Bureau of NEA/AC seeking Applications for Regional Diagnostics

Deadline: 25 June 2020

The Bureau of Near East Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity for projects that document public attitudes towards social, economic, and political issues facing countries in the Middle East and North Africa region through polling mechanism(s).

Topics should include:

general themes of public, public private, or private sector discourse on governance; policy reform; media; performance of public institutions; challenges to economic growth; and major issues facing the region; and
state how priorities/needs or overall opinions on these issues vary according to location (on the governorate level), demographic, type of stakeholder (business association, private individual, civil society organization, etc.), and socioeconomic differences.

Objectives

In order to counter Chinese and Iranian influence in the MENA region; facilitate access to resources and opportunities to ethnic and religious minorities in the region; and examine attitudes at the sub-national, national, and regional levels towards emerging and existing economic challenges and opportunities, proposals submitted under the Regional Diagnostic initiative should aim to achieve the following:

Document public attitudes towards China and Iran in the region in a methodologically rigorous and innovative manner;
Provide results and tools that offer practical guidance on how to develop and diffuse knowledge across the public sector to be more responsive to citizens; and
Share information with the general public, academia, civil society organizations, government entities, and media organizations.
Identify resources and opportunities to which ethnic and religious minorities have access in the region;
Examine attitudes at the sub-national, national, and regional levels towards emerging and existing economic challenges and opportunities.

Problem Statement

There are three areas of major concern for the United States in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA):

the influence of China and Iran in the region,
ethnic and religious minorities’ rights and access to resources and opportunities, and
citizens’ and business’ economic opportunities on the local and national levels.

This project will provide a cross-national understanding of the impact of the Chinese and Iranian influence on social, economic, and political attitudes in the MENA region; examine attitudes at the sub-national, national, and regional levels towards emerging and existing economic challenges and opportunities; and captures religious and ethnic minorities’ experiences, detecting early warning signs of threats to religious freedom in several MENA countries.

Project beneficiaries shall include:

Civil Society Organizations
Private Sector Partners
Government Institutions

Funding Information

Estimated Number of Awards: 1
Estimated Total Program Funding: $16,000,000
Estimated Base Year Award Ceiling: $3,200,000
Estimated Base Year Award Floor: $1,200,000
Estimated Length of Project Period: 5.5 years

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants include:
- U.S. or foreign
  - Non-profit organizations;
  - Private institutions of higher education; and
  - Public or state institutions of higher education.
NEA/AC is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. NEA/AC welcomes applications irrespective of an applicants’ race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. They encourage applications from organizations working with underserved communities, including women, people with disabilities, and youth.
NEA/AC strongly encourages applications from organizations headquartered in the Middle East and North Africa region. International non-governmental organizations with principal bases of operations outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply, but the percentage of total budget actually spent in the region through local partners may be among the elements of evaluation for this competition.