SGWI Request for Statement of Interest for WAVE - FINAL.pdf

S/GWI Request for Statements of Interest – Funding Opportunity # DFOP0017065

Request for Statement of Interest (SOI)

Women’s Amplified Voices in the

Economy (WAVE)

Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, Department of State

Opportunity number: DFOP0017065

Application deadline: (23:59 (ET) on February 24, 2025

Contents

A. Basic Information

B. Eligibility

C. Program Description

D. Application Contents and Format

E. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

F. Application Review Information

G. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

ANNEX A: Bureau-Specific Award Provisions

U.S Department of State

Secretary’s O�ice of Global Women’s Issues

Statement of Interest

A. Basic Information

1. Overview

Funding Opportunity Title Women’s Amplified Voices in the Economy (WAVE)

Funding Opportunity Number DFOP0017065

Federal Agency Contact SGWIProjectProposals@state.gov

Date Solicitation Opened December 26, 2024

Deadline for Applications February 24, 2025 by 23:59 (ET)

Questions Deadline January 24, 2025 by 23:59 (ET)

Funding Mechanism Type Cooperative Agreement

Number of awards anticipated Up to 2

Length of performance period 3 to 4 years

Award amount awards may range from a minimum of $3,000,000 to a maximum of $3,453,379

Total available funding $3,453,379 pending availability of funds

Cost Sharing Not Required

CFDA Number 19.801

Type of Funding FY 2024 Economic Support Funds under the Foreign

Assistance Act

Anticipated project start date September 30, 2025

The Secretary’s OAice of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to respond to submit a statement of interest (SOI) outlining concepts and capacity to manage a program that will strengthen grassroots, women-led networks and coalitions to address systemic barriers impeding women’s access to economic opportunity and decision-making over economic resources and assets to advance women’s economic security. Competitive SOIs must propose a consortium of U.S.-based and/or international organizations with global reach and diverse experience addressing women’s economic security, with one lead organization serving as the primary recipient/applicant. Consortium members must demonstrate strong ties to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), business associations, and/or community-based organizations (CBOs) across chosen countries who can serve as local partners as appropriate. Consortium members will demonstrate expertise across technical thematic areas outlined in the proposal results framework, including but not limited to in women’s entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, women’s labor rights and decent work opportunities, and addressing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV) impeding women’s economic participation. Applicants must choose at least three (3) countries where they plan to begin implementation and articulate a process for selecting and initiating programming in additional countries during project implementation. Please carefully follow all instructions below.

The submission of the Statement of Interest (SOI) is the first step in a two-step process.

Applicants must first submit a concise, five-page SOI that clearly communicates a program idea and its objectives. This is not a full proposal. The purpose of the SOI process is to allow applicants to submit program ideas for evaluation prior to requiring the development of a full proposal application. Full proposals will go through a second merit review before final funding decisions are made.

Each prime applicant may submit up to two SOIs. There is no limit to the number of SOIs on which an applicant may serve as a sub-awardee. Upon review of eligible SOIs, S/GWI will invite selected applicants to expand their ideas into full proposal applications. In the event that a prime applicant has submitted two SOIs and both are deemed competitive, the applicant will be asked to submit a full proposal for the more competitive of the two.

Funding Instrument Type: Due to the needs and risk factors associated with this project, S/GWI anticipates awarding these funds as a cooperative agreement. The distinction between grants and cooperative agreements revolves around the existence of “substantial involvement.” Cooperative agreements require greater Federal government participation in the project. Examples of substantial involvement are included in section C below.

Project Performance Period: Proposed projects should be completed in 4 years or less.

The Department of State will entertain applications for continuation of activities funded under this solicitation beyond the initial budget period on a non-competitive basis subject to availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the program, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the U.S. Department of State.

This notice is subject to availability of funding.

2. Executive Summary

Background Information:

Despite significant strides towards gender equality, women globally continue to face systemic barriers that impede their full economic participation and security. These barriers, deeply rooted in social and cultural norms, and manifested in unequal laws, policies, and regulations, limit women's access to critical resources such as finance, land, markets, digital products and services, education, and professional opportunities.

Women, particularly those from systemically marginalized communities, often struggle with inadequate support systems and face heightened risks of discrimination and gender-based violence.

Inclusive grassroots women's coalitions and networks are pivotal in addressing these systemic challenges. They can operate at local, national, and regional levels, understand the unique needs and circumstances of their communities, and are instrumental in advocating for policy reforms, providing essential services, and fostering economic opportunities for women. However, women leaders, women-led civil society organizations, and coalitions frequently lack suAicient funding, resources, and institutional support to scale their impact and sustain their eAorts over the long term.

