NOFO Intercommunity Activity.pdf

Issue Date: January 16, 2020 Questions Deadline before Submission of Applications: February 5, 2020 Closing Date for Submission of Applications: March 17, 2020, 16:00 hours, Cairo Local Time

Subject: Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: 72026320RFA00002 Program Title: Inter-Community Girls Empowerment Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 98.001

Ladies/Gentlemen:

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Mission in Egypt (USAID/Egypt) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Inter-Community Girls Empowerment activity. Eligibility for this award is not restricted.

USAID/Egypt intends to make an award to the applicant(s) who best meets the objectives of this funding opportunity based on the merit review criteria described in this NOFO subject to a risk assessment. Eligible parties interested in submitting an application are encouraged to read this NOFO thoroughly to understand the type of program sought, application submission requirements and selection process.

To be eligible for award, the applicant must provide all information as required in this NOFO and meet eligibility standards in Section C of this NOFO. This funding opportunity is posted on www.grants.gov, and may be amended. It is the responsibility of the applicant to regularly check the website to ensure they have the latest information pertaining to this notice of funding opportunity and to ensure that the NOFO has been received from the internet in its entirety.

USAID/Egypt bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion process. If you have difficulty registering on www.grants.gov or accessing the NOFO, please contact the Grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 or via email at support@grants.gov for technical assistance.

USAID may not award to an applicant unless the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) requirements as detailed in http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov

Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: 72026320RFA00002 Inter-Community Girls Empowerment Activity

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 5

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 32

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 34

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 35

SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 58

SECTION F: FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 61

SECTION G: FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT(S) 69

SECTION H: OTHER INFORMATION 70

ANNEX 1 – BUDGET FORMATS 71

SUMMARY BUDGET TEMPLATE FOR NOTIONAL BUDGET

ANNEX 2 - STANDARD PROVISIONS 78

ANNEX 3: PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION (PPI) 83

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This funding opportunity is authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended. The resulting award 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. Set forth below is a description of the proposed program, covering:

1. Program Title;

2. Objective;

3. Background;

4. General Program Guidance; and

5. Program Activities.

1. Program Title:

The title of this Program is the Inter-Community Girls Empowerment Activity (Inter-Community Activity).

2. Objective:

The objective of this activity is to engage young women and girls1 from different social and cultural backgrounds in cross-community dialogue and to develop a shared community vision for girls’ empowerment. This program will enhance women and girls’ leadership skills in diverse communities. Through pairing participants from different backgrounds and communities in a mutually beneficial relationship, USAID/Egypt seeks to support emerging leaders to identify and mediate the underlying causes of disputes within their communities. The program will also focus on building the self-esteem, leadership, and consensus-building skills of participants and the broader community.

The Inter-Community Activity will promote cooperation between girls from different communities, including those with diverse traditional values. The program will support the ability of young participants to continue their education, increase confidence and expand influence within their communities. The development hypothesis of the proposed activity posits that if girls in communities can engage in cross-cultural and inter-community dialogue to develop a common vision, then consensus can be built to promote a stronger community that empowers both women and girls and provides them with equal opportunities that will lead to inclusive economic growth. To this end, the proposed program will provide a safe and secure

1 Girls within this age cohort (i.e. under the age of 25 years) represent over one-fifth of Egypt’s population and must be engaged to impact its development trajectory. http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf venue for continuing education and discussion on vital issues for young women and girls that promote opportunities and inclusion. Concurrently, the activity will engage individuals from different communities and demographic groups to participate in exercises to identify, prioritize, and address community needs through community initiatives, participation in cultural events, or the establishment of joint micro-enterprises when and where specific opportunities are identified.

3. Background:

The following background consisting of (a) the programmatic background and (b) other relevant activities is provided below.

a. Programmatic Background

Gender Equality and Female Empowerment:

Egypt’s constitution provides for equal rights for male and female citizens. The Government of Egypt has undertaken political, legal, and social efforts to address the issue of violence against women and girls. However, women continue to face unique and overlapping challenges due to discrimination faced in both law and practice, threats to their physical security, and workplace bias in favor of men that hinder their economic advancement. Discrimination varies in intensity based on economic status, educational level, and geographic location.

Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally correspond to an individual’s traditional values and inherited culture. Additionally, labor laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men and women in the public but not the private sector, which is a contributing factor to the relatively low levels of women’s participation in the formal economy (24 percent) as well as the low level of women’s entrepreneurship (16 percent) country-wide. Furthermore, educated women continue to have employment opportunities, but social pressures against women pursuing a career remain strong. The law and practice make it difficult for women to access formal credit.

While the law allows women to own property, social and traditional barriers strongly discourage women’s ownership of land, a primary source of collateral in the banking system.

Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Practice

The Government of Egypt has taken significant steps to ensure the freedom of religious belief enshrined in Article 64 of the Constitution is increasingly protected. Article 64 of Egypt’s Constitution states that “freedom of belief is absolute,” however, efforts at the highest levels to protect and promote the cultural and religious beliefs of Muslims, Christians, and Jews to practice their religions publicly and build places of worship have not always been appreciated at the community level. 2

Since 2017, President Sisi and his government have continued their efforts to highlight Egypt’s religious diversity to both domestic and international audiences. In May 2017, at the Arab- Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Sisi described Egypt as a “land of Islam, Christianity and Judaism” and “an epitome of moderate thought, tolerance and enlightenment.”3 As recently as December 2019, more than 1,400 houses of worship that had previously been closed were granted licenses by the State Committee for the Legalization of Unlicensed Churches. Al-Azhar, along with the Coptic Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations, continue to lead and participate in the Beit Elela (Egyptian Family House). The purpose of this 27-member leadership council is to engage directly with government ministers concerning public policy, and it has made special efforts to promote religious acceptance, especially in Upper Egypt. Al-Azhar, as well as the Ministry of Religious Endowments, have worked with the National Council of Women, a government body focused on the advancement of women, to create a program to bring together more than 500 female Muslim preachers and nuns to promote religious tolerance throughout Egypt.

The Ministry of Education also continues to remove and/or clarify passages from primary school textbooks, particularly Islamic education books, deemed to promote extremist ideology.

Prosecution of perpetrators of violence against religious minority populations is limited. In some instances, “customary reconciliation” is pursued; however, the results of such reconciliation sessions have been inconsistent in their results.

b. Other Relevant Activities

The following are relevant activities focused on women and girls’ empowerment for the prospective awardee to understand previous program areas and partners. Additional program information may be made available should the awardee provide an approach that would necessitate the need for additional coordination. Reports on all the below mentioned awards are available on the DEC website www.dec.gov and can be obtained by award number and/or project name.

● SAFE CITIES FREE FROM VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

Implementing Partner: UN Women Award number AID-263-IO-13-00007 Life of Project: October 1, 2013-June 30, 2020

2 (2019). U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Egypt:

https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Tier2_EGYPT_2019.pdf

3 Ibid.

http://www.dec.gov/ https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Tier2_EGYPT_2019.pdf

This multi-donor project works to end violence against women and girls by combating sexual harassment, promoting legislative reforms, and improving support mechanisms for survivors of violence against women. The Safe Cities project is strengthening the capacity of public institutions and community service organizations to provide victim services. Governorates: Nationwide, plus targeted intervention areas in Alexandria, Beni Suef, Cairo, Giza, and Minya.

● CREATING AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS

Implementing Partner: UNICEF Award number 720263-18-IO-00001

Life of Project: December 5, 2017- December 31, 2021

In partnership with UNICEF and the Government of Egypt, USAID is empowering girls in Upper Egypt by equipping them with key social and economic skills to eliminate violence against girls, including Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) and early marriage. The broad objective of this activity is to change public perception to support the rights of Egyptian girls, thus protecting them from FGM/C and child marriage. By focusing on services, systems, and community, the activity aims to empower girls and their families to end violence against girls with the support of Egypt’s legal system and protection services. Governorates: Assiut, Aswan, Qena, Sohag

4. General Program Guidance

Activities funded under this award must be conducted consistent with the guidance below related to: a. geographic focus; b. construction; c. overarching technical considerations; d. USAID strategy, e. coordination with U.S. Government, Government of Egypt, and other donor programs.

a. Geographic Focus Preliminary geographic focus is subject to change, but could include: Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Assuit, Beni Suef, Minya, and Qena. Activities in Minya and Assuit are strongly encouraged.

b. Construction:

No new construction is authorized for the purposes of this award; however, USAID/Egypt would consider requests for light rehabilitation of existing community structures if their disrepair was an inhibitor to activity success.

c. Overarching Technical Considerations:

● Gender Equality and Female Empowerment: As evidenced in the body of the program description, the focus of the activity is on advancing gender equality and female empowerment and is in line with USAID’s policy objectives on the matter. As such, awardee(s) are instructed to ensure all activities concretely address barriers and constraints to women’s empowerment. As such, the awardee is instructed to ensure all activities concretely address barriers and constraints to women’s empowerment.

