7200AA24APS00004 - ITR_R EXPLORE APS.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ITR/Research Division’s

EXpanding Partnerships, Learning, and REsearch (EXPLORE)

Annual Program Statement (APS)

7200AA24APS00004

Issuance Date: March 05, 2024 Closing Date: March 04, 2029

CFDA #: 98.012 - USAID Development Partnerships for University Cooperation and Development

Pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the United States Government, as represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Innovation, Technology, and Research (ITR) Hub, invites applications for the Research Division’s (ITR/R)

Annual Program Statement (APS) program.

Through this umbrella APS, USAID aims to provide broad flexibility for the research and higher education community and connected organizations to collaborate with USAID, each other, and local institutions to build partnerships and support an enabling environment for addressing key development challenges in a sustainable manner. This umbrella APS: (A) describes the types of activities for which Applications will be considered under any forthcoming Addenda; (B) describes the funding available and the process and requirements for submitting Applications;

(C) explains the overall criteria for evaluating Applications; and (D) refers prospective applicants to relevant documentation available on the internet.

USAID/ITR anticipates awarding multiple grants and/or cooperative agreements as a result of this APS through the use of published subsequent Addenda (specific calls for Concept Notes).

However, publishing this APS does not commit USAID to publish any specific Addenda or make any awards.

The EXPLORE APS is not a Request for Applications (RFA) or a Request for Proposals (RFP).

Rather, the EXPLORE APS requests Concept Notes in response to Addenda published to this APS. Based on Concept Note(s) submitted in response to specific Addenda opportunities, USAID will determine whether to request a Full Application from an appropriate partner.

https://www.usaid.gov/

To be competitive under a particular Addendum to this APS, Applications (both Concept Notes and any requested Full Applications) must be fully responsive to all directions under this APS document except when specifically noted otherwise in the corresponding Addendum.

Issuance of this notice does not constitute a binding commitment on the part of the Government to issue an award, nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any Concept Notes, engagement, collaboration, co-creation, or Full Applications. USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted under this APS.

Sincerely, Charles Jackson

Agreement Officer

Office of Acquisition and Assistance M/OAA/IPI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

LIST OF ACRONYMS 5

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 6

Introduction: The Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub at USAID 6

EXPLORE APS Funding Priorities and Programmatic Focus 9

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 12

1. Funding Opportunities 12

2. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards 12

3. Authorized Geographic Code 12

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 15

1. Eligible Applicants 15

2. Other Eligibility Information 15

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 17

Questions and Answers 17 General Information 17

1. Concept Note Submission 19

2. Review of Concept Notes 20 Information Protection 21

3. Co-Creation, Collaboration, and Communication 22

4. Full Application Submission 23

5. Review of Full Applications 23

6. Request for Additional Information 23

7. AO Determination 23 Selection of Instrument 24

8. Final Review and Negotiation 24 Standard Clauses and Provisions of Award 25

9. Award and Implementation 25

SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 26

1. Criteria 26

2. Review and Selection Process 26

3. Merit Review Criteria and Considerations 26 Criterion 1: Discovery and use of Research and Innovation 26 Criterion 2: Collaboration with Research and Higher Education Institutions, and/or Other

Diverse Partners 26 Criterion 3: Potential for Sustained Impact through Replicability, Scalability, and/or

Sustainability 27 Other Key Considerations: 27

Alignment with USAID and M/B/IO Strategic Objectives and Programming Priorities 27 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment 28 Including Indigenous Peoples 28 Diverse Inclusion 28

Risk Assessment 29

SECTION F: FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 30

1. Federal Award Notices 30

2. Administrative & National Policy Requirements 30 Important Note about NDAA Section 889 30

3. Reporting Requirements Important Note about Additional Restrictions, Requirements, and Reporting Needs 32

4. Program Income 32

5. Environmental and Climate Risk Compliance 32

6. Other Requirements 33

SECTION G: FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT(S) 34

1. EXPLORE APS Points of Contact 34

2. Acquisition and Assistance Ombudsman 34

SECTION H: OTHER INFORMATION 35

Other Full Application Parameters 35 Additional Information on Award Administration 36 Appendix I: Concept Note Template Appendix II: Budget Outline Template

List of Acronyms

A&A Acquisition and Assistance

ADS Automated Directive Services

AO Agreement Officer

APS Annual Program Statement

CRM Climate Risk Management

DDL Data Development Library

DEC Development Experience Clearinghouse

FAA Foreign Assistance Act

HEI Higher Education Institution

IPI Bureau of Inclusive Growth, Partnerships, and Innovation

ITR Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub

ITR/R Research Division of the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub

