SES - 72011221RFA00001-NOFO.pdf

ISSUANCE DATE: APRIL 21, 2021

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT APRIL 30, 2021

OF QUESTIONS:

10:00 HOURS LOCAL BAKU TIME

CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR MAY 26, 2021

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

10:00 HOURS LOCAL BAKU TIME

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO) NUMBER:

72011221RFA00001

ACTIVITY TITLE: SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT SUPPORT (SES) ACTIVITY

Dear Prospective Applicants:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a

Cooperative Agreement for funding to support a program entitled “Social Engagement Support

(SES) Activity” in Azerbaijan. The authority for the NOFO is found in the Foreign Assistance

Act of 1961, as amended. Please refer to the Program Description for a complete statement of goals and expected results.

USAID 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 bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/

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 detailed in

Section D.6.f. The registration process may take many weeks to complete. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to begin registration early in the process.

Please send any questions to the point(s) of contact identified in Section D. The deadline for questions is shown above. Responses to questions received prior to the deadline will be furnished to all potential applicants through an amendment to this notice posted to www.grants.gov.

Issuance of this notice of funding opportunity does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or submission of comments/suggestions or an application. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Robert Claussen

Director, Regional Agreement Officer

USAID/Caucasus mailto:support@grants.gov

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 3

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 15

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 17

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 18

SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 31

SECTION F: FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 34

SECTION G: OTHER INFORMATION 39

ANNEX 1 - SUMMARY BUDGET TEMPLATE 40

ANNEX 2 - STANDARD PROVISIONS 41

ANNEX 3 - RISK ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION STRATEGY 44

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.

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT SUPPORT (SES) ACTIVITY1

Purpose:

USAID seeks to empower citizens, citizen groups, and civil society to engage with one another and the government with the aim of building trust, confidence, skills, and abilities. We also seek civil society and citizen engagement of the private sector to catalyze their advocacy for changes that lead to good governance associated reforms. The purpose of this activity is to strengthen local partnerships to enhance citizen participation in advancing Azerbaijan’s social and economic development while also increasing accountability and transparency in governance.

We will pilot the use of political economy analysis (PEA) both periodically and to set baselines.

PEAs will contribute to the selection of target geographies (communities and governance units) with the political will, resources, and potential for successful partnerships that also line up with the Mission’s strategic objectives as outlined in the USAID/Azerbaijan Country Development and Cooperation Strategy.2

Background:

The evolving political landscape in Azerbaijan presents opportunities that allow for addressing public participation, accountability, economic governance and improved service delivery, particularly through civil society, citizen participation, and more responsive governance. USAID acknowledges that activities must proceed carefully in order to build trust and incrementally open the space wider for increased partnership with special consideration for context and security concerns. The Government of Azerbaijan’s reform agenda and appealing to the government’s own incentives (when these line up with citizens’ needs) may pose opportunities.

USAID seeks to provide safe spaces for civic engagement and the acquisition and practical application of skills related to civic engagement for citizens, citizens groups, media, the private sector, and activists whenever possible. USAID recognizes the private sector as partners of civil society in the endeavor for better, more responsive governance and more government accountability, especially for market-oriented reforms. USAID prioritizes promoting gender equality, in particular, increasing the representation and participation of women and youth, including young women, in its strategic approach. Women are mostly excluded from community

1 SES in Azerbaijani means “voice”. Hidden meaning of the project`s abbreviation would mean “raising the voice”.

The program will build on the accomplishments of the USAID-funded SEDA that assisted 172 communities in 6 economic regions of Azerbaijan to increase citizen participation in addressing socio-economic needs.

2 https://www.usaid.gov/azerbaijan/cdcs https://www.usaid.gov/azerbaijan/cdcs decision-making and lack authoritative voices in government while suffering disproportionately from gaps in critical needs as well as intersecting forms of discrimination.