● Engagement with Men and Boys: USAID/Egypt recognizes the importance of working with men and boys to achieve gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment. Best practice indicates that female empowerment programming, even when overlaid with interfaith cooperation, cannot be done without the engagement of men and boys. During adolescence and young adulthood, there is a critical period of opportunity to engage boys and young men in understanding why gender equality is positive. By using and sharing their power and privilege, boys and young men have the ability to shift the dominant norms and ideas about gender and masculinity, and challenge the patriarchal beliefs, practices, institutions and structures that drive inequality between women and men.

● Conflict Sensitivity: The awardee must ensure that conflict sensitive approaches are incorporated throughout implementation to ensure that activities equally reach a diverse representation of women and girls who identify with different traditional values and inherited culture bias in a manner that does not unintentionally exacerbate vulnerabilities of those groups, or tensions either within minority or between minority and majority populations. The awardee must ensure a ‘do no harm’ approach is integrated into activities to minimize potential negative impacts and maximize positive impacts. The awardee must analyze how conflict sensitivities in the areas of implementation are adversely impacting capacity of the awardee and/or its partners to deliver services; while also identifying key strategies that interventions in the target locations can mitigate these factors and effectively respond to population needs despite the potential constraints. A Conflict Sensitivity Implementation Strategy is required with annual work plan submission and the awardee is expected to conduct an initial baseline localized conflict analysis to inform programming and ensuring that the first critical step of conflict sensitivity is accounted for. On-going contextual analysis will be required throughout the life of the activity.

● Training Quality: The awardee must ensure that all training, whether through workshops or formal training sessions and topic are relevant to the specific cohort and make use of appropriate methodologies for adult training or child-friendly instruction.

● Coordination: The U.S. Government t has a diverse portfolio of programs. Given this proposed activity has the potential to engage the health, education and economic growth sectors, the awardee will be expected to fully coordinate with existing U.S. Government programs and implementing partners to prevent duplication of effort.

● Parental Engagement: USAID/Egypt recognizes that parental engagement (mothers and fathers) is essential for the success of the activity. As such, awardee(s) must ensure parents are effectively and consistently involved and consulted throughout the course of the activity. This could include intake meetings, mid-point progress stock takings; social norms change exercises; networking; and, participation in selected components of the activity.

● Positive Youth Development (PYD): PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and, promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths. As such, the activity seeks to harness the capabilities of young women and girls

● People-to-People Approach: People-to-People (P2P) programs are effective in areas with strained relationships between individuals in groups. This approach brings representatives of different groups together to interact purposefully in a safe-co-equal space to forge trust and empathy. More information on USAID’s approach to P2P programming can be found at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/CMMP2PGuidelines2010-01- 19.pdf.

● Private Sector Engagement: The proposed activity should consider opportunities to engage with the private sector for sustainable development impact, where appropriate, in accordance with USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Policy4.

● Reporting: The proposed activity responds to the U.S. Government’s policy priority to advance inter-community understanding in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as USAID/Egypt’s desire to increase inclusive economic governance; combat violence against women and girls; and, improve public participation of young women and girls. In light of that fact, regular, and ad hoc output and outcome reporting will be required from awardee. This shall include monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting in addition to ad hoc reporting.

d. USAID Strategy

USAID is working in partnership with the Egyptian people to promote good governance, prevent violence against women, combat trafficking in persons, and promote women's empowerment.

Our work supports the efficiency of public institutions and reduces the barriers to economic and social participation for women and girls. Through a focus on inter-community girls’ empowerment, the proposed activity aligns with USAID/Egypt’s strategy to increase inclusive economic growth by increasing women and girls’ participation.

Furthermore, the proposed activity aligns with all four pillars of the Egyptian National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030. The Strategy seeks to emphasize and fulfill Egypt’s commitment to women’s rights as set forth in the Egyptian Constitution 2014, as well as

4 See https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/usaid_psepolicy_final.pdf.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/CMMP2PGuidelines2010-01-19.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/CMMP2PGuidelines2010-01-19.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/usaid_psepolicy_final.pdf in binding international conventions, covenants and declarations to which Egypt is a party.