M/B/IO Missions, Bureaus, and Independent Office

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MSI Minority-Serving Institution

NCAGE NATO Commercial and Governmental Entity

NDAA National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

NOFO Notice of Funding Opportunity

OAA Office of Acquisition and Assistance

OMB Office of Management and Budget

PEER Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research

PIEE Programmatic Initial Environmental Compliance

POC Point of Contact

PRO-IP Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

RAA Required as Applicable

RFA Request for Applications

RFP Request for Proposals

RTAC Research Technical Assistance Center

STIP Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships

UEI Unique Entity Identifier

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

USG United States Government

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This funding opportunity is authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended. Any potential resulting award(s) will be subject to 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and USAID’s supplement, 2 CFR 700, as well as the additional requirements found in Section F.

Introduction: The Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub at USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners have been working to tackle the world’s toughest development challenges for more than 60 years. Our mission is to partner to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity. We have long invested in innovation, technology, and research to achieve progress across many of USAID’s goals.

Today’s global development landscape is rapidly evolving. Driven by scientific breakthroughs and research, disruptive innovation, and rapid advancements in information and communication technologies, coupled with growing contributions by the private sector, these changes offer unprecedented opportunities to leverage the world’s best thinking to solve critical global challenges.

Recognizing the value of a more focused and coordinated approach to harnessing these changes, USAID established the Innovation, Technology, and Research (ITR) Hub in November 2020, and it is now located in the newly formed Bureau for Inclusive Growth, Partnerships, and Innovation (IPI). The ITR Hub serves to support USAID in leveraging innovative, technological, and research tools and approaches across all technical and geographic areas in which USAID works. ITR endeavors to take smart risks to test new ideas and partner within the Agency and with other actors to harness the power of innovative tools and approaches that accelerate development impact.

The ITR Mission

The ITR Hub is pioneering cutting-edge, catalytic, and evidence-driven approaches to global development by working with partners across USAID and around the world to:

● Foster, integrate, and share the latest research and evidence of what works

● Rigorously test new ideas and methods and scale the most cost-effective solutions

● Advance the responsible use of digital technology and geospatial analysis

ITR Areas of Work and Impact

USAID/ITR operates under a set of guiding principles and aims to be:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l31CGoVD9I_Td6gdvkq9CXCzRFR0g2FQ/view?usp=drive_link

● Open and Inclusive - Drawing upon the ingenuity of people from around the world, particularly from developing countries

● Evidence-based - Investing based on strong evidence of impact

● Catalytic - Attracting the support of others to enable sustainable development solutions that reach massive scale

● Agile - Creating fast feedback loops that enable continuous learning and performance improvement

ITR Tools

USAID/ITR is focused on using research and evidence-based approaches as our primary tools to reach key development outcomes. We work across USAID and with the broader international development community to find innovative approaches and solutions. When a new solution or approach proves effective, we endeavor to mainstream it across USAID and with our partners to increase its impact.

ITR Objectives

USAID helps partners leverage the use of innovation, technology, and research to solve their development challenges and support positive change for their communities.

ITR partners with USAID missions, entrepreneurs, small businesses, researchers, universities, technology companies, government, civil society, faith-based organizations, and development professionals to keep the Agency on the forefront of science and technology, incorporate breakthrough innovations, and apply the best tools to emerging priorities.

ITR, with its partners, takes smart risks to transform development by:

● Sourcing, testing, and scaling proven solutions to impact lives;

● Opening development to people everywhere with good ideas;

● Using data and evidence in decision-making; and

● Harnessing scientific and technological advances.

The Importance of Research Engagement at USAID

Research engagement at USAID traces back to the Agency’s creation and underpins all of its work. Fundamentally, in order to affect meaningful change in the world, we must ask questions, examine the evidence, and make discoveries. These processes are the fundamental components of the research enterprise and are key drivers of development. It is this basic approach—the importance to question, examine, and discover—that generates new ideas, pushes past the status quo, and drives innovation. As such, this approach is integral to USAID’s most central goals: “to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people progress beyond assistance.”

First, it is important to question and understand, in both the local (micro) or global (macro) contexts, what are the key challenges faced and their drivers; what is known about the context, and who are the connectors and stakeholders involved. From a baseline study, landscape assessment, or stakeholder analysis, we can then examine, probe, and experiment within these ideas; what are the limitations, what are the internal or external influences that prevent change or scaling of this idea, why is development or research lacking in this space? Finally, while understanding and learning are vital, they are not sufficient to make lasting change. It is essential that new innovations and ideas discovered from research lead to dissemination, action, and meaningful change. For example: how can this work, once tested and proven, be implemented widely and at scale; how can these new ideas be self-sustaining; how can these discoveries support evidence-based programming; and how can USAID and partners strengthen capacity towards sustainability for the future?