An engaged citizenry including a vibrant civil society is pivotal for the development of any democratic society. Since 2014, the situation in the country with civil society worsened as a result of changes to numerous laws related to NGO activities and NGO/grant/donor registration requirements. Shrinking space for civil society organizations makes it vital to continue efforts to support their voices and bring back their influence while encouraging and capacitating the engagement of Azerbaijan’s citizens. Despite all of the challenges in the operating environment, civil society and citizens are already enacting some incremental positive changes for the benefit of vulnerable citizens/communities, contributing to socio-economic development of the country, and improving governance practices at the local and regional level.

Informal citizen initiatives, organizations like Community Development Councils (CDCs), are important players in supporting Azerbaijan's democratic evolution, sustainability and resilience, particularly at the local level. They should be provided the same rights and opportunities as formal CSOs and be empowered to lead local level initiatives. These efforts will support

Azerbaijan’s democratic evolution, stability and resilience. USAID seeks to amplify and inspire even more of this.

This new activity is a follow-on to a ten-year long investment in rural Azerbaijan, the Socio-

Economic Development Activity (SEDA). SEDA was designed to enhance citizen participation in decision-making processes and in implementation of socio-economic development initiatives at the community level. The Activity contributed to increased engagement between executive/municipal authorities and citizen groups (CDCs), by building a platform for dialogue, cooperation and collaboration. The efforts led to mobilization of more than 170 communities across Azerbaijan. These efforts were an attempt to bring the voice of the general public into the decision-making processes on socio-economic issues at the grass-roots level. Despite a strong centralized government, the SEDA activity found the government open for some types of engagement with citizen groups, namely the CDCs. USAID and civil society organizations and groups active in Azerbaijan are finding more opportunities for wider engagement between citizens and government, as well as the private sector and other institutions. A SEDA final evaluation detected, among other things, the importance of developing a gender and youth strategy, outlining opportunities and approaches in these areas. The strategy should cover both organizational and programmatic aspects, undertaking a thorough analysis of barriers and opportunities for greater participation of women and youth in all civic engagements, including with CDCs, and reorienting themselves to advocate and lead by example.3 The SEDA evaluation also made observations about activities and their link to democracy and governance as well as suggestions for how to contribute to further growth of citizens along the democratic participation spectrum that are worth noting. Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the evaluation document, the link to which is available in the annex.

SES is designed to further expand and solidify those opportunities, identify new ones, and innovate towards deeper, lasting results. This activity is also intended to benefit from collaboration with an ongoing activity, the Empowering Civil Society for Transparency

3 SEDA Final Evaluation (Outcome Harvesting), p.12

(ECSOFT), which has conducted assessments and lessons learned in the sphere of good governance. Select documents prepared by ECSOFT can be shared upon request. A list of those and other documents the Mission has found useful in designing this Project Description, including an evaluation of SEDA, is available in the annex.

Objectives and Theory of Change:

This activity’s goal is to strengthen formal and informal citizen groups (community-based organizations), and support and enhance their role in advancing Azerbaijan’s social and economic development while introducing innovative participatory practices at the local and regional levels. The theory of change is that if citizens and citizens’ groups are strengthened and supported to more effectively engage their government; and if opportunities for engagement between government, citizens, and the private sector are increased; then citizens can better contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities and improve governance in their areas of influence.

Objective 1: Improved capacity of citizens and groups to sustain engagement with government on shared development initiatives

Sub-objectives:

1. Enhanced civic engagement by citizens’ groups, informal and formal, including but not limited to CDCs;

2. Diversified partnerships for citizens’ groups across private and public sectors.

Building from previous investments in democracy, rights, and governance programming, this objective focuses on building civic agency.4 Activities under this objective will build or strengthen the capacities of citizens and citizen groups to work collaboratively to address shared challenges, find solutions to problems, and create common ground. A particular focus will be on increasing womens’ roles in developing local solutions. USAID envisions capacitation of citizens to work with fellow citizens in informal groups, with formal CSOs, associations, private sector entities, and government agencies in the pursuit of demand-driven and shared development initiatives. These initiatives may include seeking solutions to service delivery problems including issues pertaining to water and sanitation in rural areas, support to micro-enterprises for rural livelihoods, access to early childhood education/childcare to increase women’s participation in the activity and the labor market, to name a few. The SES activity will reduce barriers and increase the civic agency and capacity of women and youth to better advocate, particularly collectively, and ensure their issues are represented in decision-making processes. The activity will also engage men and boys in ensuring gender equality in access to those services. Women and youth are key demographics and critical stakeholders in this activity.