Investing in programs that bolster grassroots women's coalitions and networks is essential for advancing women's economic security and gender equality more broadly. By supporting these organizations and networks, we can amplify their eAorts to dismantle systemic barriers, promote equitable access to economic opportunities, and drive inclusive growth. Funding these initiatives will not only empower women and drive change at the grassroots level but also create a ripple eAect, enhancing economic stability and prosperity for entire communities and countries.

This project will address the need for more sustainable solutions and resourcing for local women-led CSOs and networks, women’s business associations, and coalitions to advance women’s economic security, including through private sector engagement. It will identify and address systemic barriers, and work across diverse stakeholders to promote locally led, sustainable solutions that enable women’s economic opportunity, decision-making, and participation.

Priority Regions and Countries: Final country selection will be confirmed in consultation between the successful applicant and S/GWI. Country selections may be subject to additional approvals and/or vetting. Applicants must propose a minimum of three countries in three global regions where they plan to begin implementation and articulate a process for selecting additional countries during project implementation.

S/GWI’s priority regions for this RSOI include the following:

• Sub-Saharan Africa

• South Central Asia

• Western Hemisphere

S/GWI seeks applicants with demonstrable capacity to program in all global regions, including those not prioritized in the current RSOI, if future funding and expansion become available. Global capacity may be met through the capacity of all consortium members.

S/GWI does not, as a general matter, use foreign assistance resources to fund programs to benefit developed countries. Developed countries are considered to be those in the high-income category as defined1 by the World Bank using the GNI per capita (Atlas method).2

The World Bank’s list of countries by GNI can be found on their website.3 SOIs should not propose activities in developed countries.

Applicants to this NOFO should be aware of, complement, build on, and not overlap with existing in-country, regional, and global programming.

Policy Statement:

The project(s) resulting from this RSOI will support S/GWI’s implementation of the National

Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, as well as the 2023 U.S. Strategy on Global

Women’s Economic Security and the 2022 U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-

Based Violence Globally. It will also further the priorities of the Gender Equity and Equality

Action (GEEA) Fund, which advances the economic security of women and girls globally.

The project will support human rights and inclusive democracy by furthering gender equity and equality.

Inclusive Programming Approach:

S/GWI is committed to equity, equality, and respect for human rights. S/GWI programs are expected to foster and/or address:

• Inclusive Environments, which means programs that are accessible to all and foster involvement, respect, and connection in which the richness of diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives are valued for all individuals.

• Social Inclusion, which means improving how individuals and groups take part in society – enhancing the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

• Intersectional nature of power and identity, which means how interconnected aspects of identity (e.g., sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, class, religion, race, ethnicity, age, disability, nationality) interact with overlapping systems of discrimination and the need to address the impact these have on systemic access.

1 https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519 2 https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519 3 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD

B. Eligibility

1. Eligible Applicants

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations

• Public and private educational institutions

• Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active and equitable partnerships with consortium partners, in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders, including NGOs and private sector actors; and

• Have demonstrable experience successfully administering programs of similar size, scope, and focus. S/GWI reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.

Public International Organizations (PIOs) and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply as prime applicants under this NOFO, though they may partner on a proposal as a sub-awardee. Individuals are not eligible to apply under this NOFO.

Project activities can only benefit foreign nationals and should take place outside the United States.

S/GWI maintains an anti-discrimination policy in all its programs and activities. S/GWI welcomes full proposal submissions irrespective of race, ethnicity, heritage, color, creed, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status. S/GWI is dedicated to promoting human rights, fundamental freedoms, and equality for all and seeks partners that will strive to inclusively implement these democratic values.

S/GWI works to ensure the integration of gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in U.S. foreign policy. S/GWI programs are flexible, civil society-focused, and global in reach. They are designed to incubate locally informed and implemented civil society-based solutions, inspiring and providing promising practices to advance women’s equality and empowerment as a keystone of U.S.

foreign policy. Learning from this program will inform other U.S. policy, programs, and partnerships.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing is not required.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements

All organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued via SAM.gov as well as a valid registration in SAM.gov. Please see Section E.3 for more information. Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov.

Each prime applicant may submit up to two (2) SOIs. There is no limit to the number of

SOIs on which an applicant may serve as a sub-awardee. Upon review of eligible SOIs, S/GWI will invite selected applicants to expand their ideas into full proposal applications.