USAID/IPI/ITR aims to generate development-oriented research, promote its dissemination and use, and strengthen local systems of researchers and research institutions in USAID partner countries. The EXPLORE APS encourages partners, including the higher education and academic communities, and USAID to use this scientific framework to generate fresh evidence, promote new discoveries, and, when appropriate, work to scale and expand the impact of those discoveries. USAID’s commitment to data-driven decision making and evidence-based programming only further reinforces the need to make strong investments in research for development activities. By promoting discovery-based inquiry through research activities, USAID improves development outcomes.

Higher Education Institution Engagement at USAID

From the start of USAID’s engagement with higher education institutions (HEIs) in USAID partner countries, building national and regional research capacity has been crucial to the promotion of equity and social and economic development. USAID assistance in the establishment of stronger HEI networks has been pivotal, and it has aided in the facilitation of cutting-edge innovations in research, education, healthcare, agriculture, and countless other sectors. One cornerstone of this development strategy has been strengthening the nexus of teaching, research, and outreach (i.e., connections with communities, government, private sector, etc.), with particular emphasis on multidisciplinary work and experiential learning.

Interdisciplinary local researchers and staff were then able to identify, engage, and address challenges with locally developed strategies–and, by doing so, generate research that could provide evidence for programming, policy implementation, or change.

Through partnerships with the private-sector, national and international non-governmental organizations, and U.S. and host-government agencies, research centers have leveraged these resources and relationships to become sustainable sources of research and evidence in USAID partner countries and in the United States. Continuing this legacy, ITR seeks to partner together with HEIs, research institutions, USAID Mission and Bureaus, other federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and the private sector to further develop and increase the use of research, scientific knowledge, and evidence directed toward addressing USAID’s development priorities and improving policy and programming decisions.

EXPLORE APS Funding Priorities and Programmatic Focus

When USAID intends to support a variety of creative approaches towards developing methodologies to assess and implement development objective activities, the Agency may use an Annual Program Statement (APS) to generate engagement and competition for these awards. The EXPLORE APS is designed to provide a vehicle for USAID to engage with the higher education community and its partners broadly and creatively, across the research and development spectrum. By encouraging higher education institutions to engage with other partners widely across the research and evidence programmatic emphases, the EXPLORE APS seeks to provide broad flexibility for the research, academic and higher education communities—and their connected organizations—to collaborate with USAID, each other, and local institutions in order to build partnerships, strengthen local systems, and support an enabling environment for addressing key development challenges in a sustainable manner.

USAID/IPI/ITR believes that through both the use of research, technological, and innovative approaches, and engagement with a diverse group of partners, we can be successful in addressing key challenges with efficiency, effectiveness, and meaning. Activities that come out of the EXPLORE APS umbrella strive to be inclusive, transparent, and vehicles by which our partners are empowered to serve as change agents in their communities.

USAID/IPI/ITR anticipates that the EXPLORE APS will also contribute to ITR’s mission and objectives through successful achievement of some or all of the following outcomes:

1. Generating Targeted Research

USAID seeks to promote discovery and innovation through integrated, cross-sectoral research that directly addresses development challenges. Through the EXPLORE APS, ITR aims to support the generation and use of research, evidence, and data beyond traditional, sector based programming to empower and include USAID partner https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/303 countries, HEIs, and other researchers and partners to identify, explore, implement, and test innovative solutions. This may include funding research directly, funding tools, funding new methods, or funding a mix of other approaches.

2. Facilitating Research Uptake

Research findings are often not effectively applied to locally identified development problems. The EXPLORE APS’s goal is to make research programming more actionable so that development actors, including and especially USAID, more effectively use, apply, and integrate evidence-based solutions in their work.

3. Strengthening Local and Partner Research Systems

Stronger research systems provide the needed infrastructure to research and engage individuals, institutions, and communities for the acceleration of research impact. In this instance, the research system is cross-cutting with direct interventions to strengthen connections to individuals, institutions, environments, governments, private sector, and civil society. This whole-systems approach to capacity-strengthening of research systems enhances the community’s adoption of these interventions, deepens the research impact, and provides a lasting framework for sustainability.

