Working Together, Sharing Responsibility

According to the decisions made during the initial meetings of the Steering and Grants Committees, members are expected to act in a spirit of collaboration and collective responsibility. No member shall assume a role that enables unilateral decision-making or disregards the voices and perspectives of others. All decisions should be made transparently, inclusively, and in alignment with agreed-upon processes of the respective ToR.

A joint meeting of the two committees will be convened by the Steering Committee at a key milestone during the concept development and setup phase of the HLF locally led funding instrument. However, there is high recognition of the importance of maintaining a clear separation of roles and responsibilities between the two bodies. Following the setup phase, joint meetings will only be held on an annual basis.

Decisions in the HLF, from Strategy to Grants

The Steering Committee shapes the HLF’s strategic framework, ensures alignment with its global values and vision, and defines and refines the HLF as locally led funding instrument.

The Grants Committee designs, oversees and operationalises the implementation of the HLF’s grant review and approval process, ensuring rigour, fairness, and technical soundness, and for making all grant-related decisions.

According to the decision of the first Grants Committee Meeting, the Grants Committee will apply an Anonymized Review Process for the assessment of grant proposals, with the following goals: to ensure fairness, impartiality and neutrality; to prevent and minimise conscious and unconscious bias; to protect the integrity of the grant review and approval process; to promote diversity and inclusion.

The anonymous approach is intended to:

• minimize biases and ensure that decisions are made solely based on merit, relevance and alignment with the established strategic priorities, based on the quality of the proposed projects—rather than on the applicant’s identity or reputation.
• foster greater equity, support diversity of voices, and strengthen the integrity of the grants process.

It is a deliberate measure to create a level playing field for all applicants, particularly those from underrepresented or less-established organisations.

The Grants Committee retains full discretion to decline a grant application or not to proceed with funding an organisation taking into account the established criteria under the HLF and/or available resources.

The Anonymised Review Process

The HLF Secretariat will organise the grants review process into distinct stages:

Stage 1 (Individual and Anonymized Scoring prior to the Grants Review Meeting): The six Grants Committee (GC) members receive anonymised proposals and score them independently using the HLF Project Selection Scorecard.

Stage 2 (Conflict of Interest): At the start of the in-person Grants Review Meeting, all GC members will be asked to declare any prior knowledge of or involvement with submitted proposals through honest self-reporting. The Conflict of Interest policy and related procedures—including abstention where necessary—will be reiterated and emphasised.

Stage 3 (Process): The Secretariat delivers a briefing on the procedures and implementation of the Anonymised Review Process.

Stage 4 (Deliberation): The full GC committee discusses the top-ranked proposals.

Stage 5 (Decisions): The GC makes the final decisions on which grants will be funded.

Stage 6 (Unmask Identity of Partners): The HLF Secretariat will unmask the identity of partners only after final decisions are made on which partners will be funded. No changes will be made post-reveal—except in the case of a clear error, conflict of interest, or reputational risk. In such cases, the GC will reconvene to reassess the affected decision and, if necessary, adjust the outcome to ensure alignment with the HLF’s integrity and accountability standards.

Listening to Local Voices, Responding with Accountability

In line with its commitment to localisation, transparency, and equitable partnerships, the HLF Grants Committee places a strong emphasis on clear and consistent accountability to local civil society organisations engaging with its processes. This includes both organisations that register for participation but are not shortlisted, as well as those that apply for funding but are not selected.

Here is how the HLF will provide feedback throughout the process:

• Individual feedback reports prepared by due diligence experts following the due diligence phase.
• A publicly available “Common Challenges and Easy Fixes” document, designed to promote shared learning and continuous improvement
• Tailored feedback from the Grants Committee for both selected and non-selected proposals.

These efforts aim to foster learning, support organisational development, and ensure that all registering organisations or applicants—selected or not—benefit from the process.