Moreover, the Strategy aims to respond to the real needs of Egyptian women–particularly those living in rural areas of Upper Egypt, the poor, female-headed households, the elderly and disabled women. These groups are entitled to care–when the State develops development plans, in order to ensure their full protection, utilize their human and financial resources and potential in order to fulfill the principle of equal opportunities as set forth in the Constitution.

e. Coordination with U.S. Government, Government of Egypt and Other Donor Programs

U.S. Government programs in Egypt support a diverse portfolio across a broad spectrum to include health and education, economic growth, agriculture and food security, gender equality and female empowerment, governance, global health, and water and sanitation. Given the range of programming conducted by the U.S. Government, the Recipient is expected to coordinate with existing U.S. Government programming and deconflict as necessary. The Government of Egypt has implemented activities aimed at empowering women and girls and building inter-community cooperation. Proposed activities under this award should consider how to leverage and complement these activities.

Furthermore, proposed activities should complement the work of other donors. Although, there is limited donor attention to the promotion of inter-community coexistence, there is a high degree of donor attention paid to the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment and microeconomic growth. As such, the Recipient should propose approaches that complement existing efforts.

f. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

The Recipient shall develop a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan in consultation with the Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) that will include output and outcome, quantitative and qualitative indicators to include required applicable standard indicators, as well as custom indicators to be proposed by the recipient. The Recipient shall develop a rigorous system for the collection, storage and analysis of data and the verification of its quality, to ensure it meets USAID data quality standards. Indicators should be disaggregated by gender and where appropriate by age and should demonstrate that the recipient is reaching a diverse group of target beneficiaries. The MEL Plan shall detail the activity's learning approach and an evaluation plan.

The MEL Plan shall be submitted (or updated if necessary) along with the annual work plan.

Results data will be shared with a number of stakeholders, including other USAID implementing partners, public, and civil society entities as well as other donors, in support of enhanced collaboration, learning and adaptive management (CLA) across USAID’s portfolio. The Recipient may be requested to participate in collaborative learning events, which will be designed to generate and share learning among USAID implementing partners and stakeholders.

Either baseline information or a plan for immediate collection of baseline data at the start of activity must be included. The activity will report progress quarterly in a standardized format.

The MEL Plan should include an appropriate set of quantitative and/or qualitative performance indicators that measure outputs and outcomes accurately and in a timely, cost-effective manner.

The Recipient will develop high-quality indicators and, where appropriate, draw upon relevant USAID standard indicators (http://www.state.gov/f/indicators). For each indicator, the MEL Plan must include a Performance Indicator Reference Sheet, which provides a precise definition, information on disaggregation, the data source, frequency of data collection, collection method, the party responsible for data collection, when baseline information will be collected, and expected annual targets.

In order to assist with project coordination, the recipient will also establish and maintain a MEL database that will include key indicators, information on beneficiary numbers per location, and status of activities. USAID will have read access to this database.

Note: The term “program” as used in 2 CFR 200 and this NOFO is typically considered by USAID to be an Activity supporting one or more Project(s) pursuant to specific Development Objectives. Please see 2 CFR 700 for the USAID specific definitions of the terms “Activity” and “Project” as used in the USAID context for purposes of planning, design, and implementation of USAID development assistance.

5. Program Activities

The purpose of this program is to engage young women and girls5 from different social and cultural backgrounds in cross-community dialogue and to develop a shared vision of young women and girls’ empowerment. The program seeks 1) to provide a safe venue for education, discussions on vital issues of concern for girls and 2) to identify Community Champions and engage individuals from all communities to participate in exercises to identify, prioritize, and address community needs through small-scale projects, joint cultural events, and/or micro-enterprises.

Working through local Community Development Associations (CDA) or other community-based trusted structures and in concert with local leaders, including religious leaders, USAID/Egypt seeks creative approaches to address the following three objectives:

Objective 1 - Cultivate Community Champions

5 Girls within this age cohort (i.e. under the age of 25 years) represent over one-fifth of Egypt’s population and must be engaged to impact its development trajectory. http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf

The proposed program intends to support young women and girls as they collectively identify the challenges they uniquely face and work with men and boys to identify solutions. The program seeks to transfer leadership skills to both young men and women to promote inter-community dialogue and initiative that serve their common vision.