4. Deepening Capacity, Improving Training, and Strengthening the Next Generation of

Researchers

Whenever possible, USAID seeks holistic interventions to strengthen the capacity (at the individual, activity, institution, or system level) of those involved in the generation, facilitation, and use of research in development. This is critical to the creation of a sustainable research ecosystem. Without significant investment in capacity-strengthening and deliberate engagement in the persons, systems, and infrastructure that generate research, the impact of these projects and activities can be lost. Sustainable change often must be incremental, intergenerational, and in alignment with local community needs. Stronger linkages between capacity strengthening, training, workforce development, and future emerging needs can be accomplished by providing unique experiences; examples of this include mentorship and apprenticeship programs, faculty-student virtual or in-person exchanges, shadowing, experiential learning opportunities, internships, and many others. These interventions work to further connections and expand expertise while deepening and exemplifying the lessons and training taught. Education, capacity-strengthening, training, and other forms of learning are prerequisites to ensuring sustained learning for communities and other stakeholders.

Additionally, USAID expects that EXPLORE APS recipients may partner with other development actors including: civil society organizations; local, regional, and international higher education institutions. Such partnerships could help leverage external connections and resources to overcome barriers that local researchers and institutions face in conducting and using research -which ultimately, in turn, can promote local economic growth and sustainable, long-term development impacts. This could involve direct support to local researchers, institutions, agencies, or regional associations. This may also involve working with USAID

Missions/Bureaus/Independent Offices (M/B/IOs) to identify local research potential, help unlock local resources (i.e., from host country governments), leverage scientific expertise, or foster partnerships across regions (including other developed and developing countries). USAID is especially interested in potential collaboration with the private sector to ascertain problems and issues that warrant attention; mobilize and apply private sector expertise, capabilities, and resources; and build robust research and development cooperation between universities and industry.

Connecting the objectives listed above, the ITR/R Learning Agenda, USAID’s Higher Education

Program Framework, USAID’s Higher Education Learning Agenda, and Higher Education

Learning Network see advancing knowledge and research as one of the key functions of USAID’s higher education programming. Higher education institutions and systems play a key role in advancing knowledge and research. Through this function higher education systems advance generation of knowledge through basic and applied research, support its application, and develop solutions that contribute to development and innovation in a variety of sectors.

Further, the Higher Education Program Framework states that capacity strengthening of HEIs results in improved administrative, research, and instructional performance. HEIs with improved performance are better placed to achieve a variety of developmental outcomes in various systems that affect a country’s development.

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SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Funding Opportunities

This APS is unfunded and represents the framework through which later, funded Addenda may be constructed. USAID/IPI/ITR will collaborate with internal or external partners to post specific funding opportunities through Addenda to this APS that address development challenges of importance to USAID. These Addenda will likely focus on particularly intractable or impactful development challenges that may occur within or across specific countries, regions, or sectors.

Addenda will be the exclusive source of funding through this APS and will be posted on www.grants.gov.

Awards will be made ONLY in response to (a) published Addendum(a) and will not be made to the overall EXPLORE APS. USAID reserves the right to issue none, more, or fewer awards in response to potential Addendum(a) issued under this APS and is not obligated to make any awards. USAID is not obligated to publish any Addendum(a) under the EXPLORE APS.

1. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The anticipated period of performance will be determined by the published Addenda issued under the EXPLORE APS. The potential estimated start date(s) will be based on the specific dates and timelines provided in any potential published Addendum(a).

2. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code under the EXPLORE APS is expected to be 937 but may be changed within the specifications of any Addendum(a) issued under the APS or to best match program needs. In accordance with ADS 310, code 937 refers to the United States, the recipient country, and developing countries other than advanced developing countries but excludes any country that is a prohibited source. Please see ADS 310 for additional details. The authorized Geographic Code for each award afterward, if any, will be established by USAID.

3. Co-Creation, Collaboration, and Communication under the EXPLORE APS

A critical component of the EXPLORE APS is the co-creation process. Past experience demonstrates that the most successful partnerships are grounded in mutually reinforcing relationships between researchers and/or HEIs, their partner organizations, and one or more of

USAID’s development objectives. In order to most effectively consider whether and how researchers and/or HEIs and their partners, the broader development community, and USAID interests might align, USAID seeks extensive communication with prospective partners so we http://www.grants.gov https://www.edu-links.org/resources/usaid-co-creation-higher-education-institutions can jointly explore and define key challenges and problems, then jointly develop promising solutions to those issues.

The co-creation process is characterized by potentially extensive engagement and communication between USAID and any key project partner(s). Key project partners as well as organizations (public or private) that are interested in providing material, financial, or intellectual support to the proposed project may be invited to interact during the process.

Co-creation brings together participants to create solutions to specific development challenges.