4 There are many definitions and permutations of civic agency. For the purposes of this design, USAID sees building civic agency as building the capacity of citizens to act cooperatively on solutions to common problems, across differences of view, by developing or enhancing habits and practices, norms and ways of life that support their ability to collectively act.

USAID envisions a technical approach that will engage the government at any level, but is primarily focused at the regional and local levels, with clear strategies for how to carry that engagement up to central level influencers and decision makers wherever and whenever possible and appropriate. Engagement will be most successful where the government is open to partnership or the PEA(s) suggest engagement could be catalytic for concrete change or reform.

Objective 2:Increased utilization of participatory governance practices for local development especially through identification of partnership opportunities with the

Government

Sub-objectives:

1. Increased opportunities for engagement between government, citizens, and the private sector

2. Improved responsive participation practices/mechanisms; and

3. Enhanced feedback to citizen input.

Critical to this objective is that feedback and suggestions received through public participation and social accountability have an effect on the practices of Azerbaijan’s institutions and do not become mere tokenism. PEAs can support identification of issues, localities, and other opportunities that could breed success, however incremental, rather than citizen frustration.

Stemming from the 2014 Law on Public Participation, GoAZ entities have the responsibility to generate effective acceptance of citizen participation in practices and policies, transforming citizen contributions into valuable input that supports the oversight role of citizens and citizen groups. One such effort in this vein are the Public Councils. However, implementation by such entities does not have deep roots, or experience, and feedback loops are weak with little accountability built in. Contributions from participation efforts under this Objective should both build on existing entities and potentially develop new ones. This should also translate into improvements in public financial management and specifically in transparency and efficiency in the use of resources and public budgets, and this effect should be communicated back to those citizens and groups.

Key Considerations

USAID is interested in exploring the following approaches under Objectives 1 and 2 and welcomes applications that include thought as to how any, all, or none of these could bear fruit as pilots or otherwise be included:

- Social entrepreneurship - ideas range from promoting citizen-government partnerships

(eg. Community Pitch Competitions) that seek to specifically engage women and youth to promote the building successful businesses owned by the community, or via investments made through CDCs, that allow local communities to develop the resources they need to address their own needs. Social entrepreneurship pilot activities could complement and strengthen the role of the local community in engaging with locally-based government structures by allowing and empowering communities to bring their own resources to the table. Illustrative examples:

piloting community foundation models, formation of joint citizen-government regional development entities. Pilot activities may also include advocacy for additional regulations or legal framework to support social entrepreneurship.

- Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)- such partnerships are a way for the strengths of the private and public sectors to complement each other. Citizens, the private sector, and government can come together in the identification of priority problems, proposed solutions, and pursuit of

PPPs and as such, USAID is interested in opportunities to partner with the private sector to jointly design, fund, and implement solutions to social and economic problems in Azerbaijan.

- Participatory Budgeting - For our purposes we define participatory budgeting as the process through which citizens influence and monitor how real budget funds are spent. While this is challenging in a context like Azerbaijan, participatory budgeting can encourage participation, particularly among young people. Building on SEDA and other interactions with locally-based governance entities, there are some localities where this could be piloted with the potential for creating a demonstration effect. Citizens will be also able to explore introducing gender responsive budgeting. USAID has already received interest in better understanding participatory budgeting from some local and central government officials.

- Other Citizen Watchdog/Oversight Functions, particularly related to service delivery such as citizen scorecards. Again, like with participatory budgeting, activities would need to be piloted in localities that offer the opportunity for this level of participation and engagement between citizens and their government.

- Partnerships with GoAZ agencies to better meet the needs of citizens, and with whom

USAID has successfully partnered in the past, such as ASAN Xidmet, Small and Medium

Business Development Agency, ABAD, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labor and Social

Protection, Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs. ASAN in particular, has a vast network of youth volunteers throughout Azerbaijan, many of whom are young women. Past

USAID programming, the Women’s Participation Program implemented by Counterpart

International, piloted promising partnerships with ASAN Xidmet, as have other USAID and

USG activities.

