Invitation to Submit an Application
National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund for Community-Based Social Marketing 2009 -2010

The HIV/AIDS Policy, Coordination and Programs Division, Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is releasing an Invitation to Submit an Application (ISA) for funding under the 2009-2010 Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) stream of the National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund. This fund will support projects to develop a national targeted CBSM strategy, which focuses on changing behaviours of a target audience to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination against identified priority populations. The funding for the development of the national targeted CBSM strategy will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase will support projects to undertake research to develop a strong community-based strategy and the second phase will support projects to pilot, implement and evaluate the proposed strategy.

What is Community-Based Social Marketing?

Community-based social marketing employs marketing techniques to analyze, plan, execute and evaluate projects designed to influence behaviours, as well as the attitudes of identified target audiences. Direct contact among community members and the removal of structural and other barriers to action are key elements of CBSM since research suggests that such approaches are often most likely to bring about behaviour change. A CBSM strategy involves researching and addressing ‘the four Ps of Marketing’- product, price, place and promotion - and using co-ordinated tactics and tools that have been identified as being particularly effective in fostering change. To ensure strategy effectiveness, messages and tactics are pre-tested, and then the entire strategy is piloted in a small part of the community and refined as required. When it is implemented in the larger community, ongoing monitoring and evaluation are used to continue improving the strategy’s cost-effectiveness.

To help applicants prepare their application and assist in the various steps required to develop an effective CBSM campaign, a Community-Based Social Marketing Tool Kit for HIV/AIDS has been developed and is included in Appendix 1 of the Guide for Applicants for Phase 1.

Funding Priority - Stigma and Discrimination

HIV infection continues to spread through specific transmission routes, such as unprotected sex and sharing injection drug equipment. Adopting safer behaviours and accessing HIV testing, treatment and support are often determined by the complexity of people’s lived experiences and other factors, including education, income, health status, substance use, mental health, risk complacency, and HIV/ AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund CBSM aims to support organizations to develop, implement and evaluate nationally relevant community-based social marketing campaigns and materials to reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination affecting priority populations and to improve attitudes and behaviours towards HIV/ AIDS and people living with the disease. Ultimately, this will increase individual practices of health behaviours, such as willingness to be tested and adopting safer practices to decrease disease transmission through injection drug use and risky sexual behaviours, and offer improved access to appropriate HIV/ AIDS prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support.

PRIORITY POPULATION

The Priority Population is the population vulnerable to HIV infection and/or living with HIV/AIDS.

The Target Audience is a group whose behaviour is stigmatizing and discriminating against those vulnerable to, and/or living with, HIV/AIDS. The Target Audience can also be a group who can influence those who are stigmatizing and discriminating against those vulnerable to, and/or living with, HIV/AIDS.

As identified in the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, the following populations in Canada are the most affected by HIV/AIDS: Aboriginal peoples, gay men, people from countries where HIV is endemic, people living with HIV/AIDS, people who inject drugs, prison inmates, women and youth at risk.

These eight populations are all affected by HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. However, based on PHAC’s analysis of currently available evidence, four priority populations and several “cross and sub-populations” have been identified for the purposes of this ISA and will be given priority in the weighing of applications.

The four priority populations and “cross and sub-populations” identified are as follows:

Aboriginal peoples

• People who inject drugs
• Women
• Youth
• Two-spirit people/men who have sex with men (MSM)

Gay, Two-Spirit, Bisexual and other MSM

• From ethnocultural/racialized groups
• Two-spirit people
• HIV-positive gay men
• People who inject drugs
• Gay youth

People from countries where HIV is endemic

• Women
• Youth
• MSM

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

• Aboriginal peoples
• People who inject drugs
• Women
• MSM

A description of each priority population, including epidemiological and geographical evidence, definitions of affected cross and sub-populations and literature documenting the experiences of these populations with HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination is summarized in Appendix 2 - Evidence of Stigma and Discrimination Impacting Specific Populations in the Guide for Applicants for Phase 1.

Applications for projects targeting a Federal Initiative population not referenced above may also be considered if sufficient evidence is provided to support the proposed CBSM approach.

Please note that an organization can only submit one application per priority population.

