APS No 72062024APS00001 - Partnerships for Progress.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PARTNERSHIPS FOR PROGRESS

ANNUAL PROGRAM STATEMENT

APS No: 72062024APS00001 Original Issuance Date: June 03, 2024

Closing Date: June 02, 2025

CFDA #:98.001

Dear Prospective Applicants:

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is issuing this Annual Program Statement (APS) pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended. The Agency will administer any resulting awards in accordance with Parts 200 and 700 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; Standard Provisions for Non-US Organizations; as well as the additional requirements in this APS.

INTERESTED APPLICANTS - PLEASE READ: This Partnerships for Progress Annual Program Statement (APS) is not a Request for Applications (RFA) or a Request for Proposals (RFP), and does not serve as a general request for locally-led development concepts. Do not submit concepts via grants.gov as they will not be accepted. Interested Applicants must respond to a specific document(s) called an “addendum” or “addenda” that will share USAID/Nigeria’s priorities and may be issued throughout the year on grants.gov. These addenda, when added, can be found on grants.gov under “Related Documents” on the USAID Partnerships for Progress APS page. Please visit this page periodically for opportunities that may be relevant to your area(s) of focus or interest.

USAID/Nigeria is available to respond to questions about the process from applicants. Applicants should submit questions by email to the point of contact (POC) identified in Section 10 below.

Issuance of this APS does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S.

Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or submission of comments/suggestions or an application. All preparation and submission costs are at the Applicant’s expense.

Further, USAID reserves the right to reject any application received. Final award(s) will not be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal USAID procedures.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Marva M. Butler Agreement Officer USAID/Nigeria

APS NO.72062024APS00001

Partnerships for Progress

Table of Contents

Section 1: APS Description

Section 2: Eligibility of Applicant(s)

Section 3: Local Resources

Section 4: Locally Led Development Approaches

Section 5: Award Amount Considerations

Section 6: Addendum and Co-Creation

Section 7: Concept Submission Instructions and Next Steps for Applicants

Section 8: Minimum Requirements and Review Criteria

Section 9: Sharing of Concepts

Section 10: Federal Award Information

Attachment A: Concept Instructions for Applicants

Attachment B: Work with USAID - A Partner Resource

Section 1: APS Program Description

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), USAID/Nigeria invites concepts from a wide variety of local actors for assistance awards that advance local participation (localization) in Nigeria’s development.

“Localization” at USAID is defined as intentional changes to our policies, processes, staffing and funding decisions to support partnerships and programs that empower local actors, strengthen local systems, and facilitate local leadership so that development and humanitarian assistance is more effective and sustainable. To integrate localization, three mutually-reinforcing practices are required:

● Ensure local actors set their own development agendas;

● Improve development and humanitarian results by strengthening local system performance, in addition to developing local capacities; and

● Support local actors to achieve their own mission; take action to design and implement equitable responses to local challenges; learn, adapt, innovate, and transform over time.

The Partnerships for Progress Annual Program Statement (APS) contributes to the Agency’s Localization objectives and implementation strategy. This APS will facilitate partnerships with local organizations to advance the implementation of the Mission’s 2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) to achieve a healthier, more educated, prosperous, stable, and resilient Nigeria. USAID/Nigeria will engage, strengthen, and fund local organizations to address priorities in economic growth (water, sanitation and hygiene - WASH, power, agriculture, private sector engagement), education, health, conflict mitigation, and good governance. This APS seeks to empower local actors to lead and participate in the identification of development challenges, as well as propose and implement solutions within their local communities.1

This APS seeks to build upon Agency policy, guidance, and emerging practice in the areas of co-creation, collaboration, learning, and contextually informed and adaptive design and management. It aims to advance USAID’s capacity to work with local partners, to learn from these engagements, and to share this learning broadly. Under this APS, USAID/Nigeria intends to fund a wide range of flexible, innovative, and experimental approaches to encourage locally led development within and across the identified priority sectors.

Section 2: Eligibility of Applicant(s)

1 "Local community" is considered as a group of individuals, households, organizations, political units (e.g., a village, municipality, sub-national government entity or any organization composed thereof), private sector firms, or other partner-country based institutions, defined by shared interest or priorities and inclusive of marginalized groups (e.g., women, youth, Indigenous groups, and key populations). Local here refers to both the level of organization of the community, and the position of that community as directly affected by the development challenge.