To this end, the program will cultivate and identify a cadre of Community Champions within and across communities who support the leadership of young women and girls. Emphasis should be placed on attracting involvement of formal and traditional leaders, such as government officials and customary/traditional and religious leaders.6The program will identify, select, and train women and men Community Champions on leadership, facilitation, harm reduction, and gender issues affecting girls and boys. These Community Champions will likely already be leaders in their communities and will be paired or grouped with other Champions from different demographic groups to collectively identify and propose solutions to their community challenges.

These individuals will develop a shared community vision to promote cross-cultural understanding while mitigating issues that adversely impact young women and girls. These shared community visions will also promote the empowerment of young women and girls in their community, emphasizing the positive impact of young women and girls’ empowerment on cohesiveness and community. Moreover, the visions will define conflict resolution needs, identify safe spaces and potential risks, and outline steps needed to reach a shared vision for the community.

At the individual level, the program seeks to address the interpersonal, interactional, and behavioral aspects of empowerment for young women and girls. Such attention has direct impact on the ability of young women and girls to continue their education, raise their self-esteem, and by extension express power over personal decision-making. Through empowerment, the program seeks to ensure school retention while increasing economic empowerment and participation as a means to increase both their own interactions within the family home as well as to support their ability to start a small business or participate in the workforce.

Illustrative Activities:

● Community groups brought together to self-select leaders and “Champions of Change,” ensuring gender balance of participants;

● Train and build capacity of Champions to address gender issues, young women and girls’ empowerment, and dispute mitigation to build community harmony;

● Creation and provision of safe venues where young women and girls can become educated on issues affecting their participation in social and economic life;

6 (2015). Walker, J. Engaging Islamic Opinion Leaders on Child Marriage: Preliminary Results from Pilot Projects in Nigeria, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 13:3, 48-58,

● Developing a joint “Community Vision” that addresses the needs of various demographic groups within one community;

● Conducting participatory needs assessments within communities to address modest needs

● Formalized networking relationships among and between older program participants and local educational and employment institutions

● Pending needs, small seed funding could be provided for collaborative projects.

Objective 2 – Improve Practical Life Skills for Self-Protection

The purpose of this Objective is to understand what factors change behaviors among the greater community and to empower young women and girls to leverage these elements to bring about positive change. This program seeks to take the experience of young women and girls and harness them to increase women’s participation and confidence in public consensus-building roles. Furthermore, by harnessing these experiences, the activity seeks to target the role that women and girls can play in preventing and responding to inter-community disputes and harmful practices, including violence against women and girls. By working with young people, greater awareness about the need for inter-community dialogue and understanding can be developed to counter harmful practices that adversely affect women’s full participation in Egyptian social and economic life.

To build bonds across different communities, the program will emphasize peer-to-peer mentoring and learning among segmented youth cohorts, especially girls and young women.

Young girls and young boys will be aided on how to begin discussions on difficult topics, how to talk about girls’ empowerment, and how to frame important messages. Work with young men and boys will address masculinity and gender roles.

Illustrative Activities:

● Gather and assess experiences of young people toward conflict and change, especially toward inter-generational and inter-cultural disputes as well as harmful practices;

● Identify the knowledge, understanding, and experiences of young people from different demographic groups toward harmful practices and inter-community disputes;

● Understand the social, cultural, and economic roles of harmful practices and how to develop and roll out successful substitutions;

● Encourage discussion on vital issues of concern for young women and girls, such as violence against women and girls; FGM; early and seasonal marriage;

● Create a culture of safe spaces for young women and girls to learn and to educate one another about violence against women and girls and other harmful practices;

● Build a cadre of “Peer Mentors” among girls to build awareness and raise issues to local leaders, persons in authority, or Community Champions;

Objective 3 – Increase Inter-Community Cooperation

To enact the shared community visions developed in Objective 1 to empower young women and girls and to involve youth from Objective 2, communities from different demographic groups will be encouraged to implement initiatives that promote the aspirations of the shared community vision for long-term cooperation and growth. This Objective will require a consistent monitoring of the process and the outputs of the community dialogues and periodic re-validation of the shared community visions.