When using co-creation, USAID teams work alongside partners and potential implementers collaboratively to define the problem, identify new and existing solutions, build consensus around areas for action, and/or refine plans to move forward with programs and projects. As its name implies, co-creation relies on collaboration with a diverse set of actors, allowing for a more equitable distribution of both the responsibility and ownership of outputs across all partners.

Prior to inviting Concept Note applicants to proceed to the co-creation phase, USAID's discussions with applicants will take place within the parameters of publicly available information.1 If the Concept Note meets the criteria set forth in both the EXPLORE APS umbrella and the associated Addendum, USAID personnel can have highly specific, detailed activity design discussions with the prospective award recipient throughout the remainder of the process: e.g., up to and through any award that might be issued under this APS. Please see the

“Application and Submission Information” section below for more information. These parameters provide ample room for extensive, robust discussions regarding the development problem in question, best practices, lessons learned in the relevant technical sectors, pertinent research and evaluations, and various other matters.

Once an applicant submits a Concept Note under an APS Addendum, USAID can meet with and ask the applicant (and other stated partners, if the Concept Note is proposing partnerships) extensive and highly detailed questions about the content of the Concept Note and other considerations. Such questions may be essential to USAID’s review of the Concept Note and

USAID’s determination of whether the proposed Concept Note warrants further discussion and development. This may occur before any invitation to co-creation.

USAID cannot engage in highly specific, detailed activity design with the entity seeking an award

1“ Publicly available information” is anticipated to consist of information available on public websites, the information published in the overriding APS and specific addendum to which the applicant has applied, and general information available in the news or other public repositories.

of USAID funding until after USAID decides the Concept Note meets the minimum criteria under this APS (and any additional or changed criteria under an APS Addendum) and warrants further consideration and development—at which point the applicant may be invited to co-creation.

Submission of a qualifying Concept Note is needed.

Note: None of USAID’s communication during the co-creation process provided by this APS should be interpreted as a commitment to making an award of USAID funding. Applicants are advised that participation in the co-creation process under this APS is entirely at their own risk;

the Government is not responsible for any cost incurred by the applicant should the applicant decide to accept the invitation to co-create with USAID. A commitment to an award of USAID funding is made only when an award agreement is signed.

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SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for the EXPLORE APS is not restricted to any particular type of implementing partner(s), though may be restricted within the specifications of any Addendum issued.

USAID defines “Implementing Partners” as U.S. and non-U.S. non-governmental organizations that can design and implement assistance activities outside the United States. All Implementing

Partners must be legally registered entities under applicable law and eligible under the relevant laws to receive funding from a foreign source. Implementing Partners must also have a Unique

Entity Identifier (UEI) and maintain current registration in SAM.gov to be eligible to receive

United States Government (USG) funding.

While eligibility is not restricted under the umbrella EXPLORE APS, it may be restricted within the specifications of any Addendum issued. Further, applicants are strongly encouraged to engage with the research and higher education communities in order to be able to strongly respond to the overall goals of this APS. USAID is committed to advancing equity and support for underserved and underrepresented communities; these could include local USAID partner countries and/or U.S. based Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) or other higher education and/or research institutions. In addition, in support of USAID’s overall goals, awards created from Addenda (see specific eligibility in each Addendum) issued under this APS should be demand-driven and locally led to the extent possible. Finally, USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID, and faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization (and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law).

2. Other Eligibility Information

Addenda under this APS may request Concept Notes/Full Applications (in cases where only a

Full Application is requested) from all types of organizations. Such organizations must demonstrate engagement with research, HEIs, and/or related partners as well as other institutional partners, be they public, private, for-profit, or nonprofit entities/organizations, public international organizations, non-governmental organizations, U.S. and non-U.S.

governmental organizations, or multilateral and international donor organizations. All organizations must be determined to be responsive to the APS as well as the specific Addenda to which the Concept Note is being submitted and must come from organizations that can be determined to be sufficiently responsible to lead the final award.

The recommendation or selection of an application for award does not in any way guarantee the award. The AO must evaluate the risks posed by applicants before making the award. The AO must evaluate risk in accordance with the principles established by USAID and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (see 2 CFR 200.205). In order for an award to be made, the AO must make an affirmative determination that the applicant is “responsible” as discussed in ADS 303.3.9.

Under the EXPLORE APS, unless specified otherwise in the specific Addendum, potential Prime applicants are typically limited to one Concept Note submission per Addendum; sub-award partners do not have limitations on the number of Concept Notes on which they can be involved, unless specified differently in a particular Addendum. USAID does not expect sub-award or other partners (non-Prime applicants) to be exclusive in their partnerships.