In the event that a prime applicant has submitted two SOIs and both are deemed competitive, the applicant will be asked to submit a full proposal for the more competitive of the two.

C. Program Description

1. Theory of Change

IF women-led coalitions or networks are strengthened to address barriers to gender equality and advocate for women’s economic opportunities and rights, AND key economic stakeholders and institutions are incentivized to better structure systems and institutions to support women’s economic participation, AND harmful gender norms that prevent women from achieving economic security are addressed, THEN women’s access to economic opportunities and decision-making power over economic resources and assets will improve.

2. Goal

To strengthen grassroots, women-led networks and coalitions to advance systemic changes that enable women’s access to economic opportunity and decision-making power over economic resources and assets.

3. Objectives

I. Partner equitably to establish or strengthen inclusive, locally- and women-led coalitions or networks that can identify and address systemic barriers to gender equality in accessing economic opportunity, design initiatives to promote women’s economic security, and advocate for women’s economic needs and rights at the local, national, regional, and/or global level.

II. Enable women’s improved access to economic opportunities, resources, and assets by strengthening local stakeholders’ knowledge of barriers to women’s economic participation and by incentivizing stakeholders to adapt products, services, and policies to better meet women’s economic needs.

III. Address and transform harmful norms that prevent women from achieving economic security.

4. Illustrative project activities may include:

• Participatory assessments and analysis with local women leaders, entrepreneurs, businesswomen, women-led organizations, women-led business associations, and/or women’s labor unions to identify needs, priorities, opportunities, and key stakeholders to advance women’s economic security.

• Co-creation or collaborative project design with women leaders and women-led organizations at the local level to design context appropriate and locally led innovative interventions with the aim of strengthening women’s economic security and access to economic opportunity.

• An innovation fund to resource timely, locally designed and led interventions to address context-specific priorities around women’s economic security.

• Direct technical support to women leaders, CSOs, business associations, and coalitions or networks to advance their work in promoting women’s economic security.

• Support for advocacy initiatives at local, national, regional, and/or global levels that promote women’s economic security, including advocating for legal, regulatory, and policy change as well as the implementation of supportive laws, regulations, and policies.

• Direct engagement with relevant stakeholders and institutions, for example policymakers, government agencies, private sector companies, and financial institutions, to advocate for and incentivize new or adapted products, services, and policies that enable women’s improved economic opportunity and participation.

• Locally led social and behavior change communication strategies and approaches that promote women’s economic security, including but not limited to by addressing harmful norms that limit women’s economic participation.

• Development of a research and learning products in collaboration with local women leaders, CSOs, and coalitions or networks that fill evidence gaps in advancing women’s economic security and supports advocacy eAorts.

• Community of practice to engage women leaders, local women-led CSOs, women business leaders, business associations, women’s labor unions, and networks or coalitions across contexts and to create a space to share challenges, promising practices, and opportunities to advance women’s economic security.

• Development of private sector partnerships that oAer technical, financial, and/or in-kind resources or support.

5. Intended Results:

Possible intended results may include:

• Coalitions or networks of local women leaders and CSOs are established or strengthened to advance women’s economic security, including but not limited to through supporting women’s access to well-paying, quality jobs; women’s financial and digital inclusion; women’s business start-up, growth, and trade opportunity;

and addressing systemic barriers to women’s economic security, including unpaid care work and GBV.

• Women leaders, CSOs, business associations, and coalitions or networks are supported to design, implement, evaluate, and provide oversight of locally led initiatives that promote women’s economic security, including through developing, strengthening, or scaling services that enable women’s access to economic opportunities, products, and services.

• Women leaders, CSOs, business associations, and coalitions or networks advocate for the enactment of legal, regulatory, and policy reforms that advance women’s economic security.

• Women leaders, CSOs, business associations, and coalitions or networks are able, and have the necessary access, to fundraise, professionalize, grow, and sustain their work and leadership in women’s economic security.

• Women leaders, CSOs, business associations, and coalitions or networks establish partnerships with private sector entities to sustainably advance women’s economic security.

• Women recipients and beneficiaries receive increased access to strengthened economic opportunities, products, and services provided by women leaders, CSOs, business associations, coalitions or networks, and other key partners.

• Relevant local economic stakeholders understand the gaps and needs in their institutions to advance women’s economic security and are motivated or incentivized to take action.

