USAID RFA# 7200AA22RFA00022, Global Fund for Women.pdf

Issue Date: August 5, 2022 Deadline for Questions: August 12, 2022, 5:00 PM EDT Closing Date: September 6, 2022 Closing Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT

Subject: Notice of Funding Opportunity Number (NOFO): 7200AA22RFA00022

Program Title: Global Fund for Women - Localization Activity

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 98.001

Dear Ms. Latanya Mapp Frett:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as represented by the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (DDI/GenDev), is seeking your application for a proposed Fixed Amount Award (FAA) for funding a two-year program, followed by a possible three-year Cooperative Agreement with activities related to “Global Fund for Women - Localization Activity”. USAID anticipates having up to $10 million to support activities under the Fixed Amount Award and up to $15 million to support activities under the Cooperative Agreement related to this program. The authority for the RFA is found in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

A post-award survey will need to be conducted by USAID on the Global Fund for Women prior to the end of two-year Fixed Amount Award. If it is determined that the Global Fund for Women is capable of managing a cost reimbursement award, the award will transition to a Cooperative Agreement.

The Fixed Amount Award mechanism has several advantages for both USAID and the Recipient. It focuses on outputs and results, limits risk for both parties, and requires only limited financial and management capacity. The Fixed Amount Award will require setting objective and verifiable milestones, as well as structuring appropriate payments for each successfully completed milestone. Please note that each milestone must be completed in full and accepted by USAID so as to receive milestone payments and that payments cannot be pro-rated for incomplete milestones. As such, we recommend that you flesh out your milestone budget and activities as much as possible to a reasonable degree of certainty for smooth implementation post-award. For more information, please click on the following hyperlink:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303saj.pdf

Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.330, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments.

However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the Fixed Amount Award as well as the Cooperative Agreement and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 700, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for-profit organizations), may be paid under the Fixed Amount Award and Cooperative Agreement. For the purposes of this RFA, the term "Grant" is synonymous with "Fixed Amount Award;" "Grantee" is synonymous with "Recipient;" and "Grant Officer" is synonymous with "Agreement Officer.” The Mandatory and Optional Standard Provisions which will be selected for inclusion in the award based on the applicability of each https://pages.usaid.gov/DDI https://pages.usaid.gov/DDI https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303saj.pdf provision can be accessed by clicking on the following hyperlinks:

FAA: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303mat.pdf Cooperative Agreement: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303maa.pdf

Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. In addition, final award of any resultant Fixed Amount Award or Cooperative Agreement cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal USAID procedures.

While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for an award. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant; should circumstances prevent award, all preparation and submission costs are at the applicant's expense.

Sincerely, Shannon White-Benson, M/OAA/DDI 1 Senior Agreement Officer https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/303mat.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303mat.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/303maa.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/303maa.pdf

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section A – Program Description

Section B – Federal Award Information

Section C – Eligibility Information

Section D – Application and Submission Information

Section E – Application Review Information

Section F – Federal Award Administration Information

Section G – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Section H – Other Information

ANNEX 1 - STANDARD PROVISIONS

ANNEX 2 – BUDGET TEMPLATE

ANNEX 3 – MILESTONE BUDGET EXAMPLE

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. USAID is planning to award one fixed amount award up to $10 million.

The award may transition to a Cooperative Agreement pending performance and capability of the organization with a ceiling of $15,000,000 for a new award of up to three years. The potential cooperative agreement should allow for flexibility to respond to emerging USAID priorities and for USAID Missions and other Operating Units to buy into the award to address targeted geographic and thematic challenges.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Global Fund for Women - Localization Activity will enable a greater share of USAID resources to be programmed directly with frontline women’s organizations globally, simultaneously advancing USAID priorities on gender equality and locally led development.

The activity will provide an efficient way to provide subawards to local organizations, enabling a rapid response to emerging challenges and opportunities in development and humanitarian assistance while centering feminist and women-led organizations at the heart of any response.