Objective 3: Rapid Response to Unforeseen Opportunities and Challenges

In parallel to all other efforts, supporting a more capable and engaged civil society and local government to form productive partnerships that support social and economic development may necessitate additional shorter-term activities. The Rapid Response implementation mechanism

(RRIM) is meant to address unforeseen and/or unexpected opportunities and challenges in

Azerbaijan’s dynamic operating environment which includes potential democratic backsliding or possible breakthroughs, post-conflict recovery needs, post-pandemic recovery needs, and opportunities identified through the PEAs, to name a few. All requests must contribute to attainment of USAID/Azerbaijan’s first Country Development Cooperation Strategy development objective, “Azerbaijan’s society is more capable and engaged” and the two other objectives in this Project Description. Grants, technical assistance, and other forms of support are possible, depending upon the needs, windows of opportunity, and funding availability.

Any activities resulting from this implementation mechanism will be subject to substantial involvement provisions, including approval by the AOR, and will require amendments to the awardee’s approved Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan. Approval will be based on a well thought out concept as well as an accompanying budget. Either the Recipient or

USAID may initiate an activity request under the RRIM. If the RRIM, or a portion of the RRIM, is not utilized as described above prior to the final year of the activity, the AOR or the Recipient may request that the RRIM be realigned into the standard program funding with final approval authority with the Agreement Officer. Not all of the RRIM must be used at one time, and multiple interventions can be considered. Applicants should articulate how they would structure work under this objective irrespective of whether or not it is funded immediately as it is possible that funding for rapid response is not made available with the rest of the core budget.

Political Economy Analysis, Geographic Focus

USAID/Azerbaijan is interested in utilizing political economy analysis (PEA) to provide USAID technical managers and activity implementer staff with a systematic way of optimizing the geographies and individuals we partner with to achieve SES’s targets. We require PEAs as part of the baseline assessment under SES, and would welcome discussion of utilizing periodic PEA throughout the life of the award.

PEAs can take many forms, and USAID welcomes applications that suggest ways to conduct, structure, and use PEAs and with what periodicity, in addition to the required baseline. These should include but are not limited to using PEAs to map Azerbaijani change agents, as well as influential actors in and out of government that could either enable or impede project performance against stated objectives. Baseline PEA(s) must support choosing which communities to partner with in the geographic focus areas important to USAID/Azerbaijan -namely the rural north and south of the country. Since Azerbaijan is a dynamic operating environment, it is possible that projected use of PEAs (other than the required baseline PEA) may shift between proposal and implementation, or during implementation. If that is the case, USAID and the grantee will decide, jointly, on any adjustments to areas of operation and focus and adjustments will be reflected in the corresponding annual work plans. The objective of all activity-supported assessments, especially baseline PEAs, is to provide recommendations that can be translated into action plans for realistic, high-priority interventions with the potential to tangibly produce results under each objective of SES. Therefore, baseline PEAs should precede and inform the submission of the first annual work plan, at a minimum, and further PEA(s) should inform future interventions. USAID is open to applications outlining PEA efforts, large or small, that could guide implementation, accompany any pivots, or provide a lense for programming decision making. Applicants should include their proposed baseline and any other

PEA methodology/methodologies and/or types of tools intended for use as the basis of their

PEA(s).

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan

The Applicant will submit a proposed Activity level Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan

(MEL Plan) to rigorously and credibly document the Activity’s effectiveness and to learn from accomplished work and results. USAID/Azerbaijan acknowledges that there could be multiple approaches to achieving the objectives outlined in this project description, and the specific indicators may vary somewhat depending upon the technical approaches proposed. It is also acknowledged that output indicators may be necessary for overall day-to-day management of the program, however, the Applicant should vest more time in developing quality outcome level indicators that have the ability to track overall achievements toward the goal and objectives. This entails identifying indicators and realistic (yet ambitious) targets that correspond to and measure the Activity’s interventions at different levels of results (goal, objectives, expected outcomes, outputs) and are linked to established baselines to assess the performance of proposed interventions. It may be necessary to also consider proxy indicators with the caveat that there may be challenges to attribution. There should be at least one gender-focused indicator included.

