American Center Dhaka Grants Funding Opportunity Announcement
Program Office: Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy, Dhaka
Funding Opportunity Title: FY 18 Annual Program Statement
Funding Opportunity Number: SCADHA-FY2018-APS-001
Funding Opportunity Type: Initial Announcement
CFDA Number: 19.040 – Public Diplomacy Programs
Key Dates: Applications may be submitted between January 01, 2018 and July 31, 2018
Date Opened: December 07, 2017
The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of U.S. Embassy Dhaka isThorough instructions on the application process are available at: pleased to announce that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy grants program, and is seeking proposals for projects throughout the fiscal year that further public diplomacy goals to promote U.S.-Bangladesh ties, strengthen democratic and inclusive societies, counter violent extremism, increase educational and economic opportunity for citizens, and amplify U.S. diplomacy activities and programs on social and traditional media platforms.
This is an Annual Program Statement (APS), outlining our funding priorities, strategic themes, and procedures for submitting requests for funding.
A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Federal Assistance Awards, hereafter referred to as grants, under this notice are intended for local representatives of civil society, including U.S. or overseas-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private institutions of post-secondary and higher education.
Grant proposals submitted should meet one or more of the following U.S. Embassy Dhaka, Public Diplomacy priorities:
Improve Capacity within Bangladesh to Counter Violent Extremism:
Build community resilience, including (but not limited to) formal education and informal education programs; sports, arts and cultural programs; technical and vocational skills development; municipal or neighborhood associations and meetings; after school and family-oriented programs to promote pluralism, tolerance, critical thinking which can challenge and counter violent extremist messages.
Conduct strategic communication efforts to counter and reject misinformation, dispute messages of violent extremists, reinforce and communicate national government messages, promote alternative, positive messages and address illegal media content.
Amplify local community voices to build resilience and counter violent extremist messages in social media.
Encourage and strengthen interventions to create awareness of vulnerability towards radicalization and prevent it.
Identify and build response capacity of practitioners and frontline workers on processes of radicalization and recruitment.
Create support hotlines, other communication mechanism or information systems for communities to use and access.
Strengthen the community of interest among governments and institutions working to Counter Violent Extremism in Bangladesh.
Promote Pluralism, Democratic Values, Good Governance, Tolerance and Non-Violent Public Discussions:
Promote non-violent elections and increase and enhance participation in the 2018 national elections.
Initiate dialogue and create greater accountability and transparency in public institutions.
Strengthen the role and capacity of civil society organizations to influence the government, and promote good governance.
Build partnerships and coordination among civil society organizations, and develop public-awareness and advocacy campaigns.
Increase Access to Quality Education and expand U.S.- Bangladesh Educational Linkages:
Create academic linkages between Bangladesh and the United States to enrich teaching and learning experiences; promote and enable academic cooperation, curriculum development, and resource exchange.
Strengthen relationships between the respective stakeholders in the education sector to expand access to quality education.
Implement academic programs that provide increased and improved English language learning for marginalized groups.
Promote Entrepreneurship and Activities that Lead to Economic Growth and Prosperity:
Support a robust and inclusive entrepreneurial environment through exchanges of information, experiences, and expertise.
Facilitate regional communication and economic linkages with other local and regional entrepreneurs to share lessons learned and other resources and promote Bangladesh as the economic hub between South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Pursue gender equality and women empowerment, and combat gender based violence:
Minimize gender disparities in access to resources and opportunities in the economic, social, political and cultural context.
Involve awareness campaigns that reduce gender based violence and mitigate its harmful effects on individuals and communities.
Focus on increasing awareness of rights and building the capacity of young girls and women to realize their rights that in due course will influence decision making in households, communities, and societies.
In addition to the specific requirements listed above by program area, ALL proposals must:
Clearly indicate the primary activity area to which it is being submitted for consideration;
Focus on the key public diplomacy audiences and activities specified in the areas, provide programs for underserved geographic regions of Country, as well as non-elite schools (if applicable);
Clearly delineate how elements of their program will have a multiplier effect and be sustainable beyond the life of the grant;
Identify specific outcomes to be achieved by the end of the grant period; and
Provide a traditional and/or social media plan for marketing program activities and outcomes.
Identify the cities/districts in which activities will take place, and addressing any security concerns or constraints as necessary.
Applicants must demonstrate competency to manage all financial aspects of the project, including participant costs and transparent arrangements of sub-grant relationships with partner organizations, if applicable.
