Deadline: 24-Jan-23
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations interested in submitting Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that support the policy objective to promote and protect the human rights of children in the MENA region.
SOIs should increase the efficacy of legal frameworks and protection systems to safeguard the rights of children in the Middle East and North Africa. Potential program approaches must work in tandem on these two objectives and may include, but are not limited to:
- Advocacy and/or fostering implementation of legal and policy reforms and social protections to safeguard the rights of children;
- Strengthening and better implementing existing child protection systems, with an emphasis on supporting civil society’s ability to foster accountability and play a watchdog role;
- Promoting public awareness and building public demand for protecting rights of children; and
- Facilitating cross-regional learning and knowledge exchange between civil society organizations and actors to improve practices on protecting the rights of children.
Funding Information
- Primary organizations can submit one SOI in response to the RSOI. SOIs that request less than $750,000 or more than $1,500,000 may be deemed technically ineligible. The period of performance may range between 18 and 48 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or a public international organization; or
- Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; or
- Be a for-profit organization or business (noting there are restrictions on payment of fees and/or profits under grants and cooperative agreements, including those outlined in 48 CFR 30, “Cost Accounting Standards Administration”, and 48 CFR 31, “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures”);
- Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders including private sector partner and NGOs; and,
- Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs. DRL 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.
- Applicants may form consortia and submit a combined SOI. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant with the other members as sub-award partners.
Ineligible Activities
- Activities that are not typically considered competitive include, but are not limited, to:
- The provision of humanitarian assistance;
- English language instruction;
- Development of high-tech computer or communications software and/or hardware;
- Purely academic exchanges or fellowships;
- External exchanges or fellowships lasting longer than six months;
- Theoretical explorations of human rights or democracy issues, including projects aimed primarily at research and evaluation that do not incorporate training or capacity-building for local civil society;
- Micro-loans or similar small business development initiatives;
- Initiatives directed towards a diaspora community rather than current residents of targeted countries.
For more information, visit DRL.