2. BACKGROUND

Despite decades of evidence on the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming in delivering on a wide range of development objectives, bilateral and private philanthropic investments in gender equality and gender mainstreaming have remained stagnant. Direct investments in gender equality as a primary objective remain consistently low, at approximately four percent of overseas development assistance (ODA).1 Not surprisingly, the share of development projects demonstrating effective gender mainstreaming also remains well below 50 percent. Attempts to advance gender equality as its own objective, and to integrate gender equity considerations across development programming, are hindered by these three-layered factors: 1) lack of dedicated resources for feminist and women-led organizations that are positioned to galvanize further action toward gender equity; 2) insufficient investment in women’s empowerment and gender equality as a target outcome of assistance; and 3) insufficient investment in gender mainstreaming.

The latter two issues are strongly affected by the first. In the absence of dedicated resources for feminist and women-led organizations, that by their very existence transform the nature of assistance, all other efforts will have limited ability to alter gendered power dynamics for permanent and transformative change. As noted by OECD GenderNet, even when some support is channeled to gender mainstreaming, where the majority of funding remains dedicated to ‘gender-blind’ investments, there is a risk that assistance may in fact continue to reinforce negative gender dynamics, undermining that share of funding for the goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In June 2021 at the Generation Equality Forum, governments and global stakeholders gathered to re-commit to advancing gender equality. This culminated in the announcement of an unprecedented $40 billion in commitments from governments, multilateral organizations, philanthropy, private sector and civil society stakeholders. Action Coalitions were created to accomplish these commitments, including one to

1 Source: OECD GenderNet https://forum.generationequality.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/GEF%20Commitment%20Makers.pdf support Feminist Movements and Leadership, which committed “by 2026, feminist leaders, movements, and organizations, including those led by trans, intersex and nonbinary people, indigenous women, young feminists, and other historically excluded people, are supported to become sustainable, can carry out their work without fear of reprisal, and advance gender equality, peace, and human rights for all.”

To achieve this vision there is an immediate and critical need to channel a greater share of resources intended for the full spectrum of development challenges to local, women-led and feminist organizations.

Yet appropriate organizations may be difficult to locate, particularly when there may be a need for geographic or sector-specific expertise on issues such as climate change, democratic backsliding, pandemic recovery, or humanitarian emergencies. There is a critical need to engage reliable global networks that are part of social movements, can act as trusted interlocutors, and can efficiently and effectively assist in directing resources to frontline organizations in a variety of contexts.

3. APPROACH

3.1 INTERSECTIONAL

In line with the National Strategy for Gender Equity and Equality2, this activity aims to address intersecting forms of discrimination and advance intersectional gender equity and equality. It will apply an intersectional framework that identifies those who experience inequality and exclusion, based on interconnected and layered systems of oppression (e.g. sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, xenophobia, classism, etc.) and power differentials (e.g. based on gender, race, and other factors, including but not limited to sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, disability status, age, socioeconomic status, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, caste, indigeneity).

3.2 EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE

The activity will implement an inclusive development approach that takes into consideration historic, structural, and systemic exclusions based on gender and other social identities. This approach includes implementing gender-transformative approaches that seeks to fundamentally transform relations, structures, and systems that sustain and perpetuate gender inequality by: (1) critically examining gender roles, norms, power dynamics, and inequalities; (2) recognizing and strengthening positive norms that support gender equality and an enabling environment; and (3) transforming underlying power dynamics, social structures, policies, and broadly held social norms that impact women and girls, men and boys, and individuals of all other gender identities and perpetuate gender inequalities.

3.3 CONFLICT-SENSITIVE

When applicable, the Recipient will be expected to integrate a proactive conflict sensitive approach in the design and implementation of this activity. Conflict sensitivity refers to the discipline and capacity of an organization to: (1) understand the conflict context in which activities are being implemented; (2) understand how the context might affect the activity and how the activity might affect the context; (3) act on this understanding to minimize risk of negative impacts on interventions and resources (i.e., staff, beneficiaries, communities, results) and the conflict dynamics; and (4) identify options for positively impacting the conflict context.