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https://www.usaid.gov/localization

USAID/Nigeria welcomes concepts from a wide variety of local organizations who bring an understanding of the development challenges facing their communities and/or who clearly demonstrate a way to determine local priorities in their approach(es).

Eligible applicants:

1. Must be a local entity. When determining if an entity is eligible for the purposes of this APS, USAID will consider:

a. Whether the entity is legally organized under the laws of Nigeria;

b. Whether the entity has its principal place of business or operations in Nigeria;

c. Whether the entity is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nigeria; and

d. Whether the entity is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nigeria.

2. Cannot be a U.S.-based organization. U.S.-based organizations are not eligible as prime awardees under this APS.

The following types of non-U.S. organizations are encouraged to participate (it should be noted that this list not exhaustive and is only provided for illustrative purposes):

● Civic groups

● Colleges and universities

● Cooperatives

● Disability Programming Organizations (DPOs)

● Faith-based organizations (FBOs)

● Foundations

● Government entities

● Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

● Private businesses

● Trade associations

USAID especially encourages concepts from local organizations who have not worked with

USAID before.

Section 3: Local Resources

This APS supports activities that incorporate a mix of USAID, non-donor, and local resources to ensure that there is strong local support for proposed approaches, both during and after the life of an award. Addenda to this APS may require one or more approaches to promote local and non-donor ownership of activities that are appropriate for the Nigerian context. This may include cost-sharing arrangements, leveraging capital and other resources, and/or an activity component that strengthens the capacity of local awardees to generate or leverage resources beyond those provided by international donors.

Section 4: Locally Led Development Approaches

Applicants should consider the following development approaches and include an outline of how they will be incorporated into their proposed activity. USAID/Nigeria understands that these approaches need to be more fully discussed and developed with those Applicants selected for co-creation.

1. Locally-Led Participatory Development Approaches

Locally led development refers to the extent to which local actors are empowered to lead priority-setting, decision-making, management, measurement, and other processes through which development assistance contributes toward improving systems and outcomes for development. A participatory development approach intentionally promotes this shift in decision-making power. USAID/Nigeria will continue to shift priority-setting and implementation of decision-making to local actors to the extent that these are consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives. Therefore, this APS is designed to catalyze co-creation and participatory processes through which local actors can work with USAID to achieve development impact by identifying, testing and learning from locally-led, participatory development approaches.

USAID will not prescribe a technical approach for Applicants to fully develop and then implement; instead, USAID will limit itself to describing the results it intends to achieve or problems and challenges it has identified to resolve in a specific area, sector of interest, or under a particular activity. Implementation will be led by the Applicant with USAID taking on the role of donor, facilitator, and collaborative partner.

2. Local Capacity Strengthening

Effective local capacity strengthening will strategically and intentionally support an Applicant’s ability to achieve their own mission, to take action to design and implement solutions to local development challenges, to learn and adapt from that action, and to innovate and transform over time. Through this APS, USAID/Nigeria will prioritize listening to the Applicant(s) in order to understand their history, strengths, opportunities, constraints, and vision. By doing so, USAID and the Applicant can together ensure that the award will achieve its intended activity results and strengthen the Applicant’s organizational capacity by the end of the award. Regularly updated resources regarding USAID’s Local Capacity Strengthening (LCS) policy and related topics can be readily accessed here.

3. Inclusive Development through DEIA Principles

Inclusive development is an equitable development approach built on the understanding that every individual and community, of all diverse identities and experiences, is instrumental in the transformation of their own societies. Maximizing this level of engagement throughout the entire development process leads to better outcomes. USAID/Nigeria is committed to supporting

APS NO.72062024APS00001

Partnerships for Progress https://www.usaid.gov/policy/local-capacity-strengthening https://www.usaid.gov/policy/local-capacity-strengthening https://www.usaid.gov/inclusivedevelopment development approaches that respect and value inclusion as reflected in the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusiveness, and Accessibility (DEIA), which can be summarily defined as:

Diversity: The variety of similarities and differences within a given community or population.

Equity: The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities.

Inclusion: The intentional process in which social, economic, political and cultural similarities and differences are positive drivers to transforming relationships and structures so that all individuals, including marginalized and/or underrepresented groups, can contribute to their societies and communities.