The activity will promote small scale community initiatives to build stronger social networks across different demographic communities, with an emphasis on volunteerism and the economic empowerment of young women and girls. These projects may be developed to address a specific issue related to young women and girls’ needs as outlined in the shared visions or may address an ancillary community-raised issues. By building community solidarity, informal groups help mitigate economic shocks that can underpin violence against women and girls or community disputes, while building trust between individuals from disparate backgrounds and working toward a common goal7.

Illustrative Activities:

● Development of continuous quality improvement plans for shared community vision statements and associated systems of regular locally based re-validation;

● Creation of frameworks for implementation of micro projects to support shared community vision statements;

● Involvement of individuals from all communities--not only those actively targeted as participants--to be in exercises to identify, prioritize, and address community needs through volunteer projects;

● Launching of targeted initiatives to support women’s empowerment and cross-community strengthening.

D. Expected Results

● Diversified Community Champions of Change in four diverse geographic locations identified in the General Program Guidance Section.

● Each targeted community has developed and validated a shared community vision statement and devised a plan on how to realize the vision.

● Micro projects delivered to implement the shared community vision and promote women and girls’ empowerment in targeted communities.

● Communication and interpersonal skills of a cadre of peer mentors developed.

(Definition/Activities: Build the capacity of a cadre of peer mentors who can demonstrate the ability to communicate concepts on the prevention of harmful practices

7 (2016). Brannen, C. & Sheehan-Connor, D. Evaluation of the impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations using a novel survey instrument, Development Southern Africa. 33:4, 502-517.

against women and girls, help in the mitigation of disputes and understand how to effectively report concerns to appropriate authorities.)

● Communication channels between peer mentors, local leaders, persons in authority, or Community Champions established.

● School retention rates among participating girls improved in the selected geographic locations.

● Increased participation of youth leaders, particularly young women and girls, in devising solutions for their communities.

● Tangible, community-based priorities addressed at the grassroots level in the selected geographic locations.

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

USAID/Egypt intends to award one Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID/Egypt intends to provide US$3 million in total USAID funding over a three-year period.

2. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The anticipated period of performance is three years. The estimated start date will be July 1, , 2020.

3. Substantial Involvement

USAID plans to negotiate and award an assistance instrument known as a Cooperative Agreement with the successful applicant for this program. A Cooperative Agreement implies a level of “substantial involvement” by USAID. This substantial involvement will be through the Agreement Officer, except to the extent that the Agreement Officer delegates authority to the Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) in writing. The intended purpose of the substantial involvement during the award is to assist the recipient in achieving the supported objectives of the agreement.

The anticipated substantial involvement elements for this award are listed below (this list does not include approvals required by Standard Mandatory Provisions for Non-US NGOs or other applicable law, regulation or provision):

● Approval of implementation plans annually, including planned activities for the following year and any subsequent revisions of the implementation plan;

● Approval of key personnel;

● Agency and Recipient Collaboration or Joint Participation in implementation, including, the following:

⮚ Collaborative involvement in selection of advisory committee members and participation in the advisory committee, if the program will establish an advisory committee that provides advice to the recipient;

⮚ Direction or Redirection of activities specified in the program description due to GoE priorities and guidance as well as interrelationships with other programs;

⮚ Approval of the Monitoring Evaluation & Learning Plan – the ME&L Plan will be developed in consultation with USAID/Egypt.

⮚ Approval of all sub awards not included and approved in the original Cooperative Agreement

4. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code for the procurement of commodities and services under this program is 937 defined as the United States, the recipient country, and developing countries other than advanced developing countries, but excluding any country that is a prohibited source.

5. Nature of the Relationship between USAID and the Recipient

The principal purpose of the relationship with the Recipient and under the subject program is to transfer funds to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation of the Inter-Community Activity which is authorized by Federal statute. The successful Recipient will be responsible for ensuring the achievement of the program objectives and the efficient and effective administration of the award through the application of sound management practices. The Recipient will assume responsibility for administering Federal funds in a manner consistent with underlying agreements, program objectives, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted. USAID/Egypt welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

USAID/Egypt has established a mandatory minimum recipient cost-share of two percent of the projected USAID funding for the expected assistance award. Such funds may be provided directly by the recipient; other multilateral, bilateral, and foundation donors; host governments;

and local organizations, communities and private businesses that contribute financially and in-kind to implementation of activities at the country level. This may include contribution of staff level of effort, office space or other facilities or equipment which may be used for the program, provided by the recipient. For guidance on cost sharing in grants and cooperative agreements see

2 CFR 200.306.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements

Applicants can only submit one (1) application. Applicants are directed to review the other requirements for applications specified herein, including, but not limited to, Sections D and E herein.