2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf https://forum.generationequality.org/action-coalitions https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf

3.4 LOCALLY LED DEVELOPMENT

USAID intends to provide the maximum flexibility to the Recipient to engage local actors and networks and propose innovative approaches. The approach considers the capacity and resilience of local systems and helps to build the capacity of local stakeholders.

USAID defines locally led development as the process in which local actors – encompassing individuals, communities, networks, organizations, private entities, and governments – set their own agendas, develop solutions, and bring the capacity, leadership, and resources to make those solutions a reality.

4. COORDINATION WITH REGIONAL & GLOBAL COUNTERPARTS, USAID

IMPLEMENTERS, & OTHER FUNDER INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Effective funder coordination has the potential to increase program impact while making efficient use of development resources, especially where many funder and implementing partners have recently become active. The Recipient will facilitate coordination with other bilateral and private philanthropic donors to leverage and therefore maximize impact of investments in feminist, frontline organizations worldwide.

5. DEVELOPMENT HYPOTHESIS

This activity’s Theory of Change is: IF there is greater investment in local, women-led and feminist organizations as development partners, AND these organizations are enabled to advance more effective gender mainstreaming in the programs that engage them, THEN they will have a positive impact on development outcomes in these programs AND will build support for advancing gender equality.

6. GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS

This activity is to be global in scope, with the implementation of regional and/or country-specific interventions that are agreed upon by USAID and the Recipient.

7. OBJECTIVES & DESIRED OUTCOMES

This activity specifically addresses priorities identified in the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality.3 The objectives to be achieved under this activity are as follows:

Objective 1 - Strengthen local and regional feminist and women-led organizations as development partners of USAID, including their ability to continue to become stronger organizations after funding from USAID has ended.

USAID is prioritizing locally led development in recognition of the precept that development work is better, smarter, more relevant, and more sustainable when we center our partnerships, planning, and decision making around the voices of local and diverse communities, particularly those who have been underrepresented. However, local organizations may lack the resources and support to engage as full and equal partners with USAID. To strengthen the organizational capacity of local and regional women-led and feminist organizations to effectively engage across development programming, the Recipient should include a set of activities that target particular local and regional organizations and invest in building organizational capacity. USAID promotes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in organizations, and especially gender equality and women being recruited, retained, and promoted into

3https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/National-Strategy-on-Gender-Equity-and-Equality.pdf leadership in all organizations at all levels from entry-level to CEO. Please see this article from the Harvard Business Review on Achieving Gender Balance at All Levels of Your Company.

Illustrative activities might include:

● Advisory services, training, mentoring or other investments to build stronger financial, human resources, communications, or program management systems;

● Enabling access to networks, training, or tools to strengthen expertise in specific development sectors or approaches; and

● Enabling access to leadership development programs and support.

Objective 2 - Create and deploy rapid-response mechanisms to enable women-led and feminist organizations to play a more prominent role in responding to humanitarian crises and development priorities.

USAID has many priorities and recognizes that the Recipient should not try to address all of them but rather should focus on priorities that also align with the Recipient’s vision and strengths. Illustrative development sectors of interest to USAID include: (1) Agriculture and Food Security, (2) Anti-corruption,

(3) Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, (4) Economic Growth and Trade, (5) Education, (6) Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure, including climate change (7) Global Health, (8) Humanitarian Assistance, and (9) Conflict Prevention. Important issues related to these broad rubrics include but are not limited to nutrition, water and sanitation, safe migration, and sustainable urban development.

The Recipient should select three broad development sectors where partners will work to advance a more effective gender-transformative response and gender mainstreaming with a justification for the selection of each sector. USAID encourages the Recipient to avoid sectors that already have a greater share of gender mainstreaming in ODA.

Objective 3 - Strengthen the evidence base regarding the impact of increased investment in local, feminist, and women-led organizations to deliver on overall development objectives.