Accessibility: The intentional design, construction, development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology, programs, and services so that all people can fully and independently use (access) them.

To the extent possible, the Applicant must demonstrate and ensure inclusion of all populations, particularly under-represented groups such as women and youth, people living with disabilities, indigenous groups and key populations, in the creation, implementation and continuous improvement of the proposed activity and its beneficiaries. The Applicant should also consider DEIA in its staffing plan.

Section 5: Award Amount Considerations

USAID/Nigeria and the Applicant will take mutual responsibility for determining the appropriate scale of the activities and award amounts. USAID/Nigeria will ensure that awards issued under this APS do not exceed an awardee’s capacity to grow sustainably in the local context and that the type and terms of the award can lead the Applicant to success. While there is no restriction on the number of awards an Applicant may receive under this APS, please note that Applicants are expected to propose a budget that reasonably reflects their existing resources and capacity to grow.

Similarly, USAID/Nigeria will ensure that the activity is carefully developed so that it does not contribute directly or unintentionally to inequity, discrimination, criminalization, exclusion, or stigma towards any population or group.

The Mission anticipates making multiple awards for a period of up to five years, specifically as follows:

Estimated Total Program Funding: $250,000,000 Maximum Award Ceiling: $40,000,000

Section 6: Addendum and Co-Creation

USAID/Nigeria’s technical teams will issue specific opportunities, known as addenda, to request the submission of concepts. Each addendum will establish specific approaches, development sector challenges and results, and budget parameters. In an addendum, USAID/Nigeria will provide specific instructions tailored to the needs of the award opportunity and consistent with the general guidance contained in this APS. USAID/Nigeria’s technical team may use the format of the concept paper submission that best suits the activity and best serves local actors (i.e oral presentations, video submissions, online forms, slide decks).

Based on concept submissions, USAID/Nigeria will determine whether to co-create an activity (or set of activities) with an Applicant(s) or whether a different approach will be followed. If co-creation is chosen, USAID/Nigeria will provide instructions for the co-creation period and requirements for a particular award. This may include requesting a formal full application.

Section 7: Concept Submission Instructions and Next Steps for Applicants

This Partnerships for Progress APS is not a Request for Applications or a Request for Proposals, and this APS does not serve as a general request for concepts. Do not submit concepts via grants.gov, as they will not be accepted. Interested Applicants must respond to specific documents called “addenda” that share USAID priorities and will be issued throughout the year on grants.gov. These addenda, when added, can be found on grants.gov under “Related Documents” on the Partnerships for Progress APS page. Please visit this page periodically for opportunities that may be relevant to your area of focus or interest.

Section 8: Minimum Requirements and Review Criteria

Minimum Requirements Concepts that do not meet these requirements will not be considered:

1. The Applicant meets the eligibility criteria in Section 2, Eligibility of Applicant(s), and any additional eligibility criteria required in an Addendum.

2. The concept must incorporate the principles of Locally Led Participatory Development and DEIA.

3. The Applicant is able to demonstrate and/or propose a plan for how they intend to scale up their capacity (if necessary) in order to handle increased funding. The level of funding requested by the Applicant does not exceed the Applicant’s capacity to grow sustainably within the local context.

Merit Review Criteria In each addendum, USAID/Nigeria will include Merit Review Criteria that reflect activity-specific priorities. The merit review criteria will be used by USAID/Nigeria to review and evaluate concepts that meet the minimum requirements.

While merit criteria are paramount, cost considerations may also be a factor for award. The U.S.

Government is not obligated to make an award based on the lowest proposed amount or to the Applicant with the highest merit evaluation.

Section 9: Sharing of Concepts

If USAID/Nigeria identifies opportunities to strengthen or fund a concept by connecting it with other USAID activities, potential funders, and/or external partners, USAID/Nigeria may make that concept available internally or externally for appropriate consideration after consulting the submitting applicant and receiving appropriate permission.

Section 10: Federal Award Information

This APS is not supported by specific funds. Any funding for activities proposed under this APS will be requested by USAID/Nigeria through issuance of an addendum under this APS.

USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the concepts submitted based on an addendum under this APS. Please note that the determination of potential substantive and resource support DOES NOT constitute a commitment to make an award.