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SECTION D – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Agency Point of Contact

Name: Charles Jackson Title: Agreement Officer Email: chajackson@usaid.gov and

Name: Megan Strembitsky Title: Agreement Specialist Email: mstrembitsky@usaid.gov and

Name: Julia Banks Title: Agreement Specialist Email: jbanks@usaid.gov

Questions and Answers

For any questions regarding this APS, contact the EXPLORE APS Support Team at stip.aps.support.team@usaid.gov.

Questions regarding specific Addenda, including Concept Notes, must be submitted to the contact listed in that Addendum. Each specific Addendum issued under the EXPLORE APS will specify a separate point of contact and timeline for questions. Questions must be received no later than the date and time indicated on the cover letter for each Addendum, as amended. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning each EXPLORE APS Addendum will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment to the specific

Addendum, if that information is necessary in submitting applications or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective applicant.

General Information

The EXPLORE APS provides a platform for the initiation of consultations for potential implementing partners and the relevant USAID M/B/IOs and reflects USAID’s interest in expanding and diversifying its HEI and researcher partner base, while supporting ideas with high potential for transformative impact. The EXPLORE APS is unfunded and serves as a general umbrella APS, to which USAID/IPI/ITR and other USAID M/B/IOs can post specific Addenda or mailto:mstrembitsky@usaid.gov mailto:jbanks@usaid.gov funding opportunities that are focused on cross-sectoral and/or pressing development challenges. An Addendum highlights a specific program or activity, where technical assistance or partnership opportunities are communicated by a USAID M/B/IO. USAID Addenda are time-sensitive calls for Concept Notes. While this APS is not supported by specific funds, funding levels and estimated numbers of awards will be specifically outlined in any Addenda issued.

NOTE: USAID will only consider Concept Notes that are submitted under a specific Addendum to the EXPLORE APS. USAID will not accept or consider any Concept Notes under this EXPLORE APS unless they are submitted in direct response to an open Addendum. USAID is not required to respond or acknowledge any communication not in compliance with the direct allowable response protocol provided in each issued Addendum.

Applicants interested in pursuing this opportunity should follow the instructions and guidance set forth in each Addendum. Applicants must have established financial management, monitoring and evaluation processes, internal control systems, and policies and procedures that comply with established U.S. Government standards, laws, and regulations specific to the award type.

Where possible, USAID encourages Prime applicant(s) to have an issued UEI, www.sam.gov registration, and for non-U.S. organizations, a NATO Commercial and Governmental Entity

(NCAGE) code as early as possible, although this is not required at the Concept Note stage. The registration process for a UEI, sam.gov, and/or NCAGE may take many weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, Applicants are encouraged to begin the process as early as possible.

Resources to transition from obtaining a DUNs number to a UEI can be found at:

https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei.

Applicants interested in pursuing an opportunity posted as an Addendum should follow the instructions and guidance set forth in that text. This APS is not supported by specific funds;

therefore, the amount of resources made available under this APS will depend on the scope of the specific Addenda, the concepts received, and the availability of funds. USAID/IPI/ITR and/or the awarding M/B/IO for specific Addenda will review submissions as indicated in the Addendum. Applicants should submit Concept Notes according to the timeline and eligibility criteria outlined in the specific Addendum and send the Concept Notes to the point of contact (POC) indicated in that Addendum.

Of note, potential Prime applicants are typically limited to one Concept Note submission per Addendum; sub-award partners do not have limitations on the number of Concept Notes on https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei which they can be involved, unless specified differently in a particular Addendum. USAID does not expect sub-award or other partners (non-Prime applicants) to be exclusive in their partnerships. Information on the target response time, and on any special deadlines, is available at www.grants.gov. The application and award process under this APS has the following steps:

1. Concept Note Submission

Interested applicants must first submit an initial five (5)-page maximum Concept Note. Concept Notes must respond to a specific Addendum under this APS and should be prepared and submitted according to the specific instructions in the Addendum of interest. Applicants should submit only the information and materials specified in the Addendum. In the unlikely event that a specific format is not provided, the applicant should refer to the EXPLORE APS Concept Note template (Appendix I), inclusive of the Budget Outline Template (Appendix II), found at www.grants.gov, and follow all directions and requirements set forth within.

Applicants should not submit any alternative document or narrative as a substitute for a Concept Note; application materials in any other format will not be accepted or reviewed. In addition, and as noted in the EXPLORE APS Concept Note template, all Concept Notes MUST be in English, unless otherwise specified in an Addendum, and submitted electronically via email.

Concept Notes must be submitted to the names indicated in the specific EXPLORE APS Addendum. Concept Notes sent by any other means (including to grants.gov) will not be considered. The Concept Note submission deadline for each specific EXPLORE APS Addendum will be indicated in that Addendum. Additional information can be found at www.grants.gov.