The MEL Plan will elaborate the methods and assessment tools the Applicant will use for collecting, monitoring, analyzing, reporting and maintaining the data. The Applicant should use a mix of custom and standard indicators from the Standard Foreign Assistance Master Indicator

List. All people-level indicators must be disaggregated by sex and age. The Applicant shall consider quality indicators over quantity when developing its list of performance indicators. The following are some illustrative indicators. The Applicant will provide their suggested indicators that align with outcomes flowing from their particular stated technical approach.

- NUMBER of institutionalized citizen participation mechanisms (by government)

- NUMBER of times citizens and groups are informed of how their participation impacted the government institution or process.

- In SES-targeted provinces, PERCENTAGE of citizens understand the roles and responsibilities of local leaders and their options for approaching local leaders with their concerns and understand their responsibilities towards improved local governance

- Azerbaijan improves its Open Budget Index score

- increased NUMBER of public private partnerships as a result of the activity

- increased NUMBER of social entrepreneurship enterprises or partnerships

- NUMBER of citizens who engaged in a local decision-making process for the first time

GNDR-2 Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment)

- GNDR-8: Number of persons trained with USG assistance to advance outcomes consistent with gender equality or female empowerment through their roles in public or private sector institutions or organizations

- Increased NUMBER of women-led partnerships developed as a result of the USG assistance

- PERCENTAGE increase of women civic engagement with government institutions

- PERCENTAGE improvement from baseline of government-citizen engagement opportunities

- RATIO of enacted solutions proposed by communities

- NUMBER of beneficiaries reached through USAID-provided social infrastructure opportunities

- PERCENT of USG-assisted organizations with improved performance

- PERCENTAGE of youth who participate in civic engagement activities following soft skills/life skills training or initiatives from USG assisted programs

USAID/Azerbaijan would welcome applications that include the use of complexity-aware monitoring and evaluation methodologies.

USAID/Azerbaijan also welcomes the inclusion of pause and reflect sessions that include

USAID Mission staff, at key points in the activity’s annual performance implementation, identified by the grantee, to review progress, identify pivot points, and address challenges adaptively. This creates opportunities to reconfirm the assumptions from which the design is built and review that the theory of change is still valid or if adjustments to the approach are required, what those adjustments may need to be. The periodic pause and reflect workshops are particularly critical in this space due to the often fluid political environment.

In addition to data collection, performance indicators, and possible pause and reflect workshops, the MEL Plan should identify other assessments, evaluations or learning products that may be used to assess the effectiveness of activities and progress towards results as well as determine the necessary strategy shifts.

Operational Principles

Gender

Gender Equal opportunities for men and women to influence the governance of their country, have their voices heard, and needs addressed are at the heart of equitable development, social justice, and healthy representative democracy. Women and men have differing needs and views about governance, as well as distinct interests and incentives in engaging. Balanced gender representation and participation in local governance are closely tied to ensuring that men and women can exercise choices regarding political, social, and economic issues.

There is wide agreement across the international donor community on the status of women in

Azerbaijan and on the beneficial actions that could be undertaken to improve their economic and social standing. However, in order to do so will require understanding and addressing some of the identified challenges, which the Applicant should consider as they design the Activity. Below are a few challenges that USAID/Azerbaijan considers relevant and should be mitigated under this Activity to increase the likelihood for success.

● Few women hold leadership or decision-making positions in the public and/or private sector, and men and women still have unequal decision-making power in the household.

● Gender stereotypes and rigid conceptions of gender roles continue to limit choices men and women make about education, employment and career paths, and family and domestic responsibilities. They also place an outsized burden of unpaid domestic labor on women.

● Gender based violence, including domestic violence and intimate partner violence, continues to be a serious problem in Azerbaijan.

