Community-based organizations and social enterprises led by key populations have significant advantages in their capacity to reach, recruit, and support those most at-risk of HIV in supporting the national response in Vietnam. Social contracting, which is a direct funding mechanism for civil society organizations by the local government – is among a number of sustainable solutions that help ensure that local resources can sustain efforts beyond the life of donor assistance.

Last week, LADDERS partnered with a local agency to offer an intensive basic training course on what bidding is for social contracting, the bidding process, and how to successfully put together a bid. There were nearly 40 key representatives from LADDERS-supported CBOs and SEs in Hanoi, Dong Nai, Can Tho and Kien Giang together with 6 participants from the USAID EpiC project and 6 additional LIFE employees. The 2-day capacity building workshop leveraged the expertise of the witty facilitator to provide participants with dedicated instruction on various topics, including laws, policies, and decrees related to bidding which covered procurement procedures, types of bidding, contractor appointment, bidding contracts/portfolios and bidding transparency. Although the workshop was very technical with complex information being shared, the beneficiaries of the workshop managed to engage, learn and ask questions for better understanding of this difficult yet necessary area of knowledge/skill to be competitive candidates for future funds through the social contracting mechanism.

Social contracting is a part of the solution for sustainable financing for civil society to continue to support the HIV response. Through this activity, LADDERS helped build capacity and readiness for social contracting among likely candidates to utilize this domestic funding once available. This is one of a number of key steps to ensure the contribution and maintenance of the communities impact has a lasting impact on the public health response to HIV in Vietnam.

Figure 1. The facilitator explained in detail the significance of bidding to civil social organizations in terms of future operations and sustainable development.