standards, not just one-time workshops. Alongside mentoring, the opportunity emphasizes collaborative protocol development so that NIMR and partners can produce clear, scientifically credible, relevant, and feasible research protocols that can be executed within real-world constraints and still meet international standards.

The activities laid out in the announcement show a strong emphasis on improving research governance and ethical review processes, which are essential for credible evaluation and timely evidence generation. NIMR is expected to hold routine technical meetings with CDC to work through issues related to research databases, protocol development, and ethics clearance. This regular cadence is meant to reduce bottlenecks that often slow research and evaluation, while improving consistency, documentation, and quality control. Another key activity is engagement in collaborative meetings with Tanzania's Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), linking NIMR's research capacity with applied epidemiology and outbreak investigation systems. The intended result is a stronger interface between research institutions and frontline public health response capabilities.

Laboratory and quality assurance elements are also included as enabling conditions for credible public health evidence. The opportunity highlights the need for proper laboratory maintenance agreements, appropriate analysis and storage of samples, and an improved working environment for the National Health Laboratory Quality Assurance and Training Centre (NHLQATC) so it can carry out its core functions reliably. These elements matter because evaluation capacity is not only about statistics and reports; it also depends on dependable specimen handling, testing quality, and laboratory systems that produce trustworthy data for surveillance, research, and program monitoring.

A major data-system component involves strengthening the Master Facility List (MFL) and expanding the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for planning and equity-focused decision-making. NIMR is expected to develop standards for the MFL system and to continuously update and validate the MFL database so that facility information is accurate, consistent, and usable for program management. Building on that foundation, NIMR is tasked with empowering councils to use GIS as a practical planning tool and providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), vertical programs, and districts on GIS use. The goal is to enable more sophisticated mapping of service coverage and disparities, so policymakers and implementers can identify gaps, target resources, and track progress in prevention and disease management.

The opportunity describes outcomes across short-, intermediate-, and long-term horizons. In the short term (roughly 1 to 2 years), the emphasis is on putting basic systems and supports in place: laboratory maintenance agreements are established, samples are correctly analyzed and stored, and the NHLQATC working environment is improved so core functions can be performed consistently. On the research side, early gains are expected in practical skills and process improvements, including stronger ability to engage in and conduct quality research, better dissemination of findings in a timely way, and more systematized and thorough ethical review processes. These near-term changes are designed to reduce common barriers like unclear protocols, slow approvals, and weak documentation, all of which undermine evaluation quality and usefulness.

In the intermediate term (about 3 to 4 years), the grant aims to translate these foundational improvements into stronger operational performance and greater responsiveness to public health threats. With sustained training, mentoring, and coordination with CDC and FELTP, NIMR is expected to improve its ability to communicate during and support outbreak investigations, which contributes to earlier detection and faster response. At the same time, the MFL and GIS work should mature into more proficient, routine use of geospatial information to document disparities and inform program and policy development. This period is essentially about moving from capacity "inputs" (training, meetings, standards) to capacity "outputs" (better investigations, better planning tools, better applied analytics used by councils and programs).

In the long term (around 5 years), the desired outcome is an enhanced research and investigative capacity at NIMR that produces credible, policy-relevant evidence with real impact on practice. The announcement explicitly points to improved delivery of credible research that influences policies and programs, which is the ultimate test of evaluation capacity: not simply producing studies, but producing findings that decision-makers trust and can use. By strengthening ethical review systems, research protocol quality, laboratory support functions, outbreak-related collaboration, and national facility and GIS data systems, the grant is designed to leave behind lasting institutional capabilities rather than short-lived project outputs.

Administratively, this opportunity was posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA GH15-1589, within the health category and tied to CFDA 93.067 (Global AIDS). It anticipated a single award with an estimated total funding amount of $3,500,000, with an award ceiling of $3,500,000 and a floor of $700,000, and no cost-sharing requirement. Eligibility was limited to the Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), reflecting the intent to directly strengthen government-affiliated national research capacity. The announcement was originally posted in December 2014, with the application due date in January 2015, and it was later archived in February 2015. For applicants needing access support at the time, the CDC Procurement and Grants Office contact information was provided (pgotim@cdc.gov; 770-488-2700).

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