6. Indicators:

Applicant monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plans should include at least two of the following indicators, as relevant:

• GNDR-1: Number of legal instruments drafted, proposed or adopted with USG assistance designed to promote gender equality or non-discrimination against women or girls at the national or sub-national level

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

• GNDR-4: Percentage of participants reporting increased agreement with the concept that males and females should have equal access to social, economic, and political resources and opportunities

• GNDR-5: Number of legal instruments drafted, proposed, or adopted with USG assistance designed to improve prevention of or response to sexual and gender-based violence at the national or sub-national level

• 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

• GNDR-11: Percentage of women reporting increased influence over household spending decisions following participation in a USG-assisted intervention

• GNDR-13: Number of people trained in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, response, or risk mitigation with USG support

• DR.4.2-2b: Number of women’s rights civil society organizations (CSOs) receiving

USG assistance engaged in advocacy interventions

• DR.4-1 Number of USG-supported activities designed to promote or strengthen the civic participation of women

• EG.6-15: Percent of individuals with better employment following participation in

USG-assisted workforce development programs

Applicants are encouraged to propose other Standard Foreign Assistance and custom indicators relevant to the proposed activities for consideration. S/GWI expects at least one outcome indicator for each objective in the final MEL plan submitted with each full proposal to reflect the overarching logic model for the proposal, but respects that those will be finalized during the start-up stages of an award.

7. Substantial Involvement

Applicants should be aware that if their application results in an award, S/GWI will be involved in the program and management performance of the award in the form of a cooperative agreement, which allows S/GWI to undertake reasonable and programmatically necessary substantial involvement such as consultation and technical collaboration rights on specified project activities. Examples of substantial involvement can include:

a) Approval of Recipient annual work plan, including planned activities for the following year and changes to any activity to be carried out under the agreement;

b) Collaboration in identifying and developing additional countries or project activities for implementation in consultation with U.S. embassies, as relevant;

c) Approval of additional countries or project activities for implementation;

d) Collaboration on identifying and approval of additional international partner organizations or private-sector partners who may work in coordination with S/GWI and recipient.

e) Approval of sub-award recipients, concurrence on the substantive provisions of the sub-awards, and coordination with other cooperating agencies;

f) Approval of the MEL plan for the Recipient and sub-award recipients;

g) Approval of Terms of Reference (TOR) for program evaluations;

h) Approval of selection of technical experts on issues such as gender equality, GBV, and economic security and labor rights including but not limited to key personnel;

i) Collaboration in assessing progress and identifying issues that might aAect the success of the program; and

j) Other approvals that will be included in the award agreement.

D. Application Contents and Format

Please follow all instructions below carefully. SOIs that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. Please ensure:

• The SOI clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity;

• All documents are in English;

• All budget amounts are in U.S. dollars;

• All pages are numbered;

• All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper; and

• All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Calibri font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

o Captions and footnotes may be 10-point Calibri font. Applicants may also use a smaller font size for tables, charts, graphics, and text boxes included in the proposal documents to ensure that content fits within the page limits and margins.

Complete SOI submissions must include the following, submitted in English:

1. Completed and signed Application Forms SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B and SF-

LLL, if applicable, as directed on MyGrants and in Grants.gov; and,

2. Program Statement (not to exceed four [4] pages in Microsoft Word) that includes:

a. A table listing:

i. Name of the organization;

ii. The target countries;

iii. The total amount of funding requested from S/GWI, total amount of cost-share (if any; cost share is NOT required), and total program amount (S/GWI funds + cost-share); and,

iv. Program length;

b. A synopsis of the program, including a brief statement on how the program will have a demonstrated impact and engage relevant stakeholders. The synopsis must address how the applicant will conduct gender and inclusion analysis and

MEL as well as foster sustainability. The SOI should identify consortium partners, and local partners as appropriate;

c. A concise breakdown explicitly identifying the program’s objectives and the activities and expected results that contribute to each objective; and,

d. A brief description of the applicant(s) that demonstrates relevant organizational and staA expertise and capacity to implement a global program and manage a

U.S. government award.

3. Proposed Locations and Partners (not to exceed one [1] page in Microsoft

Word) to include a minimum of three countries in three global regions.

SOIs that do not include the elements listed above will be deemed technically ineligible. More details on technical eligibility are provided below in Section D.4.

S/GWI reserves the right to request additional documents not included in this announcement. Additionally, to ensure that all applications receive a balanced evaluation, the S/GWI review panel will review from the first page of each section up to the stated page limit and no further.