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Agency Point of Contacts

Name: Ms. Abeer Rizk Title: Acquisition & Assistance Management Specialist, USAID/Egypt Email Addresses: arizk@usaid.gov

Name: Ms. Dina El Motei Title: Acquisition & Assistance Management Specialist, USAID/Egypt Email Addresses: delmotei@usaid.gov

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this NOFO should be submitted through two e-mail addresses to Ms. Abeer Rizk at arizk@usaid.gov with a copy to Ms. Dina El Motei at delmotei@usaid.gov no later than the date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning this NOFO will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment to this NOFO, if that information is necessary in submitting applications or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective applicant.

3. General Content and Form of Application

Each applicant must furnish the information required by this NOFO. Applications must be submitted in two separate parts: 1. the Technical Application (which forms the basis for the Merit Review) and 2. the Business (Cost) Application. This subsection addresses general content requirements applying to the full application. Please see subsections 5 and 6, below, for information on the content specific to the Technical and Business (Cost) applications. The Technical Application must address technical aspects only, while the Business (Cost) Application must present the costs, and address risk and other related issues.

Both the Technical and Business (Cost) Applications must include a cover page that shall not exceed one page. The cover page must include the following information:

● Name of the organization(s) submitting the application;

● Type of institution

● Identification and signature of the primary contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address) and the identification of the alternate contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address);

● Program name mailto:arizk@usaid.gov mailto:delmotei@usaid.gov mailto:arizk@usaid.gov mailto:delmotei@usaid.gov

● Notice of Funding Opportunity number

● Name of any proposed sub-recipients or partnerships (identify if any of the organizations are local organizations, per USAID’s definition of ‘local entity’ under

ADS 303.)

Any erasures or other changes to the application must be initialed by the person signing the application. Applications signed by an agent on behalf of the applicant must be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

Applicants may choose to submit a cover letter in addition to the cover pages, but it will serve only as a transmittal letter to the Agreement Officer. The cover letter will not be reviewed as part of the merit review criteria. Applications that are incomplete or not directly responsive to the terms, conditions, and provisions of this NOFO may be eliminated from further consideration at the discretion of the Agreement Officer. Pre-applications, letters of intent, concept papers or white papers are not required and will not be considered. Applications in languages other than English will not be considered.

4. Application Submission Procedures

Applications in response to this NOFO must be submitted no later than the closing date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Consistent with ADS 303.3.6.6, applications that are submitted late may be eliminated from the competition. If a late application is evaluated and considered for award, all similarly situated late applications (in terms of time of receipt) will also be evaluated and considered for award. Applicants must retain proof of timely delivery in the form of system generated documentation of delivery receipt date and time/confirmation from the receiving office

Applications must be submitted by email to arizk@usaid.gov with a copy to delmotei@usaid.gov. Email submissions must include the NOFO number and applicant’s name in the subject line heading. In addition, for an application sent by multiple emails, the subject line must also indicate whether the email relates to the technical or cost application, and the desired sequence of the emails and their attachments (e.g. "No. 1 of 4", etc.). For example, if your cost application is being sent in two emails, the first email should have a subject line that states: "[NOFO number], [organization name], Cost Application, Part 1 of 2".

USAID/Egypt’s preference is that the technical application and the cost application each be submitted as consolidated email attachments, e.g. that you consolidate the various parts of a technical application into a single document before sending it. If this is not possible, please provide instructions on how to collate the attachments. USAID will not be responsible for errors in compiling electronic applications if no instructions are provided or are unclear. The Applicant must limit the size of its attachments to 25MB per email.

mailto:arizk@usaid.gov mailto:delmotei@usaid.gov

Applicants are reminded that e-mail is NOT instantaneous, and in some cases delays of several hours occur from transmission to receipt. Therefore, applicants are requested to send the application in sufficient time ahead of the deadline. For this NOFO, the initial point of entry to the government infrastructure is the USAID mail server.

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/Egypt/OAA cannot guarantee their acceptance by the internet server. File size must not exceed 25MB per email.