The Recipient should describe a plan and set of interventions to capture learning from frontline organizations, which will include collecting data from a very diverse set of local organizations in different contexts. This activity may include creating new methodologies, tools, and resources to capture evidence of outcomes for funders, host-country governments, and other stakeholders to design, implement, and evaluate effective strategies, expanding the global base of knowledge and evidence on strategies that work to advance localization across development contexts.

The Recipient should refer to the Agency Learning Agenda FY 2022-2026. This Learning Agenda communicates how USAID builds and uses evidence to address its highest policy priorities, as articulated in the Department of State and USAID Joint Strategic Plan, as well as in the forthcoming USAID Policy Framework. Through consultation with the USAID workforce, U.S. Government agencies, international donors, researchers, think tanks, and other partners, USAID identified nine Agency learning questions for 2022-2026. In particular, the Recipient is encouraged to address Learning Question number eight, which focuses on Locally Led Development - How can USAID more equitably engage local knowledge, assets, and practices and align programming with local priorities and metrics for success?

The Recipient should think creatively about designing questions to derive to what extent local knowledge, assets, and resources impacted programming.

Illustrative examples include but are not limited to:

1. To what extent did frontline feminist women-led organizations use investments to strengthen or catalyze other inputs.

https://hbr.org/2021/11/achieving-gender-balance-at-all-levels-of-your-company https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do https://www.usaid.gov/evaluation/evidence-act-agency-learning-agenda#:%7E:text=The%202022%2D2026%20Agency%20Learning,and%20forthcoming%20USAID%20Policy%20Framework.

https://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/planning/joint-strategic-plan/2022-2026

2. To what extent did local knowledge play a role in the activities’ success?

Desired Outcomes

Together, completion of activities supporting the three objectives should result in a strengthened set of local, national, and regional actors capable of partnering with USAID and other donors on a range of development objectives, while simultaneously advancing gender equity and equality.

Objective one interventions will strengthen global, regional, and national networks of feminist and women-led organizations and build their capacity to respond to emerging development priorities mentioned in objective two. Objective three will harness learnings and allow for adaptive management of the networks. It is anticipated that activities will result in the development of an ongoing, permanently strengthened, and rapid response capability that will enable Global Fund for Women to enter into a second phase of relationship with USAID. The Recipient should propose development sector areas where they see opportunities for catalytic investment in the first year.

8. RESPONSE TO AGENCY-WIDE INITIATIVES

8.1 NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE

This activity is aligned with USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative, or NPI, in the goal of equipping and empowering new and underutilized development partners such as youth and women-led organizations.

Often, local and community-based organizations have innovative ideas, capabilities, and networks to solve problems not adequately addressed by other traditional implementing partners. USAID is committed to directly supporting new and underutilized partners that would not historically have had the scale to undertake a partnership with USAID. This support has multiple potential benefits by taking advantage of the full marketplace of ideas and providing capacity building for the overall ecosystem of youth and women service providers.

To-date, NPI, has expanded USAID’s focus on awards to new and nontraditional partners, supporting 34 awards around the world, representing more than $400 million, to approximately 60 partners. In addition, 77 Missions developed action plans, committing $3.1 billion in obligations for 1,069 activities aimed at new and local partners.

USAID Local Works is the Agency’s flagship locally led development program that provides Missions more time to pursue innovative ways of working. There are 32 Missions with Local Works programs.

8.2 GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Executive Order on Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council states that the Council shall coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to advance gender equity and equality, including policies and programs. The first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality was released on October 22, 2021 and the first priority in the Strategy is to Improve Economic Security and Accelerate Economic Growth. Under this National Strategy, twelve Departments and Agencies are currently developing the first-ever U.S. Global Women’s Economic Security Strategy. Also under this National Strategy, the U.S.

Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Strategy is being revised.

