Social Accountability for RMNCAH Shout Out for Health A global competition to generate public demand for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents A BMGF-UNICEF Collaboration

UNICEF and BMGF are implementing a 2-year project focused on social accountability for reproductive, maternal, newborn, adolescent and child health (RMNCAH) The project aims to strengthen public demand and accountability for nationally-led RMNCAH efforts A portion of the project’s funds (approximately USD $750,000) is dedicated to supporting innovative small-scale social accountability activities, ideally in middle and upper-middle income countries UNICEF Country Offices are invited to submit 1 page proposals for grants ranging in value from USD $ ,000 Country activities will be implemented from Q Q Approximately 5-7 Country Offices will be awarded funding What’s it about?

What do we mean by social accountability for RMNCAH? An approach that mobilizes citizens or civil society organizations (CSOs) to hold policymakers (and each other) accountable for commitments made on behalf of RMNCAH. The activities and strategies may vary by context, but the focus on generating public demand for RMNCAH should be constant across all aspects of the project.

UNICEF COs are invited to submit a 2 page concept note (1 page narrative and 1 page budget) that describes how they plan to mobilize citizens to demand improved outcomes for RMNCAH Country activities should focus on 1-2 national RMNCAH priorities RMNCAH priorities could include thematic topics, such as newborn care, specific population groups, such as adolescent girls, or particular geographic settings, such as urban contexts The winning proposals will be selected by a cross-sectoral advisory panel at UNICEF HQ and announced in Q The competition will be advertised via ICON, a Global Broadcast Message and thematic networks (i.e. the Community Health Working Group) How do UNICEF Country Offices get involved?

What’s in a country proposal? What national RMNCAH priority (or priorities) do you want to address? Who do you aim to influence (i.e. policymakers, the media, civil society, the private sector, the general public, etc.)? How do you plan to get the attention and interest of your target audience (i.e. media campaigns, national events, social media networks, etc.)? Who are your partner organizations? What results do you expect to see? How will your activities help strengthen UNICEF’s broader RMNCAH programmes? What is your budget? The 2 page country grant proposal should explain:

How will the selection committee select the participating countries? Grant proposals will be evaluated against eight criteria: 1.Strategic opportunity: Is there a clear, strategic opportunity to advance social accountability for RMNCAH? 2.Innovative solution: Does the proposal leverage innovative approaches? 3.Context appropriate: Does the proposal respond to national priorities and rely on the active engagement of national actors? 4.Evidence-based: Is the approach evidence-based? 5.SMART: Can the proposal be monitored and evaluated with specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) indicators? 6.Team: Is there a strategic division of labour among team members? Does the team include a representative from civil society, the private sector or other relevant groups? 7.Feasibility and traction: Do the planned activities already have momentum or traction? Are there existing assets that you can build on and leverage to demonstrate progress in 12 months? 8.Presentation: Is the proposal clear, compelling and exciting?

March 2016: Launch competition and invite proposals June-July 2016: Review entries and notify selected countries July 2016: Disburse funds and implement activities August 2016 – End July 2017: Document and report country progress Q4 2017: Showcase country successes at a high-profile global forum Timeline

Guy Taylor, Division of Communication (Chair) John Quinley, A Promise Renewed Secretariat Ketan Chitnis, Communication for Development Kerida McDonald, Communication for Development Sonia Yeo, Division of Communication Jerome Pfaffman, Health Section David Ponet, Division of Data, Research and Policy UNICEF Advisory Committee Members