Applicants should prioritize and propose suDicient yet lean and scalable staDing structures that provide adequate oversight and central management but maximize appropriate and local expertise and leadership (rather than defaulting to in-house experts). S/GWI welcomes creative partnership structures. As a general guideline, at least

40 percent of funding under the award should go to local organizations and their activities—this may include Contractual and Other Direct Costs in support of local organizations, for example, but generally should not include prime grantee staAing, travel, overhead, etc. Support for the establishment of new in-country oAices is not envisioned under this RSOI.

SOIs should propose an inclusive process for mapping and co-creating equitable local partnerships in their selected countries. Applicants may propose support to local organizations over an extended period of time to foster capacity building and sustainability, and/or propose support to address specific shorter-term needs. In all cases, designs must reflect concrete plans for local ownership with an eye towards beneficiary organizations’ leadership, growth, and sustainability. Activities within a country should generally include a mix of sub-national and national activities, as well as activities to connect the two.

While landscape assessments; gender analyses; monitoring, learning, and evaluation

(MEL) plans; risk assessment and mitigation plans including safeguarding and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA); provision of psychosocial support for staA and beneficiaries; and detailed sustainability plans are not required as part of the SOI, all organizations that are invited to submit a full proposal will be required to submit this information at that time. Full proposals, once solicited, should also seek to minimize the harmful eAects of local competition for resources in their program designs. Please review this RSOI in full – including all annexes – to inform your SOI design and ensure your requested budget amount suAiciently covers these award requirements.

Applicants are advised that an award may be conditioned upon vetting to evaluate the risk that funds may benefit terrorists or their supporters.

E. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

1. Address to Request Application Package

Application forms required above are available at MyGrants.

2. Department of State Contacts

Questions must be submitted by the Questions Deadline (23:59 (ET) on January 24, 2025) to SGWIProjectProposals@state.gov using the email subject line, “WAVE SOI: [Applicant

Organization Name] Questions.”

To maintain fairness and transparency in competition, S/GWI will compile any substantive questions received along with the responses and post them in a document appear on

MyGrants (https://mygrants.servicenowservices.com) and Grants.gov

(www.grants.gov). Substantive questions will not be fielded outside of this process or after the deadline.

During the solicitation period, with the exception of technical submission questions, U.S.

Department of State staff in Washington D.C. and overseas will not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process has been completed and approval and rejection letters have been transmitted.

Please remember, all completed applications must be submitted electronically via

MyGrants (https://mygrants.servicenowservices.com) or Grants.gov

(www.grants.gov) by the deadline of 23:59 (EST) on February 25, 2025.

3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov)

Required Registrations

All organizations, whether based in the United States or in another country, must have a

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active registration in SAM.gov. A UEI is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and

Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards. An applicant must maintain an active registration while it has a proposal under review by the Department and must continue to keep the registration active for the entire duration of the period of performance of any

Federal award that results from this NOFO.

The 2 CFR 200 requires subrecipients to obtain a UEI. Please note the UEI for subrecipients is not required at the time of application but will be required before an award is processed and/or directed to a subrecipient.

Note: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible.

• Organizations based in the United States or that pay employees within the United

States will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue

Service (IRS) and a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

• Organizations based outside of the United States and that do not pay employees within the United States do not need an EIN from the IRS but do need a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

• Organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a

NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove an NCAGE code from their SAM.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service

Desk (FSD) online at www.fsd.gov using the following language: “I do not intend to seek financial assistance from the Department of Defense. I do not wish to obtain an NCAGE code. I understand that I will need to submit my registration after this incident is resolved in order to have my registration activated.”

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO NOT plan to do business with the DoD should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Proceed to SAM.gov to obtain a UEI and complete the SAM.gov registration process. SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO plan to do business with the

DoD in addition to Department of State should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Apply for an NCAGE code by following the instructions on the NSPA NATO website linked below:

NCAGE Homepage:

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/sc/CageList.aspx

NCAGE Code Request Tool (NCRT):

NCAGE Code Request Tool (nato.int)

Exemptions

An exemption from the UEI and sam.gov registration requirements may be permitted on a case-by-case basis. See 2 CFR 25.110 for a full list of exemptions.

Organizations requesting exemption from UEI or SAM.gov requirements must email the point of contact listed in the NOFO at least two weeks prior to the deadline in the NOFO providing a justification of their request. Approval for a SAM.gov exemption must come from the warranted Grants OAicer before the application can be deemed eligible for review.

