Country Health Information Systems and Data Use (CHISU) | 7200AA19R00065

CHISU (7200AA19R00065) - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the CHISU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 7200AA19R00065)?

The Country Health Information Systems and Data Use (CHISU) opportunity is a USAID Request for Information (RFI). It is a market research and learning exercise where USAID is seeking input from the field, rather than announcing an immediate funding award.

2) Is CHISU a grant competition or an RFI?

Based on the description provided, CHISU is an RFI. That means USAID is collecting information to understand capabilities, approaches, and lessons learned. It is not, by itself, a promise that an award will be made.

3) What is USAID trying to learn through this RFI?

USAID is trying to map what the global community can realistically deliver in terms of technical assistance to strengthen country health information systems (HIS) and improve health data use for decision making. The emphasis is on practical, experience-based input from organizations that have done this work in real country settings.

4) What sector and assistance listing does this opportunity fall under?

It is categorized under discretionary opportunities in the health sector and is associated with CFDA 98.001.

5) What is the main focus: technology, data systems, or decision making?

The focus is broader than technology alone. The RFI explicitly points toward increasing the actual use of health data for decision making, not just building tools, improving reporting pipelines, or digitizing workflows.

6) Does USAID only want digital health information system solutions?

No. The RFI emphasizes both paper-based and digital systems, which signals interest in strengthening health information systems across the full range of realities on the ground, including hybrid paper-digital workflows.

7) What kinds of country contexts are relevant to this RFI?

The RFI targets experience strengthening country health information systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including settings where electricity, connectivity, and human resource constraints affect what is feasible.

8) What types of technical assistance capabilities is USAID interested in hearing about?

Based on the description, USAID is interested in practical capabilities such as strengthening routine health information systems, improving data quality, building capacity of health workers and managers to analyze and interpret data, supporting governance and data standards, improving interoperability across platforms, and institutionalizing feedback loops so data informs planning, budgeting, supervision, and service improvement.

9) Does the RFI specify exact sub-areas or technical workstreams?

The short public description does not list specific sub-areas. It indicates that USAID wants detailed, experience-based input on approaches that work, skills and staffing models, effective partnerships, and feasible country-level technical assistance.

10) What does the mention of both paper and digital systems imply for respondents?

It implies respondents should be ready to discuss real-world challenges such as hybrid workflows, transition planning from paper to digital, change management, and sustaining improvements in environments with infrastructure and workforce constraints.

11) Why is measurement and monitoring of HIS improvements highlighted?

USAID is specifically interested in the challenges of measuring and monitoring the impact of HIS improvements, recognizing that benefits can be indirect and take time to appear. The RFI is seeking candid input on what can be measured reliably and what evaluation approaches are realistic.

12) What types of results are easier to measure in HIS strengthening?

The description notes that improvements like data quality and reporting timeliness may be measurable relatively quickly compared to downstream outcomes.

13) What types of outcomes are harder to link directly to HIS improvements?

Outcomes such as improved coverage, better quality of care, reduced stockouts, or lower mortality are described as harder to link directly because many other health system changes can occur at the same time, making attribution difficult.

14) Does USAID expect proof of direct attribution between HIS work and health outcomes?

The RFI language suggests USAID is interested in methods that credibly show contribution rather than claiming direct attribution, given the complexity of health systems and overlapping interventions.

15) What is the anticipated award instrument type mentioned in the listing?

The listing indicates that the anticipated instrument type associated with the overall effort is a cooperative agreement.

16) Who is eligible to respond?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted. This implies that a wide range of entities could potentially respond, including nonprofits, for-profits, universities, consortia, and other organizations.

17) Does the listing indicate how much funding is available?

No. The award ceiling is shown as 0 and expected awards are not specified, which is consistent with an RFI and indicates there is no guaranteed funding attached to the RFI itself.

18) What are the key dates mentioned for this RFI?

The posting date is June 18, 2019, and the original closing date is July 9, 2019.

19) What should an interested organization do to respond properly?

The listing repeatedly instructs interested parties to read the attachment. The attachment typically includes the detailed questions USAID wants answered, formatting instructions, and submission requirements.

20) What kind of input is USAID likely looking for from respondents?

USAID is looking for thoughtful, experience-based input on what approaches work in practice, what skills and staffing models are needed, what partnerships are effective, what is feasible at country level, and how impact can be monitored and evaluated credibly over time.