Implementation Letters and Performance Letters

Following Grant Agreement signature, according to Art. 12 of the Grant Regulations, “The Global Fund and the Principal Recipient may from time to time issue jointly signed implementation letters to confirm and record their mutual understanding on aspects of the implementation of this Agreement.” Since implementation letters (ILs) are issued jointly by UNDP and the Global Fund, the UNDP Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST) and the UNDP Office of Legal Services (OLS) must review their terms and, in particular, ensure that they are consistent with the Grant Agreement.

Implementation oversight allows the Global Fund to maintain an overview of implementation progress and to jointly define solutions to address implementation bottlenecks. Once grant implementation has started, Principal Recipients (PR) regularly report to the Global Fund through Progress Updates (PUs), Pulse Checks and other reporting mechanisms. The programmatic results are reported against the targets set in the Performance Framework, and the financial expenditure is reported against the agreed Budget. Based on this and any risks or issues identified, the Global Fund undertakes a comprehensive performance assessment, and issues a Performance Letter to the PR, which communicates the Country Team findings, performance rating and required actions to address identified implementation challenges and additional risks. They contain management action points for the Country Office (CO), which are considered as recommendations. Art. 12 confirms this by stating that management letters are “advisory in nature.” Since a performance letter is a unilateral document, it has no binding legal force on UNDP. Nevertheless, it is sometimes understood as such by the Global Fund. The CO is therefore encouraged to seek LO’s and the GFPHST guidance on the meaning and impact of performance letters, as well as advice on handling the recommendations made by the Global Fund therein.