USAID/Azerbaijan places considerable importance to increasing government-citizen engagement on issues affecting gender equality. Interventions under this Activity will need to respond to gender considerations and ensure that the assistance and results are equitably beneficial to women and men. A special focus will be given to supporting women’s leadership and advancing more women into senior level positions, and providing opportunities for women leaders and women-run civil society organizations to engage with decision-makers and higher levels of government. Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment should be a built-in theme throughout the Activity reflected in interventions that recognize the differing needs, perspectives and approaches necessary to engage women and men meaningfully. An activity-level gender analysis will be expected for more effective integration of gender considerations into those interventions.

Youth

Life for much of the population is like that of low-income countries in Central Asia, and they experience the same rural exodus pressure with a growing youth population who lack employment opportunities. The lack of job opportunities after high school graduation drives the emigration of trained and educated youth (male and female) from Azerbaijan. Many of the best and brightest youth are abandoning rural communities and heading to either Baku or Russia for work. Between the lack of job opportunities and the under-representation of their voices in local government, formal economy, and society, many face desperate and uncertain futures. This failure to invest in rural populations creates opportunities for foreign malign influence, especially along the borders with Russia and Iran.

The inclusion of youth is critical for instilling greater appreciation for, understanding of, and sustainability of engagement in local community development and governance. To this end, the

Activity will foster greater space for youth to network, dialogue, collaborate, and share youth-specific trends, challenges, and opportunities for advancing youth priorities in targeted regions.

The Activity should consider key areas where youth engagement is critical to ensure that young people are recognized as change agents and rights holders and are positioned to take greater leadership roles in the decision-making process.

Interventions will focus on youth participation, leadership, and ensure the full involvement of relevant youth organizations throughout the life of Activity. The Activity will identify youth-serving and youth-led groups to elevate their participation and involvement to facilitate collaboration and to promote the development of more robust and youth-friendly priorities.

Given the heterogeneous nature of the youth demographic, there should be an adaptive and dynamic approach to enhancing youth engagement. The activity will identify the most effective ways of youth outreach, be it through traditional methods, social media or other available communication technologies.

Private Sector Engagement

USAID/Azerbaijan has eagerly embraced the principles of Private Sector Engagement (PSE) and has targeted selected value chain interventions that leverage corporate capabilities and that can bring benefits to small and medium enterprises. All sectors in Azerbaijan have a vital role to play, and we can also engage the private sector to address humanitarian and development issues in our work together. We seek to diversify the partner base to include more private enterprises like U.S. vendors, providers of technical assistance, financial investors, and businesses of all sizes from across many industries.

Innovation and Integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

There is a growing need for civil society organizations to work strategically with communities, citizens, government and the private sector in the digital sphere to explore tools, platforms, and skills that will enable and strengthen citizen engagement with decision-makers and improve responsiveness to citizens. However, any interventions to meet this need should take into consideration the significant differences in the level of readiness throughout the country to take advantage of the opportunities that ICTs may offer.

Although it is not required, where appropriate, the Applicant may want to consider ways in which to capitalize on innovative approaches and the use of ICTs to foster citizen engagement, increase public awareness, close gender digital divide in citizen groups, and strengthen transparency and accountability. This is especially important considering the recent, stunning impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and the shift of industries, education, and development programming to online platforms.

Sustainability and Legacy

The Applicant’s approach to sustainability of the goals and objectives is a key consideration for

USAID/Azerbaijan. The Activity is expected to build the institutional capacity of targeted communities, CSOs, and state entities, to foster partnerships, and to introduce tools and mechanisms in a manner that these will continue to develop beyond the timeframe and life of the

Activity.

The Activity strives to strengthen democratic institutions and processes to promote greater transparency, accountability, and overall responsiveness to citizens by the government. While full sustainability of these efforts as explicitly implemented may be too ambitious or unrealistic, the key to long-term success is to ensure that interventions support a process by which the ideals espoused under the Activity goals/objectives are internalized and take root. It is expected that stakeholders and communities have full buy-in of the Activity purpose and are empowered by the efforts initiated and/or strengthened processes to the point that the ideals will be integrated and specific interventions will evolve as appropriate in each community in order to continue to reinforce the overarching Activity purpose. To this end, the Applicant is required to integrate sustainability measures both in design and implementation and determine appropriate indicators to track progress towards sustainability as defined.