B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION
Number of awards anticipated: 4-10 awards (dependent on amounts) Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement or Standard Grant
Individual Award Floor: $20,000
Individual Award Ceiling: $50,000
Anticipated project start date: September 01, 2018 or earlier
The U.S. Embassy reserves the right to award less or more than the amounts described in the absence of worthy applications or under such other circumstances as it may deem to be in the best interest of the U.S. Government.
Anticipated Period: Grant projects generally should be completed in one year or less. The U. S. Embassy may entertain applications for an extension of the grant period for grants funded under these awards subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project activities, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the Department of State.
C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
The U.S. Embassy encourages applications from non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, foundations, trusts, community-based organizations and educational institutions that have legal standing in Bangladesh and the appropriate registrations as per the local regulatory requirements. Commercial firms and for-profit entities are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity.
The applicant may propose to share the cost of the project but these costs must reflect the realistic capacity of the applicant’s contribution. If the applicant proposes cost sharing in their proposal, the recipient must provide the minimum amount of cost sharing as stipulated in the recipient’s budget approved by the Grants Officer. Cost share is not mandatory and will not be considered as a factor during merit review of applications.
Local organizations must submit a copy of their certificate of registration from the appropriate government organization. In addition, applicant organizations must have an organizational bank account for financial transactions and all transactions pertaining to an award granted will happen through Electronic Fund Transfer.
D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Proposals should only be submitted via email to the U.S. Embassy Dhaka at the following email address: dhakagrants@state.gov.
Each application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated on the basis of its coherence, clarity, attention to detail, and completeness. Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.
Content and Form of Application Submission
Please ensure:
The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity.
All documents are in English
All budgets are in U.S. dollars
When submitting a proposal, applicants are required to include the following documents and information, as applicable:
Filled out Grants Application Form (Microsoft Word 1 MB)
Filled out Organizational Information Form (Microsoft Word 47 KB). A copy of the organization’s registration should be provided.
Project Narrative: Applicants must submit a complete proposal. Applicants may use their own proposal format. The proposal shall not exceed 15 pages. All proposals should address the following areas:
Project Justification/Needs Statement
Project Goals, Objectives and Activities
Implementation Timeline
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Strengths and Innovation
Sustainability
Proposal must also describe the outcome(s) sought and the benefits to society or to the participants that the proposal seeks to bring about/achieve.
Project Budget: Applicants must submit a detailed budget and budget narrative justification utilizing the template (Microsoft Excel 45 KB) provided. Line item expenditures should be listed in the greatest possible detail. Personnel salaries should define the percentage of time each position will allocate to the project and the rate of pay. Budgets that are not in the provided format will not be considered. Budgets shall be submitted in U.S. dollars and final grant agreements will be conducted in U.S. dollars.
Key Personnel and Project Partners
Key Personnel – A résumé, not to exceed 1 page in length, must be included for the proposed key staff persons, such as the Project Director and Finance Officer, as well as any speakers or trainers (if applicable). If an individual for this type of position has not been identified, the applicant may submit a 1-page position description, identifying the qualifications and skills required for that position, in lieu of a résumé.
Project Partners – letters of support should be included for sub-awardees or other partners. The letters must identify the type of relationship to be entered into (formal or informal), the roles and responsibilities of each partner in relation to the proposed project activities, and the expected result of the partnership. The individual letters cannot exceed 1 page in length.
Standard Forms 424 – Application for Federal Assistance, 424A- Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs and 424B – Assurances for Non-construction Programs (2 separate forms), which are available, along with guidance for completing these forms, at:
http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html under the heading, “SF-424 Family.”
Please note:
Other items NOT required/requested for submission, but which may be requested if your application is approved for funding include:
Copies of an organization or program audit within the last two (2) years
Copies of relevant human resources, financial, or procurement policies
Copies of other relevant organizational policies or documentation that would help the Department determine your organization’s capacity to manage a federal grant award overseas.
The Embassy reserves the right to request any additional programmatic and/or financial information regarding the proposal.
Regulatory Requirements
In order to receive a grant, the applicant is required to register and obtain the following:
DUNS number
NCAGE code
SAM registration
Thorough instructions on the application process are available at:
https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/Docs/US%20Instructions%20for%20NSPA%20NCAGE.pdf (PDF 397 KB)
For questions relating to Grants.gov, please call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726.
Please note: Only
www.grants.gov, DUNS, NCAGE, and SAM can assist with technical questions or problems applicants may experience during the registration process. Please refer to the contact information for these organizations listed on the organization registration page of
www.grants.gov.
https://bd.usembassy.gov/embassy/dhaka/american-center-dhaka-grants/
