Strengthening the Urban Ecosystem Against Future Disease Threats: A Framework for Urban-Peri-Urban Coordination in Five Priority Cities

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) implements the Tuberculosis Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA). Spanning eight years (2019–2027), this initiative builds on the U.S. Government’s investments in health programming. In 2026, the project is expanding its scope to address additional health priorities under the Global Health Security Strategy. Through direct engagement with local governments, TIFA co-designs Health Commitment Grants (HCGs) and other subawards. These instruments accelerate progress toward national and global health targets, foster country ownership, and enhance public health emergency preparedness and response.

In India, the TIFA project is focused on strengthening national health security by fostering unified action across government sectors. While TIFA’s foundational work involved advancing National TB Elimination Program goals, the project is now launching a new focus on Global Health Security. JSI/TIFA is requesting applications for: “Strengthening the Urban Ecosystem Against Future Disease Threats: A Framework for Urban-Peri-Urban Coordination in Five Priority Cities.” This initiative contributes to India’s efforts to contain outbreak-prone diseases at their source. The intervention provides a demonstration model for five high-priority cities, comprising a mix of: operationalized Metropolitan Surveillance Units (MSUs) seeking to extend surveillance reach into peri-urban catchments; and tier-2/3 Cities building specialized urban surveillance capacity within existing District Surveillance Units (DSUs).

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Section I: Contact Details

Organization name

Organization’s registered address

Applicant type:

Indian nongovernmental organization legally registered with FCRA.

International organization legally registered in India.

For-profit organization with mandatory registrations (PAN, TAN, GST number) and fulfilling all statutory criteria to receive foreign funds.

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act number

Goods and Services Tax number, if applicable.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, if available (guidance for creating a UEI number to be provided).

Name and title of point of contact for applicant.

Mailing address of point of contact.

Telephone number of point of contact.

Email address of point of contact.

Confirm email

Name and title of authorized signatory for grant.

Section II: Organizational Eligibility

Note your organization’s ability to meet the following:

The chief executive of the organization is willing to sign an agreement and receive funds from JSI, the Washington-based partner.

Yes

Describe your organization’s recent (last 3 years) experience managing interventions in urban health security or disease surveillance. Focus on projects that moved beyond data collection into operationalizing response frameworks.

(1,000-character limit)

Describe your experience providing services to the Government of India, specifically: Collaboration with Municipal Corporations or Smart City missions in Tier 1, 2, or 3 cities. Experience working within the framework of the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), IDSP, or Metropolitan Surveillance Units (MSU).

(1,000-character limit)

Section III: Proposal Description

Describe your overall strategy for strengthening surveillance in the targeted city/ cities. How will your intervention address the "administrative vacuum" in peri-urban areas, and how will you optimize existing MSU/DSU structures to pilot Epidemic Preparedness and Response framework (focusing on rapid detection, timely reporting, and early response)?

(3,000-character limit)

Detail your methodology for conducting a multi-dimensional situation analysis. Specifically, how will you: Use GIS to overlay environmental risks (water/larval indices) with administrative "grey zones" to identify peri-urban settlements currently excluded from active surveillance? Quick landscaping of the diagnostic capacity and IHIP digital integration of Public Health Labs and Medical Colleges to identify data-sharing gaps? Conduct a Upskilling Need Assessment (TNA) for existing NUHM/DSU staff and map the supply chain lead times for essential biologics (e.g., Anti-rabies, Diphtheria antitoxin)?

(3,000-character limit)

Describe your approach to developing multi-sectoral City Action Plans. How will you facilitate Joint Ratification between Municipal and District authorities to resolve jurisdictional overlaps? How will these SOPs be embedded into the daily workflows of health, veterinary, and municipal engineering departments?

(3,000-character limit)

Describe your plan for upskilling the urban health workforce. How will you address the specific gaps identified in the Upskilling Need Assessment (UNA) regarding outbreak preparedness, investigation, response, and IHIP reporting? Detail your methodology for conducting disease-specific simulation drills to evaluate system performance (specifically the speed of detection, notification, and response)?

(2,000-character limit)

Detail your strategy for optimizing the Medical Countermeasure (MCM) supply chain. How will you establish and maintain a 3-tier stockpile framework for essential biologics (e.g., Anti-rabies, Diphtheria antitoxin) and diagnostics? How will you ensure real-time visibility of stock levels to prevent stockouts during seasonal surges or emerging outbreaks?

(2,000-character limit)

Describe your strategy for operationalizing a ‘Rumor Sentinel Network’ within the urban ecosystem. How will you establish a digital reporting pipeline between community platforms (e.g., MAS, JAS, Frontline Workers) and existing city infrastructure, such as the Smart Cities Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), or MSU, or Municipal Media Cells? Detail your methodology for triaging 'Rumor Trends,' obtaining rapid technical validation, and leveraging city-wide assets (e.g., digital billboards, official social media) to fill information voids in high-risk informal settlements within 24 hours?

(1,000-character limit)

Summarize your team’s expertise in epidemic intelligence, urban health logistics (NUHM), and health systems strengthening. How will your organization ensure all milestones are achieved within the 12-month timeline to create a scalable "Surveillance-to-Action" blueprint for the NCDC?

(1,000-character limit)

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Strengthening the Urban Ecosystem Against Future Disease Threats: A Framework for Urban-Peri-Urban Coordination in Five Priority (PDF, 667.7 KB)