For questions, please contact the USAID staff named as the point of contact in the specific EXPLORE APS Addendum.

Concept Notes submitted under this APS are encouraged to demonstrate a cross-sectoral approach to solving a pressing development challenge (typically, though not exclusively) through a consortium of actors to be led by representatives from one primary recipient of the award (Prime Recipient)2. Additionally, these development challenges should relate directly to the EXPLORE APS Addendum to which the Concept Note is responding. These Concept Notes will be evaluated based on the criteria and considerations set forth in the “Merit Review Criteria and Considerations” subsection (Section E) below3.

USAID is eager to review the wealth of tremendous ideas that researchers, higher education

3 Concepts Notes will be evaluated according to the criteria and considerations set forth in the EXPLORE APS and any additional criteria indicated in the pertinent EXPLORE APS Addendum.

2 Consortia applications are welcomed under this APS unless otherwise restricted; however, one eligible entity must still be identified as the Prime Recipient. The other consortia partners will serve as subawardees to the Prime Recipient (if the relationship is monetary in nature) or as thought partners/advisors to the Prime Recipient (if the relationship is non-monetary in nature). The Prime Recipient will be responsible for managing and coordinating its partners as it seeks to achieve the three goals stated above.

http://www.grants.gov https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EmO4UlHRqT2yWNMGqAF-Ud1ih8p6uvxD0J1WDhR2TyE/edit?usp=drive_link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Un27kC4JuDyhSDqUVaBv_CO4ro3BNBQ1dbNiYt6ulcQ/edit?usp=drive_link institutions, and related partners will submit in response to Addenda issued under this APS.

Research and higher education institutions have been vital partners to USAID since the Agency was first created. USAID collaboration with the research and higher education communities continues to be critical to achieving sustainable development results and impact.

USAID will strive to review Concept Notes promptly and inform applicants as soon as feasible whether the activities proposed in the Concept Note warrant further consideration and development.

After submitting a Concept Note electronically, applicants should immediately check their own email to confirm that the attachments were indeed sent. If an applicant discovers an error in transmission, please send the material again and note in the subject line of the email or indicate in the file name if submitted via grants.gov that it is a "corrected" submission. Do not send the same email more than once unless there has been a change, and if so, please note that it is a "corrected" email. Applicants are reminded that email is NOT instantaneous, and in some cases delays of several hours occur from transmission to receipt. Therefore, applicants are requested to send the Concept Note in sufficient time ahead of the deadline. For the EXPLORE APS, the initial point of entry to the government infrastructure is the USAID mail server. Further, there may be a problem with the receipt of *.zip files due to anti-virus software. Therefore, applicants are discouraged from sending files in this format as USAID cannot guarantee their acceptance by the internet server.

2. Review of Concept Notes

Once a Concept Note has been submitted in response to an Addendum under the EXPLORE APS, USAID will conduct an initial review of the Concept Note using the criteria outlined in Section E’s “Merit Review Criteria and Considerations” as well as the criteria stated in the individual Addendum.

The purpose of the initial review and related communication is to determine whether USAID wishes to engage in further discussions regarding the proposed approach and activities. The initial review and communication will result in one of three outcomes:

1. A decision to forego further consideration of the approach proposed in the Concept

Note (red determination);

2. A decision to provide the applicant an opportunity to submit a revised Concept Note

(this is very rare) (amber determination); or

3. An invitation to engage in more in-depth and specific co-creation discussions aimed at further developing the proposed approach and determining whether to request a Full

Application (green determination).

Note: A decision to engage in more in-depth and specific co-creation discussions is NOT a commitment to funding, nor is it a commitment that USAID will request a Full Application. If an applicant is invited to engage in co-creation and further discussions, additional guidance with respect to expectations during the co-creation process will be provided to the applicant. There is no guarantee that participation in the co-creation phase will lead to an award from USAID.

This is a collaborative process, and the outcome may be that all, some, or none of the participants will be asked to submit a Full Application following the co-creation phase. If a formal co-creation workshop is held (in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format), it will be viewed as an opportunity to team up, brainstorm, and prepare the initial skeleton of a project/activity that may or may not be funded.

If subsequent in-depth and specific discussions do not result in the identification and development of an activity worthy of further pursuit, the M/B/IO will not request a Full

Application and will instead inform the applicant that USAID is no longer interested in the proposed activity.

On the other hand, if more in-depth discussions enable the partners to jointly develop and design (or further clarify) a promising, high impact approach, and the M/B/IO decides a Full

Application is warranted, USAID will inform the applicant of that determination.