The Women’s Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Act of 2018 integrates gender equality across all USAID programming. At USAID, we believe that when we increase incomes and opportunities for women, entire communities, economies, and countries benefit. The USAID Policy, Integrating Gender https://www.usaid.gov/NPI https://www.usaid.gov/local-faith-and-transformative-partnerships/local-works https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/08/executive-order-on-establishment-of-the-white-house-gender-policy-council/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/22/fact-sheet-national-strategy-on-gender-equity-and-equality/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/22/fact-sheet-national-strategy-on-gender-equity-and-equality/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3247/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S3247%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=1 https://foreignassistance.gov/ https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/200/205

Equality and Female Empowerment in USAID’s Program Cycle - ADS Chapter 205, provides direction to staff on how to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment into all USAID programming.

USAID’s 2020 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy4 affirms USAID's vision of a prosperous and peaceful world in which everyone enjoys equal economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and are equally empowered to secure better lives for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries.

Principles of gender equality and women’s empowerment will be incorporated throughout each intervention to achieve USAID objectives. Partners should conduct activity-specific gender analyses at the beginning of activity implementation and develop a clear approach to address any issues.

The Recipient will also seek to recruit female and other diverse staff and have a gender-balanced and inclusive team under this activity.

8.3 YOUTH IN DEVELOPMENT

USAID’s Youth Policy outlines a conceptual approach to youth in development and provides guiding principles and operational practices in support of USAID’s efforts to mainstream youth in development, carry out more effective programs, and elevate youth participation.

8.4 PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

This activity should align with USAID’s Disability Policy5 and integrate the specific needs of citizens with disabilities--such as barriers to engaging in community dialogue, access to information, civic education and community development activities, and access to information and communication technologies--in activity design at all levels, and should consider the integration of people with disabilities into broader efforts.

9. COLLABORATING, LEARNING AND ADAPTING

This activity should employ a highly adaptive and collaborative management style. As explained in USAID’s Discussion Note on Adaptive Management, such an approach “is not about changing goals during implementation, it is about changing the path being used to achieve the goals in response to changes.” To that end, this activity should employ a broad range of tools and approaches for ensuring that it responds to the evolving context.

Partners should apply USAID’s approach to Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) to this activity.

In alignment with ADS 201.3.7, partners should integrate approaches to CLA that include:

● Collaborating, where relevant. Collaboration activities may include joint work planning, regular partner meetings that facilitate knowledge sharing, and working groups organized along geographic or technical lines.

● Involving other stakeholders in learning activities, such as portfolio reviews or stocktaking efforts, as appropriate.

● Using the knowledge and learning gained from implementation, opportunities to reflect on performance, monitoring data, evaluations, knowledge about the context, and other sources to adjust interventions and approaches as needed. These practices will drive decision-making and

4 https://www.usaid.gov/GenderEqualityandWomensEmpowermentPolicy 5 https://www.usaid.gov/inclusivedevelopment/disability-rights https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/200/205 https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/200/205 https://www.usaid.gov/GenderEqualityandWomensEmpowermentPolicy https://www.usaid.gov/policy/youth https://www.usaid.gov/inclusivedevelopment/disability-rights https://www.usaid.gov/GenderEqualityandWomensEmpowermentPolicy https://www.usaid.gov/inclusivedevelopment/disability-rights activity adjustments in an intentional way that responds to new information and changes in context.

10. CLIMATE RISK

A climate risk assessment was deferred for this activity. The activity will consider climate mitigation and adaptation strategies as part of the design process where relevant and appropriate.

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SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

USAID intends to award one Fixed Amount Award pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide up to $10 million in total USAID funding over a two-year period. Pending Satisfactory progress towards meeting award objectives and a pre-award survey that demonstrates Global Fund for Women’s ability to manage a cost reimbursement award, USAID intends to renew the award for up to an additional $15 million in total USAID funding over a three-year period.

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

The Applicant should submit a draft MEL Plan for the Global Fund for Women - Localization Activity that provides a detailed, concise, systematic and comprehensive method(s) of adaptive approaches designed to achieve the programmatic objectives and identify key learning questions and indicators. The proposed MEL Plan should be linked to the Theory of Change.

3. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The anticipated period of performance for the Fixed Amount Award is two years. The estimated start date will be October 1, 2022. The anticipated period of performance for the Cooperative Agreement is three years. The estimated state date will be October 1, 2024.

4. Authorized Geographic Code

The geographic code for the procurement of commodities and services under this program is 937: (the United States, the recipient country, and developing countries other than advanced developing countries, but excluding any country that is a prohibited source) is the authorized USAID Principal Geographic Code for the procurement of commodities and services.

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 Localization Activity, which is authorized by Federal statute. The Recipient will be responsible for ensuring the achievement of the program objectives and the efficient and effective administration of the award through the application of sound management practices. The Recipient will assume responsibility for administering Federal funds in a manner consistent with underlying agreements, program objectives, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.

SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicant

Eligibility for this NOFO is restricted. In accordance with ADS 303.3.6.5.d, USAID’s reasons for restricting eligibility are to increase the Agency’s partner base by restricting eligibility to organizations that have not previously received a direct award from USAID, and to access specialized skills or experience through an award to an entity with exclusive or predominant capability based on proprietary resources, specialized facilities, or unique relationship with the national government or other institutions in the cooperating country or intended beneficiaries.

Eligibility is restricted to the Global Fund for Women. The Global Fund for Women is a uniquely-positioned network with unparalleled ability to reach frontline, grassroots women’s organizations. Over its 30-year history, Global Fund for Women has made grants to over 5,000 frontline women’s organizations in 176 countries, and has demonstrated unique ability to work with organizations that larger donors might not be able to reach, or that might not be eligible for funding, and to develop their capacity to manage and utilize resources. Global Fund for Women was created to serve as an international hub capable of mobilizing direct support for local women’s rights organizations, regional and national women’s funds. As such, it has predominant capability via its unique global network capable of reaching women’s funds and grassroots organizations in all regions and most countries where USAID works. The organization enjoys a unique relationship with intended beneficiaries, namely frontline women’s rights organizations, in USAID countries of interest. Further, Global Fund for Women has not previously received a USAID award.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

USAID has established a required minimum recipient cost share of 5 percent, and a preferred amount of 10 percent, of the total amount 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.

SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Agency Points of Contact

Name: Shannon White-Benson Title: Senior Agreement Officer Email: shwhite@usaid.gov

Name: Elizabeth Surette Title: Agreement Specialist Email: esurette@usaid.gov

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this NOFO should be submitted via email to Shannon White-Benson at shwhite@usaid.gov and Elizabeth Surette esurette@usaid.gov no later than the date and time indicated on the cover letter.

3. General Content and Form of Application

Preparation of the Application:

The applicant must furnish the information required by this NOFO. The Application 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.

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);

● The SAM Unique Entity Identifier number of the applicant

● Program name;

● Notice of Funding Opportunity number; and

● Names and UEIs 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.

The applicant 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.

mailto:shwhite@usaid.gov mailto:esurette@usaid.gov

The application must comply with the following:

● The Technical Application must not exceed fifteen (15) 8.5x11 sized pages. USAID will not review any pages in excess of the page limit. 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.

The applicant 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. The applicant should retain a copy of the application and all enclosures for their records.

4. Application Submission Procedures

The application in response to this NOFO must be submitted no later than the closing date and time indicated on the cover letter. A late application will not be reviewed nor considered. The applicant must retain proof of timely delivery in the form of system generated documentation of delivery receipt date and time/confirmation from the receiving office/certified mail receipt.

The application must be submitted by email to Shannon White-Benson at shwhite@usaid.gov and Elizabeth Surette at esurette@usaid.gov. Email submissions must include the NOFO number and applicant’s name in the subject line heading. In addition, for an application sent by multiple emails, the subject line must also indicate whether the email relates to the technical or cost application, and the desired sequence of the emails and their attachments (e.g. "No. 1 of 4", etc.). For example, if your cost application is being sent in two emails, the first email should have a subject line that states: “7200AA22RFA00022, Global Fund for Women, Cost Application, Part 1 of 2". Each email and its accompanying attachments must be under 25MB in file size to ensure delivery to USAID servers.

