Deadline: 25-May-2023
The United States Government, represented by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Southern Africa Mission (USAID/SA) invites Concept Notes that are focused on the Southern Africa Regional Political Processes.
This NOFO and the assistance selection process contains three phases as follows:
- Phase I – Concept Notes Submission and Merit Review
- Phase II – Co-Creation
- Phase III – Full Application Submission and Merit Review
Purpose
- The purpose of this program is to provide political party assistance in selected countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), region to promote representative multiparty systems and support the development of democratic political parties that are responsive to citizens and capable of effective policy making. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States; Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- The program will work at two levels. At the regional level, activities will promote networking among political parties across the region, peer-to-peer learning, and discussions about transboundary and electoral policy issues; while at the country level, work with political parties will promote inclusive, responsive political parties that are better able to develop and implement electoral and policy reforms in their respective countries.
- Working from both the supply and demand sides, the activity will leverage and expand ongoing initiatives to build the capacity of political parties and other relevant stakeholders; promote the meaningful leadership and participation of women, youth, and marginalized individuals in political processes; and institutionalize mechanisms for multi-stakeholder dialogues to facilitate policy solutions to national and regional challenges. The program will also have the capability to provide support to address unplanned opportunities and challenges around electoral processes throughout the region, should funds become available.
- This program will be governed by the principles in the USAID Political Party Assistance Policy: USAID program support representative, multiparty systems, and USAID program do not seek to determine election outcomes.
- Applicants may propose activities and selected countries in the SADC region for implementation. Applicants should propose criteria for their specific country selection, excluding Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and , prioritizing countries under USAID’s Regional Development and Cooperation Strategy for Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa).
Goals and Objectives
- The goal of this program is to support a trend toward representative, multiparty systems and promote democratic political parties that are responsive to citizens and capable of policy-making.
- It will support activities under four objectives:
- Assist political parties to develop responsive and evidence-based policy-making skills through regional and country level activities.
- Build support for electoral integrity and democratic electoral reforms among political parties in participating countries.
- Assist political parties to develop more inclusive party structures, increase party responsiveness to citizens, and implement practices that respect electoral integrity and legal frameworks.
- Advance regional networks of political parties and other stakeholders, to foster peer-topeer learning and experience sharing on strengthening democratic and inclusive political institutions and transboundary policy issues.
- Activities will be supported under a fifth objective, in response to emerging needs and as funds become available:
- Promote transparent, inclusive, and democratic electoral processes with genuine political competition in the region in response to windows of opportunity.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $10,000,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility for this funding opportunity is restricted to local entities in countries in the SADC region, excluding Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Local entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that—
- is legally organized under the laws of;
- has as its principal place of business or operations in; AND
- is
- majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and
- managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country receiving assistance.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.