4. Submission Dates and Times

SOI applications are due no later than 23:59 (ET) on February 24, 2025.

MyGrants automatically logs the date and time an application submission is made, and the Department of State will use this information to determine whether an application has been submitted on time. Late applications are neither reviewed nor considered. Known system errors caused by MyGrants (https://mygrants.service-now.com) or Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) that are outside of the applicant’s control will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Applicants should not expect a notification from

S/GWI upon receiving their application(s).

All application submissions must be made electronically via MyGrants

(https://mygrants.servicenowservices.com) or Grants.gov (www.grants.gov). S/GWI will not accept applications submitted via email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, or couriers.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that it has an active account registration in MyGrants. Applicants are required to document that the application has been received by MyGrants or Grants.gov in its entirety. S/GWI bears no responsibility for disqualification that result from applicants not being registered before the due date, for system errors in either MyGrants or Grants.gov, or other errors in the application process. Additionally, S/GWI strongly encourages applicants to save a screen shot of the checklist showing all documents submitted in case any document fails to upload successfully.

Faxed, couriered, or emailed documents will not be accepted. Reasonable accommodations may, in appropriate circumstances, be provided to applicants with disabilities or for security reasons. Applicants must follow all formatting instructions in the applicable NOFO and these instructions.

S/GWI encourages organizations to submit applications during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 9:00AM - 5:00PM Eastern Time [ET]). If an applicant experiences technical diAiculties and has contacted the appropriate helpdesk but is not receiving timely assistance (e.g., if you have not received a response within 48 hours of contacting the helpdesk), you may contact the S/GWI point of contact listed on page 1 of this RSOI. The point of contact may assist in contacting the appropriate helpdesk.

It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all material submitted in the full proposal package is complete, accurate, and current.

Note: The Grants ODicer will determine technical eligibility of all applications.

MyGrants Applications:

Applicants using MyGrants for the first time should complete their “New Organization

Registration.” To register with MyGrants, click “Login to https://mygrants.servicenowservices.com” and follow the “create an account” link.

Again, organizations are strongly encouraged to save a screen shot of the checklist showing all documents submitted in case any document fails to upload successfully.

MyGrants Help Desk:

For assistance with MyGrants accounts and technical issues related to the system, please contact the ILMS help desk by phone at +1 (888) 313-4567 (toll charges apply for international callers) or through the Self Service online portal that can be accessed from https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home. Customer support is available

24/7.

5. Technical Eligibility

S/GWI reserves the right to award more or less than the funds requested, including estimated individual award floor and ceiling amounts, under such circumstances as it may deem to be in the best interest of the U.S. government.

Technically eligible SOIs are those which:

1. Arrive electronically via MyGrants or Grants.gov by the deadline.

2. Are written in English and budgeted in US Dollars.

3. Heed all instructions, ensuring all required documents are submitted, and do not violate any of the guidelines stated in this solicitation.

6. Funding Restrictions

The cooperative agreement would be funded from money appropriated under the

“Economic Support Fund” (ESF) heading in the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Div. F, P.L. 11847) (SFOAA). ESF is available for foreign assistance programs promoting economic or political stability. Under section 531(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), ESF may not be used for military or paramilitary purposes. Given restrictions under section 660 of the FAA, assistance may be provided to law enforcement forces only under certain circumstances. Activities that involve assistance to law enforcement will be subject to vetting to ensure compliance with section 620M of the FAA (“Leahy Vetting“). There may also be country-specific or other restrictions that apply.

Organizations should be cognizant of potentially applicable restrictions when developing project proposals as these restrictions may require appropriate due diligence of program beneficiaries and collaboration with S/GWI to ensure compliance with any restrictions. Program beneficiaries subject to due diligence vetting will include any individuals or entities that are beneficiaries of foreign assistance funding or support. Due diligence vetting will include a review of open-source materials.

The recipient is reminded that funds provided under the cooperative agreement must be used in a manner fully consistent with U.S. law. The recipient agrees that none of the funds provided by the award shall be used to lobby for or against abortion. The recipient agrees that none of the funds provided by the award shall be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.

All beneficiaries and country locations must be approved in advance by S/GWI.

The following activities and costs will not be entertained under this announcement in proposals submitted by applicants to S/GWI:

• Construction.

• Activities that appear partisan or that support individual or party electoral campaigns.