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

After submitting an application electronically, the applicant should immediately check their own email to confirm that the attachments were indeed sent. If the applicant discovers an error in transmission, please send the material again and note in the subject line of the email or indicate in the file name if submitted via grants.gov that it is a "corrected" submission. Do not send the same email more than once unless there has been a change, and if so, please note that it is a "corrected" email.

mailto:esurette@usaid.gov

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

There may be a problem with the receipt of *.zip files due to anti-virus software. Therefore, the Applicant is discouraged from sending files in this format as USAID cannot guarantee their acceptance by the internet server.

5. Technical Application Format

The technical application should be specific, complete, and presented concisely. The application must demonstrate the applicant's capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the goals of this program.

The application should take into account the requirements of the program and merit review criteria found in this NOFO.

(a) Cover Page (See Section D.3 above for requirements)

(b) List of Acronyms (does not count towards page limitation)

(c) Table of Contents (does not count towards page limitation)

(d) Executive Summary (not to exceed one page, does not count towards page limitation)

The Executive Summary must provide a high-level overview of key elements of the Technical Application.

(e) Technical Approach (included in the 15-page limitation)

The Applicant’s technical approach should demonstrate a clear understanding of all three Program Objectives and demonstrate a feasible and credible approach to achieve them. The Technical Approach must demonstrate the Applicant’s expertise with respect to achieving each Objective and should address the following.

Objective 1

● Identification of criteria and systems that will be used to identify relevant partners and to disperse capacity building grants to local feminist and women-led organizations.

● Identification of proposed resources and methods to strengthen the organizational capacity of local and regional organizations.

● Identification of approach to identifying and addressing inherent power dynamics in relationships with local and regional organizations

Objective 2

● Selection of target development sectors, including mapping of potential stakeholders and partners.

● Describe the criteria and systems that will be used to deploy rapid response mechanisms.

● Describe the gender-transformative systems to ensure accountability for resources and results, while rebalancing power dynamics.

Objective 3

● Describe the methods and systems for capturing results for organizational capacity building activities.

● Describe the methods and systems for capturing results from rapid response mechanisms.

(f) Management and Staffing Approach (included in the 15-page limitation)

1. Management Approach

The Management Approach Section must describe its plan to achieve the proposed technical approach, including its organizational structure, team composition (including proposed key personnel positions, roles, responsibilities, and qualifications) and consortium roles to demonstrate how it will successfully manage activities and achieve objectives. This section must include, but is not limited to, a discussion of the following issues:

• A clear management plan for the proposed activity including key personnel, subaward structure, technical and administrative management oversight;

• For sub-awards with other organizations, to the extent possible, explicitly define the technical roles, management relationships, and levels of effort (LOE) of the organizations and individuals involved in the sub-award.

As an annex to the technical application, the applicant should submit an Organizational Chart that illustrates the management structure to be used to achieve the objectives of the Activity.

2. Key Personnel and Staffing Approach

The Key Personnel and Staffing Section must propose an appropriate mix of key personnel and additional staff to successfully achieve the objectives of the program. The Applicant should propose two to three Key Personnel positions, which are considered essential for implementation of the activity. Key personnel must reflect the appropriate breadth and depth of expertise to manage and implement the proposed technical approach to achieve the Agreement's objectives and expected results. The Applicant should provide position descriptions for each proposed Key Personnel position that include the proposed position title, minimum qualifications, roles, and responsibilities. The Applicant should provide a discussion of the skills, experience, and education for each of the proposed individuals. It is preferred that key personnel demonstrate gender, ethnic and geographic diversity, with expertise in the proposed pilot countries.

The Applicant should describe the composition of both full-time and non-full-time staff for the Recipient and all sub-recipients. The narrative should describe the roles, responsibilities, and lines of authority of key personnel/staff, partners and subcontractors. the staffing plan, team composition, and proposed personnel that will provide the technical, analytical, management, and interpersonal skills and experience to convincingly demonstrate the Applicant’s ability to effectively and efficiently achieve, oversee, coordinate, and report.