USAID/Azerbaijan will support interventions that build on existing opportunities and support target entities that are committed to investing in and receiving tailored assistance to improve their technical, organizational, as well as partnership and alliance-building skills to engage in inclusive development and ensure stakeholders become more effective change agents in the long run. To further sustain the outcomes of this Activity and foster local ownership, interventions should not only focus on building and strengthening the capacity of local citizens, partner CSOs, and target government officials, but also fostering the motivation to utilize the new knowledge, skills, and the benefits of broader collaboration and coordination.

Much of the success of reaching the overall Activity’s purpose and objectives will depend on building and incentivizing Azerbaijani citizens to engage with their government and seek solutions to priority problems. Achieving this will require visible results, which will help citizens to feel empowered and motivated to remain engaged. Additionally, the Applicant will be required to consider working with local partners to understand their legal parameters and maximizing the resources available to them through networking to continue and build on the interventions beyond the Activity. The private sector could play a role in this space.

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA)

USAID/Azerbaijan has put time and effort into building a culture of CLA into Mission operations. It is expected that the grantee also models a CLA culture and integrates that culture into internal processes and in the implementation of activities. A collaborative working relationship between the grantee and relevant USAID staff is required. Where applicable and appropriate, the grantee should collaborate with the Mission’s implementing partners, interagency colleagues, and/or the host country government. Specific coordination activities, in addition to the above, shall be identified. Activity generated products, briefings, and facilitated events should have a learning component integrated. In addition, all products, briefings, and facilitated events should focus on providing recommendations for how the Mission can use that data to make evidence-based decisions and adapt programming as necessary.

Managing Risk

Since early 2013, the government has used a range of measures to crack down on international and local NGOs and their activities. Notably, the government controls NGO and grant registration to restrict some NGOs from being able to access grant funding through financial institutions. Many USAID awards have come under intense scrutiny and have experienced tax penalties, raids that have confiscated equipment, and even criminal charges filed against individual staff. While the context has improved to some degree, applicants should be aware of these issues and have measures in place to mitigate potential risks the award may face over the life of performance.

Persons with disabilities

Throughout all programmatic interventions, USAID pursues inclusivity and supports meaningful participation for persons with disabilities in our programming and their communities. People with disabilities in Azerbaijan report challenges in meeting their basic needs and accessing services. The grantee will ensure participation of people with disabilities in the civic agency, and other activities under this award. It is critical that the activity creates favorable conditions under which persons with disabilities will be able to articulate their needs and advocate for more inclusive agendas and policies with the government. Applications should reflect how to empower organizations led by and benefitting persons with disabilities, and engage them as civil society and civic leaders.

- END OF SECTION A -

SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide $15,000,000/00 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.

2. Expected Performance Indicators, Targets, Baseline Data, and Data Collection

The applicants should refer to Section A.

3. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The period of performance anticipated herein is five years, starting from actual date to be filled in at the time of award, estimated on or about October 1, 2021.

4. Substantial Involvement

a. The Agency’s approval of the recipient’s implementation plans during performance.

USAID generally only requires approval of implementation plans annually; however, where changed contexts or new information require a pivot in the activity, USAID may consider changes to an implementation plan.

b. The Agency’s review and approval of substantive provisions of proposed subawards or contracts (see definitions in 2 CFR 200).

c. The Agency’s involvement in the selection of key recipient personnel.

d. The Agency and recipient collaboration or joint participation, such as when the recipient’s successful accomplishment of program objectives would benefit from

USAID’s technical knowledge.

e. Agency monitoring to permit specific kinds of direction or redirection of the work because of the interrelationships with other projects or activities. All such direction or redirection must be within the program description budget, and other terms and conditions of the award.

5. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code for the procurement of commodities and services under this program is

937.

6. 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 Social Engagement

Support (SES) 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.