Information Protection

USAID aims to facilitate research and development that could lead to innovative, and potentially commercially viable, solutions. Understanding the sensitive nature of submitters’ information, USAID will work with organizations to protect intellectual property as appropriate. Concept

Notes should be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect, as the

Concept Note may be shared with USAID partners as part of the selection process. However, once applicants have been invited to engage in further discussions, applicants will work with

USAID to identify proprietary information that requires protection.

Organizations making submissions under this APS grant to USAID a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use, disclose, reproduce, and prepare derivative works, and to have or permit others to do so to any information contained in the concept note submitted under the

APS. If USAID engages with the organization regarding its submission, the parties can negotiate further protections for the organization’s intellectual property.

Organizations must ensure that any submissions under this APS are free of any third-party proprietary data rights that would impact the license granted to USAID herein.

3. Co-Creation, Collaboration, and Communication

Co-creation brings people together to collectively design solutions to specific development challenges. It is time-limited and participatory; partners, potential implementers, and end-users work to define a problem collaboratively, identify new and existing solutions, build consensus around action, and refine plans to move forward with programs and projects. During this stage of the EXPLORE APS, the aim of co-creation is to collaboratively define project objectives, refine activities, align timelines, finalize budgets, etc. Through discussions, the applicant(s) and USAID may identify additional resources, partners, or strategies necessary to successfully implement the project. This process may involve potentially extensive discussions with USAID/ITR, USAID

Mission staff, or other experts, within or outside of USAID.

Based on historical precedent, USAID anticipates that only a small number of applicants will be invited to move forward in the co-creation process. However, additional strong Concept Notes may be placed in an eligible pool of applicants for the life of the EXPLORE APS, which USAID may wish to engage in further discussion should additional funds or opportunities arise.

In submitting a Concept Note to this Addendum, Applicants give USAID the right to share

Concept Notes with appropriate internal and external partners solely for the purposes of evaluation or co-creation. All parties privy to the contents of submitted Concept Notes, whether within or outside of USAID, will be required to keep contents in confidence. Further information will be provided in each potential Addendum issued and to those applicants who are selected to move forward in the process.

If USAID remains interested in moving forward with an applicant’s proposed projects or activities following the co-creation discussions and/or workshop(s), USAID may request a Full

Application from the applicant, inclusive of all modifications, expansions, discussions, etc.

resulting from co-creation. Invitation to or participation in co-creation or other communication with USAID during the application process does not guarantee a request for a

Full Application or funding.

Furthermore, any expenses incurred during the application process including expenses incurred to prepare for and attend the co-creation discussions and/or workshop(s) are the sole responsibility of the applicant(s). However, USAID recognizes that not all potential stakeholders may have the financial capacity to facilitate their in-person participation in co-creation (if in-person co-creation is determined to be needed). USAID does not want this to be a limiting factor that prevents applicants from choosing to apply.

4. Full Application Submission

If an M/B/IO decides a Full Application is warranted, Full Application instructions and/or templates will be provided to the applicant(s) by the M/B/IO. Full Application instructions and/or templates are expected to vary based on specific M/B/IO needs and project objectives.

Consistent with the co-creation focus of this EXPLORE APS, USAID will continue to have robust communication with applicants, potential partners, and other key stakeholders regarding the technical substance of the evolving approach, as well as the identity and roles of proposed or additional partners. This will include USAID and partner communications regarding the content of the Full Application, including but not limited to the program description to be included in the resulting RFA and subsequent Full Application.

5. Review of Full Applications

After receipt, all Full Applications will be reviewed for their technical merit by a decision panel, anticipated to be composed of USAID/ITR staff and/or staff from the requesting M/B/IO. USAID may request applicants to present their Full Application to the decision panel via teleconference or videoconference, or to travel to USAID/Washington (if within 50 miles of USAID Headquarters). The decision panels will only meet with applicants when they determine a meeting is appropriate; applicants should not contact USAID to schedule a presentation.

6. Request for Additional Information

Consistent with the co-creation objectives of this EXPLORE APS, the decision panel may suggest revisions and additions to the proposed project as well as potential partners and resources. The decision panel, working in collaboration with USAID/IPI/ITR and the relevant M/B/IO may also seek additional information regarding the technical approach, the capacity of the applicant and partners, management and organization, past performance, budget, representations, and certifications.

7. AO Determination

If the decision panel recommends a Full Application for funding, its review will be shared with the Agreement Officer (AO) for final approval and award negotiation. Based on the criteria outlined in the specific Addendum, the decision panel will recommend which Full Application(s) be advanced to the AO for the relevant M/B/IO for award instrument negotiation and finalization.