Deadline: 9 June 2020
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support democracy, human rights, and rule of law in Syria.
DRL’s objective is to support programs to prevent intercommunal conflict; protect civic space; and promote justice and accountability efforts through targeted engagement with Syrian civil society. Proposals should also recognize, as a foundational tenet, the importance of a pluralistic, rights-respecting Syrian national identity, inclusive of all religious and ethnic backgrounds.
Focus Areas
Programming should focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Protecting Civic Space: Strengthening the ability of civil society and activists to coalesce and advocate effectively for their shared interests in support of human rights, fundamental freedoms, and social cohesion. Activities may include direct support to organizations, building alliances and networks between activists/organizations, advocacy and community engagement, and/or where possible, improving civil society engagement with local officials, community leaders, and the international community.
- In order to assist in the practical implementation of activities in support of Syrian civil society, applicants who include funding for the provision of small sub-awards to the local organizations or activists with whom they plan to engage as part of their submitted budgets will be viewed favorably.
- Conflict Mitigation and Reconciliation: Local-level reconciliation and efforts to reintegrate returnees and rebuild relationships across and within communities. Proposals should focus on both immediate and long-term grievances fueled by cycles of violence alongside poor governance, distrust in security forces, and perceptions of betrayal by former neighbors.
- Justice and Accountability: Strengthen individual and networks of independent victims groups (e.g., associations of the missing and disappeared, groups representing released political prisoners and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and torture, etc.) to effectively advance their vision of justice and accountability and advocate for their needs and for information on the missing; provide technical expertise on forensic-based exhumations for truth, justice and accountability processes; empower participation of local civil society, particularly families of the missing, in the search and identification of the missing; manage public education and awareness-raising campaigns on search and identification efforts; support the provision of legal assistance to civilians, e.g., addressing issues related to housing land and property, arbitrary detentions, and other abuses under the existing legal framework.
Funding Information
- Funding Floor: $750,000
- Funding Ceiling: $1,500,000
- Period of Performance: 12 – 24 months
- Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 5 months
Eligibility Criteria
DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.
For all application documents, please ensure:
- All documents are in English and all costs are in U.S. dollars. If an original document within the application is in another language, an English translation must be provided (please note the Department of State, as indicated in 2 CFR 200.111, requires that English is the official language of all award documents. If any document is provided in both English and a foreign language, the English language version is the controlling version);
- All pages are numbered, including budgets and attachments;
- All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper; and,
- All documents are single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. Captions and footnotes may be 10-point Times New Roman font. Font sizes in charts and tables, including the budget, can be reformatted to fit within 1 page width.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326477
