A/HRC/10/43 E/CN.6/2009/10 two to three years. In 2008, some grants were as high as $1 million for two to three years. The time and labour required to review, approve, monitor and support grantees is therefore more cost-effective in relation to the results and impacts expected of larger-scale initiatives. Generating knowledge and developing capacities 20. Though replicable strategies to end violence against women and girls have begun to emerge, a major challenge has been the lack of systematic and accessible evidence of what works. The United Nations Trust Fund has therefore concentrated on its role in expanding the global knowledge base of effective approaches to ending violence against women and girls. In 2008, the United Nations Trust Fund adopted a monitoring, evaluation and knowledge management framework to enhance its systems to generate, capture and disseminate knowledge through increased investments in monitoring and evaluation. 21. The United Nations Trust Fund has been investing in generating new knowledge and capturing lessons that can promote replication and upscaling of successful models of intervention. For example, under the HIV and AIDS window, particular emphasis has been placed on ensuring a rigorous monitoring and evaluation plan. The United Nations Trust Fund will support the process for three years and ensure that lessons learned are widely available and shared. At the end of the pilot experience, the United Nations Trust Fund aims to have produced a tool for cross-country evidence-based learning and programming to effectively deploy strategies to respond to the linkages between violence against women and HIV and AIDS. Mobilizing resources 22. Overall funding for initiatives to address violence against women is on the rise, evidenced by the rapid growth of the United Nations Trust Fund resource base over the past few years. Between 1996 and 2004, the United Nations Trust Fund received just under $10 million in total contributions. For the period 2005-2008, total contributions, including pledges, have amounted to a total of $40 million. In 2008, the United Nations Trust Fund had $22 million to offer for grant-making. The increase in annual contributions, however, still lags behind the vast needs and demands at country levels. In 2008, the United Nations Trust Fund was still only able to meet four per cent of the $525 million in requests received. In order to meet the increasing demand, the United Nations Trust Fund seeks broad-based support in order to achieve its annual target of a minimum of $100 million by 2015, in the framework of the UNite to End Violence against Women Campaign. 2008 United Nations Trust Fund grant-making cycle 23. Calls for proposals for United Nations Trust Fund grants are issued annually through an open and competitive selection process. Initiatives should be grounded in human rights and responsive to gender equality goals, including by addressing inequitable gender norms that cause violence against women and girls. They should be holistic and focus on reaching particularly excluded or disadvantaged groups through approaches tailored to diverse needs. They should pursue multisectoral partnerships, and generate and share knowledge. To optimize the use of resources, they should apply evidence of what works and invest in systematic and 08-66140 9