National Scope

The National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund for Community-Based Social Marketing is a national funding program, which supports projects that are national in scope.

National in scope may be defined in terms of: desired outcomes; planned activities; participating partners; benefits to intended priority population; national implications; and possibility of replication to other areas of the country.

Two Phases of Funding

Phase I:

The 2009-2010 ISA will support projects to conduct activities for approximately a 12-month period starting between June and October 2009 to develop the following 2 main outputs:

1. Research Report - will summarize the findings and implications from primary (qualitative and quantitative) and secondary (review of literature, government reports, web searches, etc.) formative research activities.
2. Community-based Social Marketing Strategy - will provide information about the target
   audience, proposed behavioural change, barriers and benefits of adopting the behaviour, and approach and tactics, budget, and strong evaluation plan.

Total amount per project for Phase I: A minimum of $150,000 to a maximum of $250,000 over a 12-month period will be provided.

Phase II:

A targeted ISA will be released in 2009/2010 to invite Phase I recipients to submit an application based on their completed research and draft social marketing strategy. Successful recipients of Phase 1 funding are not guaranteed funding for Phase 2. All applications will be reviewed and assessed by PHAC, as well as by community-based social marketing and HIV/AIDS experts. Criteria for the Phase II review will be provided in the Phase II ISA and will be based on the information found in Sections IV and V of the Tool Kit for Community-Based Social Marketing under the National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund - Appendix 1 of the Guide for Applicants for Phase 1. Successful applicants for Phase II will receive funding to implement and evaluate a pilot and broadbased national campaign in 2010-2012.

PHAC is under no obligation to enter into a funding agreement as a result of the Phase II ISA.

Total amount per project for Phase II: A minimum of $200,000 to a maximum of $400,000 per fiscal year will be provided.

Summary:

Timelines	Activities	Funding Allocation
Phase I 2009/2010	Research Report and Community-Based Social Marketing Strategy	$150,000 to $250,000 over a 12-month period
Phase II 2010/2011 2011/2012	Implement and evaluate pilot and a broad-based national campaign	$200,000 to $400,000 per fiscal year

Guide for Applicants - Phase 1

A Guide for Applicants has been developed for the ISA. The Guide (Phase 1) provides useful information for the National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund CBSM. Applicants must read the ISA, the Guide for Applicants and all Appendixes carefully prior to completing an application as it contains crucial information on various mandatory components. It is important to note that applications that do not follow the directives from the Guide for Applicants will not be considered or reviewed.

Submission Details

Complete applications must be received by Sonia Hamel at the HIV/AIDS Policy, Coordination and Programs Division, PHAC, postmarked by the following deadline: Friday, March 27, 2009.

Phase 1 Mandatory Application Requirements

1. Completed and signed PHAC Application for Funding Form, including all required items identified on the checklist.
2. Completed CBSM Application Form

Note: Please refer to the Guide for Applicants - Phase 1 for complete Submission Information details.

Questions and Answers Teleconference

All applicants for the National Specific Populations HIV/AIDS Initiatives Fund CBSM are invited to participate in a teleconference facilitated by PHAC officials.  It is strongly suggested that participants review all materials prior to this event.  The teleconference will be an opportunity to seek clarification regarding the application process and is scheduled to be held March 2, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. E.S.T. by dialing the following number :

Toll-Free #: 1-888-265-0464
National Capital Area #: 613 954-4096
Conference Code: 86680309 or Conference Topic: Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) ISA

The following documents are available for downloading or viewing:

• PHAC Application for Funding Form (PDF Version, 1.84 mb)^*
• Guide for Applicants (PDF Version, 9.74 mb)
• CBSM Application Form (RTF Version, 293 kb)
• Questions, Answers and Corrections

For more information, or if the above information and documents are not accessible to you, please contact:

Sonia Hamel, Senior Program Consultant
Public Health Agency of Canada
Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control
HIV/AIDS Policy, Coordination and Programs Division
A.L. 0601A, LCDC Building
100 Eglantine Driveway, Tunney’s Pasture Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Telephone: 613-946-3569
Facsimile: 613-941-2399
E-mail:Sonia_Hamel@phac-aspc.gc.ca

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* How to download PDF documents.