5. Technical Application Format

The technical application should be specific, complete, and presented concisely. The application must demonstrate the applicant's capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the goals of this program. The application should consider the requirements of the program and merit review criteria found in this NOFO.

The technical application shall not exceed 15 pages, subject to the exceptions specified below.

If the technical application exceeds fifteen (15) pages (excluding annexes, the table of contents, and the cover page), USAID/Egypt may determine, in its sole discretion, to consider and review ONLY the first fifteen pages when evaluating the technical application.

All figures, charts and tables must be labeled. If more than one page, header rows MUST be repeated at the top of each page to allow for ease of reading. The technical application must be on standard 8-1/2” by 11” paper (210mm by 297mm paper) or A4 paper, single-spaced, 12-point type or larger, Times New Roman font, and have at least one-inch margins on the top, bottom, and both sides. While tables, graphs, and charts may be used with a smaller font, USAID/Egypt reserves the right to take appropriate action, including elimination of the application from further consideration, if the use of smaller font in tables, graphs, and charts in the application is abused.

The Technical Application must be submitted in Microsoft Word and PDF format.

The Technical Application shall include the following sections:

(a) Cover Page (See Section D.3 above for requirements) {Does NOT count against the page limit}

(b) Table of Contents {Does NOT count against the page limit): Include major sections and page numbering to easily cross-reference and identify merit review criteria.

(c) Technical Approach: The Technical Approach Section should include information sufficient to evaluate the application under the technical approach criterion under the Merit Review Criteria in Section E below. Applicants must describe and support their overall approach and activities to accomplish the set of stated results provided in the Program Description of the NOFO. In the

Technical Application, Applicants must propose a comprehensive approach for achieving the results specified in the Program Description and their sustainability. For all the stated results, Applicants must propose performance standards and deliverables, which are measurable and structured to permit an assessment of the Applicant’s performance. The technical approach should also address the following:

● Sustainability of each activity component and process for partnering with national stakeholders to ensure sustainability.

● The applicant should incorporate gender considerations throughout the technical approach and must address how gender norms and constraints in the implementation context will affect the project and how the project is likely to reduce or exacerbate existing gender gaps. The gender analysis must also identify potential adverse impacts and/or risks of gender-based exclusion that could result from planned activities.

● The applicant should also anticipate any potential risks or roadblocks and present a plan for how the program will adapt and manage.

Annexes related to Technical Approach {Does NOT count against the page limit}:

● Draft Work Plan: The application shall include a draft work plan for the first year of the project. The Draft Work Plan must describe each proposed activity; enumerate the deliverables; the time and level of effort, sub-contracts, commodities, and other resources required to achieve each stated result. The draft work plan should also specify the timeline of implementation of activities and achieving results.

● Illustrative Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (MEL): USAID is also requesting an illustrative MEL strategy that utilizes an adaptive management and learning approach. The application shall provide an illustrative MEL plan. The MEL plan must present a results framework, including assumptions and key indicators.

The plan should: (1) show a clear path to meeting stated results; (2) recommend indicators that are realistic, obtainable and that will be effective as guides to management and reporting; (3) identify the baseline data needs, methodologies required to monitor project activities, benchmarks and timelines for measuring results; (4) explains how the MEL will be implemented and applied as a management, evaluative and learning tool. (Not included in page limitation).

● Draft sustainability plan: The application shall include a draft sustainability plan for each activity component.

(d) Management Approach and Staffing:

The Management Approach and Staffing Section should include information sufficient to evaluate the application under the management approach and key position criterion under the Merit Review Criteria in Section E below. Applicants must submit an overall management approach that clearly reflects an effective distribution of roles and responsibilities and the likelihood the proposed management approach will achieve results presented in the technical application. Use of local expertise is highly encouraged. The approach must include the following:

● The approach must identify all proposed sub-awardees(s), and explain their roles and responsibilities including a discussion of how they will be fully integrated into the implementation project. The applicant must include an activity organization chart identifying the roles and responsibilities of the prime applicant and each of the proposed sub-awardee(s) as appropriate and must also include the roles and responsibilities of individual team members. (Not included in page limitation).

● The applicant must provide with the application draft staffing plan including a description of the applicant’s personnel resources for the project, duty location, source of labor (i.e. local, U.S. expatriate) and the associated lines of responsibility.