This APS supports all types of assistance awards allowed by USAID policies as explained in its Automated Directives System (ADS) including grants, fixed amount awards, renewal awards, and cooperative agreements.

In order to be eligible to receive U.S. Government funding, organizations must meet certain requirements. While these requirements do not have to be met in order to submit a concept under the APS, they will need to be met if the applicant is requested to co-create an activity and/or is found eligible to receive an award from USAID. These requirements are:

● Registration Matters:

○ All first-time applicants for USAID funding are subject to a pre-award risk assessment to verify that the applicant has proper procedures in place to receive USAID funding (ADS 303.3.9).

○ Each applicant (unless the applicant has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to:

■ Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI);

■ Provide a valid UEI number (generated via SAM); and

■ Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

● Applications for Federal Assistance:

○ SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

○ SF-424A, Cost application Information – Non-Construction Programs

○ SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs

○ SF-425, Federal Financial Form

○ Certifications, Assurances, Other Statements of the Recipient

In addition, the requirements for reporting on USAID/Nigeria-funded activities under this APS will be determined in a collaborative manner among selected awardees. These requirements will be outlined in award documents.

For general questions about this APS, please contact the USAID/Nigeria APS POC Maria Hassan at: mahassan@usaid.gov.

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mailto:mhassan@usaid.gov

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A: Concept Instructions for Applicants

The concept and supporting information must be submitted to the addendum POC. Applicants must consult the relevant addendum for specific submission guidance. Concepts may be submitted in a variety of formats including, but not limited to:

● A concept paper not exceeding five pages in total length

● A slide deck not exceeding 10 slides.

● A video presentation not to exceed 10 minutes.

● An oral presentation not exceeding 20 minutes. If an addendum determines that an oral presentation is appropriate, Applicants must submit the summary information explained below via email. USAID/Nigeria will then contact the Applicant to schedule the oral presentation.

● Any combination of written and oral formats that an addendum specifies in order to meet the needs and requirements of the Mission and local entities.

Concepts must, at a minimum, include the information below:

A. SUMMARY INFORMATION

1. Name and contact information of Applicant

2. Organization type and legal registration in Nigeria

3. Explanation of how the Organization qualifies as a local entity and satisfies any additional eligibility criteria identified in the specific Addendum

4. Title of proposed activity

5. Location of proposed activity

6. Name, contact information, and country of legal registration for other partner organizations

7. Overall objective of activity (1-2 sentences)

8. Amount of funding requested from USAID, quoted in US dollars ($)

9. Is funding received from other donor(s)? If so, what amount?

B. NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION

Successful narrative descriptions should present a discussion of the prompts included below.

Please note that your narrative is not required to answer each question, but rather it should capture and reflect your understanding of the key objectives envisioned under this APS.

Locally Led Participatory Approach:

● What locally led development approach(es) and activities do you intend to use? How will your approach(es) and/or activity lead to expected results?

Attachment A - Page 1

● How do local people/communities experience the challenge(s) that the concept addresses, and what is important to them? How do you know?

● How will you engage communities in design, implementation, and monitoring of the development activities?

● How will your strategy enable and share learning to advance the practice of locally led development? How and with whom do you intend to share these learned practices?

Strengthening Local Capacity:

● What is your strategy for addressing the challenge(s) identified?

● How will performance of this activity contribute to strengthening one's own capacity and that of other local stakeholders?

● How will the outcomes, results, and impacts, as well as any activities that need to continue beyond the duration of a USAID award, be sustainable without continued USAID funding or involvement after the award ends?

Inclusive Development and DEIA:

● How do you foresee inclusion of and collaboration with other stakeholders in the activity?

● How will you ensure that the participation of marginalized communities or stakeholders is included/amplified in your staffing pattern and activities?

Attachment A - Page 2

Attachment B: Work with USAID - A Partner Resource www.workwithUSAID.gov is a globally accessible, free resource hub that offers a variety of innovative services and tools designed to improve organizational readiness, connect partners to peers and experts, and prepare them to pursue USAID funding. This website was established to support new, existing and potential partners, as well as USAID staff around the world. Other website features include a library, blog, and an FAQ page that features the most commonly asked questions organizations ask about engaging with USAID.

Potential applicants for this APS are strongly encouraged to take the Pre-Engagement Assessment as soon as possible in order to evaluate their readiness to compete for USAID funding.

Attachment B - Page 1

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