7. Selection of Instrument

Democracy and Governance (DG) programming in Azerbaijan historically is implemented through assistance mechanisms. These mechanisms have proven their efficiency and effectiveness given the operational and political environment. This work has been done effectively through assistance mechanisms for the past 10 years. It is still the intention of

USAID to create a relationship through this agreement to assist a recipient in providing its services to others through a transfer by USAID of Federal financial assistance to carry out a public purpose of support. The intent is not to purchase goods or services for USAID's benefit or use. Unlike acquisition mechanisms, assistance, Cooperative Agreements in particular, provides a needed level of flexibility, opportunity to involve domestic civil society organization, and better engagement with the national authorities for successful achievement of goals and objectives of programs and activities. Assistance awards also provide a layer of separation between the implementer and USAID in terms of program ownership. This is particularly beneficial for DG activities in order to mitigate against perceptions of U.S. government interference in domestic issues as the activity is owned by the implementer and not the U.S.

government.

- END OF SECTION B -

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted.

Each applicant must be found to be a responsible entity before receiving an award. The

Agreement Officer (AO) may determine that a pre-award survey is required in accordance with

ADS 303.3.9.1 to determine whether the applicant has the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills – or ability to obtain them – in order to achieve the objectives of the program and comply with established U.S. Government standards, laws, and regulations. Applicants who do not currently meet all USAID requirements for systems and controls may still be eligible under special award considerations and should not be discouraged from applying. USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID. The prime recipient is encouraged to promote involvement of “underutilized” partners and local organizations in the implementation of this activity.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

USAID has established a suggested minimum recipient cost share of 3% for the 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 .

However, cost share is only a recommendation intended to strengthen the overall success of the design. Should the applicant choose to include a cost share, the methodology for calculating cost share and the specific percentage of cost share will be determined at the sole discretion of the applicant. The applicants not proposing cost share will not be disadvantaged in the selection process, since the cost share will not serve as an evaluation criteria for the application.

- END OF SECTION C -

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Agency Point of Contact

Only the Agreement Officer is authorized to make commitments on behalf of USAID. The

Agreement Officer is listed below:

Mr.Robert Claussen

Regional Agreement Officer

USAID/Caucasus

29 Georgian-American Friendship Ave, Tbilisi, Georgia rclaussen@usaid.gov

The point of contact for information about this NOFO is:

Ms. Kenul Salimova

Acquisition and Assistance Specialist

USAID/Azerbaijan

111, Azadlig avenue

Baku, Azerbaijan ksalimova@usaid.gov

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this NOFO should be submitted to Ms. Kenul Salimova at ksalimova@usaid.gov.with a copy to Mr. Robert Claussen at rclaussen@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

Preparation of Applications:

Each applicant must furnish the information required by this NOFO. Applications must be submitted in two separate parts: the Technical Application and 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.

mailto:rclaussen@usaid.gov mailto:rclaussen@usaid.gov mailto:ksalimova@usaid.gov mailto:ksalimova@usaid.gov mailto:rclaussen@usaid.gov

Both the Technical and Business (Cost) Applications must include a cover page containing the following information:

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

· 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

· 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 must comply with the following:

● USAID will not review any pages in excess of the page limits noted in the subsequent sections. Please ensure that applications comply with the page limitations.

● Written in English.

● Use standard 8 ½” x 11”, single sided, single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1” margins, left justification and headers and/or footers on each page including consecutive page numbers, date of submission, and applicant’s name.

● 10 point font can be used for graphs and charts. Tables however, must comply with the

12 point Times New Roman requirement.

● Submitted via Microsoft Word or PDF formats, except budget files which must be submitted in Microsoft Excel.

● The estimated start date identified in Section B of this NOFO must be used in the cost application.

● The technical application must be a searchable and editable Word or PDF format as appropriate.

● The Cost Schedule must include an Excel spreadsheet with all cells unlocked and no hidden formulas or sheets. A PDF version of the Excel spreadsheet may be submitted in addition to the Excel version at the applicant’s discretion, however, the official cost application submission is the unlocked Excel version.

Applicants must review, understand, and comply with all aspects of this NOFO. Failure to do so may be considered as being non-responsive and may be evaluated accordingly. Applicants should retain a copy of the application and all enclosures for their records.

4. Application Submission Procedures

Applications in response to this NOFO must be submitted…