The Applicant should describe its approach to hiring, retaining, and replacing personnel, including information about internal processes and procedures to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). Also, a description of how DEIA will be ensured within sub-recipient organizations.

As an annex to the technical application, the applicant should submit Resumes, not to exceed two (2) pages, for each of the key personnel. Qualifications, experience, and skills will be listed in reverse chronological order starting with the most recent information. For key personnel, three (3) references with valid telephone and e-mail contact information must also be included.

(g) Articles of Incorporation

The Applicant must submit its articles of incorporation or other documentation which substantiates the legal character/registration of the entity in the United States.

6. Business (Cost) Application Format

The Business (Cost) Application must be submitted separately from the Technical Application. While no page limit exists for the full cost application, the Applicant is encouraged to be as concise as possible while still providing the necessary details. The business (cost) application must illustrate the entire period of performance, using the budget format shown in the SF-424A.

Prior to award, the Applicant may be required to submit additional documentation deemed necessary for the Agreement Officer to assess the applicant’s risk in accordance with 2 CFR 200.206. The Applicant should not submit any additional information with their initial application.

The Cost Application must contain the following sections (which are further elaborated below this listing with the letters for each requirement):

a) Cover Page (See Section D.3 above for requirements)

b) SF 424 Form(s)

The applicant must sign and submit the cost application using the SF-424 series. Standard Forms can be accessed electronically at www.grants.gov or using the following links:

Instructions for SF-424 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424-instructions.html

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

Instructions for SF- 424A http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html

Budget Information

(SF-424A)

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

Instructions for SF- 424B http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424b-instructions.html

Assurances (SF-424B) https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

Failure to accurately complete these forms could result in the rejection of the application.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424-instructions.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424-instructions.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424b-instructions.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424b-instructions.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

c) Required Certifications and Assurances

The applicant must complete the following documents and submit a signed copy with their application.

(1) “Certifications, Assurances, Representations, and Other Statements of the Recipient” ADS 303mav document found at http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/303mav.pdf

(2) Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

(3) Certificate of Compliance: Please submit a copy of your Certificate of Compliance if your organization's systems have been certified by USAID/Washington's Office of Acquisition and Assistance (M/OAA).

d) Budget and Budget Narrative

The Budget must be submitted as one unprotected Excel file (MS Office 2000 or later versions) with visible formulas and references and must be broken out by project year, including itemization of the federal and non-federal (cost share) amount. Files must not contain any hidden or otherwise inaccessible cells. Budgets with hidden cells lengthen the cost analysis time required to make award and may result in a rejection of the cost application. The Budget Narrative must contain sufficient detail to allow USAID to understand the proposed costs. The budget narrative should provide information regarding the basis of estimate for each line item, including reference to sources used to substantiate the cost estimate (e.g.

organization's policy, payroll document, and vendor quotes, etc.). The applicant must ensure the budgeted costs address any additional requirements identified in Section F, such as Branding and Marking. The Budget Narrative must be thorough, including sources for costs to support USAID’s determination that the proposed costs are fair and reasonable. As this is a Fixed Amount Award, the budget and budget narrative must describe the sufficient cost, historical, or unit pricing data necessary to establish realistic milestones.

The Budget must include the following worksheets or tabs, and contents, at a minimum:

Two Year Fixed Amount Award:

● Summary Budget, inclusive of all program costs (federal and non-federal), broken out by major budget category and by year for activities implemented by the applicant and any potential sub-applicants for the entire period of the program. Standard Form 424 and 424A, which can be downloaded from www.grants.gov, must be used.

● Detailed Budget, including a breakdown by year, sufficient to allow the Agency to determine that the costs represent a realistic and efficient use of funding to implement the applicant’s program and are allowable in accordance with the cost principles found in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E. Previous instructions provided for the detailed budget are still applicable.

● Detailed Budgets for each sub-recipient, for all federal funding and…