• Engagement with religious leaders and communities is encouraged; however, direct support or the appearance of direct support for any religious organization for the purposes of promoting particular religious beliefs cannot be included for funding.

• Duplication of services immediately available through municipal, provincial, or national government.

• Funds for market research, advertising (unless public service related to grant program) or other promotional expenses.

• Initiatives directed towards a permanent diaspora community as ultimate beneficiaries.

• Projects that have a predominant academic or basic research focus.

• Social welfare projects that purely provide service-delivery or humanitarian assistance.

• Costs incurred to complete activities begun with other funds.

• Medical and psychological research or clinical studies using human subjects.

• Projects exclusively of a commercial or profit-making nature.

• Cultural presentations, cultural research, cultural clubs, or festivals, etc. unless they have a specific programmatic purpose.

• Entertainment costs (e.g., receptions, social activities, ceremonies, guided tours) unless they have a specific programmatic purpose.

Other funding restrictions include:

i. Funding Restrictions for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

None of the funds awarded resulting from this Notice of Funding Opportunity may be made available for subawards, direct financial support, or otherwise used to provide any payment or transfer to United Nations Relief and Works Agency

(UNRWA).

ii. Prohibition on Funding Activities that Encourage Mass-Migration Caravans towards the United States Southwest Border

None of the funds awarded under this grant may be made available to encourage, mobilize, publicize, or manage mass-migration caravans towards the United States southwest border. Funds may not be made available for legal counseling on the

United States asylum process; and/or for referrals to legal or representation in the

United States.

Funds may only be used for cash cards for use in the country in which they are provided or to facilitate assisted voluntary returns and other purposes that do not encourage, mobilize, publicize, or manage mass migration caravans towards the

United States southwest border. The provision of humanitarian assistance is permitted.

iii. S/GWI will not consider proposals that reflect any type of support for any member, aAiliate, or representative of a designated terrorist organization.

7. Other Submission Requirements

This solicitation will appear on www.grants.gov and MyGrants; However, applications may be submitted electronically through MyGrants.

S/GWI may ask successful applicant(s) to incorporate coordination of an implementer and stakeholder meeting into the Scope of Work of the final project. S/GWI will discuss this possibility with particular applicant(s) during the proposal negotiation phase.

Organizations should be aware that S/GWI understands that some information contained in proposals may be considered sensitive or proprietary and will make appropriate efforts to protect such information. However, organizations are advised that S/GWI cannot guarantee that such information will not be disclosed, including pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or other similar statutes.

The information in this solicitation including its Annexes is binding and may not be modified by any S/GWI representative. Explanatory information provided by S/GWI that may contradict this language will not be binding. Issuance of the solicitation and negotiation of full proposals does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. government. S/GWI reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program evaluation requirements.

F. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria

Each SOI will be evaluated will be evaluated and rated as “Very Competitive,”

“Competitive,” or “Not Competitive” on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below.

The ratings will be determined as follows:

• Very Competitive: Applicant meets all or nearly all the review criteria for a particular category and provides an exceptional level of supporting detail and/or justification.

• Competitive: Applicant meets most of the review criteria for a particular category and provides supporting detail and/or justification but may be lacking some specificity and/or clarity.

• Not Competitive: Applicant meets few or none of the review criteria for a particular category and provides little to no supporting detail or justification and lacks specificity and/or clarity on proposed activities.

The following criteria are listed in no particular order of importance.

1. Organizational Capacity and Past Performance:

• Applicant demonstrates an institutional record of successful relevant programs in areas such as:

o Gender Equality and Women’s Rights o Women’s Economic Opportunity and Security o Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence

• Applicant demonstrates the expertise and capacity to co-design and implement programs globally in equitable partnership with existing local women’s civil society organizations.

• Applicant demonstrates experience establishing private sector partnerships.

2. Project Strategy:

• Applicant proposes evidence-based approaches to addressing the objectives of the

RSOI.

• Applicant demonstrates concrete approaches for equitable partnership with a range of existing women-led civil society organizations to further their impact.

• Application complements, builds on, and does not overlap with existing in-country eAorts.

• Applicant articulates opportunities for private sector engagement.

• Applicant leverages appropriate internal and external expertise but maximizes support and funding for local leadership. Commits to 40% percent of funding for local organizations and their activities.

3. Gender and Inclusion Analysis, Do No Harm:

• Applicant demonstrates plans and capacity for eAectively applying a gender and inclusion analysis to program design and implementation.

• Applicant describes sound approaches to equity and inclusion.

• Applicant demonstrates application of Do No Harm and conflict sensitivity principles.

4. Performance Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL):

• Applicant clearly describes the results to be achieved and demonstrates capacity to measure progress towards those results in a way that reflects local perspectives.

• Proposed outcomes are tangible and achievable within the grant program period.

5. Local Engagement and Sustainability:

• Applicant articulates an approach to building local partner capacity to continue their work once funding from this program ends.

2. Review and Selection Process

The Grants OAicer will determine technical eligibility for all SOI submissions. All technically eligible SOIs will then be reviewed against the same five criteria by an S/GWI

Review Panel: Organizational Capacity and Past Performance; Project Strategy; Gender and Inclusion Analysis, and Do No Harm; Performance Monitoring, Learning, and

Evaluation; and Local Engagement and Sustainability.

Additionally, the Panel will evaluate how the SOI meets the solicitation request, U.S.

foreign policy goals, and S/GWI’s overall priority needs. Panelists review each SOI individually against the evaluation criteria, not against competing SOIs. To ensure all

SOIs receive a balanced evaluation, the S/GWI Review Panel will review each document up to the specified page limit and no further. All Panelists must sign non-disclosure agreements and conflict of interest agreements.

S/GWI Review Panels generally include representatives from S/GWI policy and program teams as well as other State Department oAices; it may also include external expertise.

Once a SOI is approved, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposal applications based on their SOIs. Unless directed otherwise by the applicant organization, S/GWI may also refer SOIs for possible consideration for other U.S.

government related funding opportunities.

The Panel may provide conditions and/or recommendations on SOIs to enhance the proposed program, which must be addressed by the organization in the full proposal application. To ensure eAective use of limited S/GWI funds, conditions and recommendations may include requests to increase, decrease, clarify, and/or justify costs and program activities.

S/GWI reserves the right to make a final determination regarding all funding matters, pending availability of funds.

3. Next Steps

Following the review, any successful SOI applicants will be contacted and instructed to submit full applications. In addition to the documents required in the forthcoming full proposal Notice of Funding Opportunity solicitation, the application must include updated copies of:

• SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations) or SF-424-

I (Application for Federal Assistance --individuals)

• SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)

• SF424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) – the SF424B are only required for individuals, organizations exempt from registration, and for

4. Risk Review

i. Risk factors – must include

Under the merit review as required by 2 CFR 200.206, prior to making a Federal Award the Department will review and consider the following risk factors:

a. Financial stability

b. Management systems and standards

c. History of performance

d. Audit reports and findings

e. Ability to effectively implement requirements

f. If there are any program specific risk factors that will be considered, describe them here.

ii. Responsibility/Qualification Information in SAM.gov

The Federal awarding agency, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of

Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, is required to review and consider (see 41 U.S.C. 2313);

An applicant can review and comment on any information in the responsibility/qualification records available in SAM.gov.

Before making decisions in the risk review required by 2 CFR 200.206, the Department will consider any comments by the applicant, along with information available in the responsibility/qualification records in SAM.gov.

G. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

1. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Before submitting an application, applicants should review all the terms and conditions and required certifications which will apply to this award, to ensure that they will be able to comply.

These include:

• 2 CFR 25 - UNIVERSAL IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

• 2 CFR 170 - REPORTING SUBAWARD AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

INFORMATION

• 2 CFR 175 - AWARD TERM FOR TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

• 2 CFR 182 - GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE

(FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE)

• 2 CFR 183 - NEVER CONTRACT WITH THE ENEMY

• 2 CFR 600 – DEPARTMENT OF STATE REQUIREMENTS

• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In accordance with the OAice of Management and Budget’s guidance located at 2 CFR part 200, all applicable Federal laws, and relevant Executive guidance, the Department of State will review and consider applications for funding, as applicable to specific programs, pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity in accordance with the following: NOTE:

• Guidance for Grants and Agreements in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2

CFR), as updated in the Federal Register’s 89 FR 30046 on April 22, 2024, particularly on:

o Selecting recipients most likely to be successful in delivering results based on the program objectives through an impartial process of evaluating Federal award applications (2 CFR part 200.205), o Promoting the freedom of speech and religious liberty in alignment with

Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty (E.O. 13798) and Improving

Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities

(E.O. 13864) (§§ 200.300, 200.303, 200.339, and 200.341), o Providing a preference, to the extent permitted by law, to maximize use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States (2 CFR part

200.322), and o…