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Home » DRL Evaluation Innovation Fund: Democratizing Learning and Evaluation—Building Evaluation Skills and Documenting Local M&E Solutions

DRL Evaluation Innovation Fund: Democratizing Learning and Evaluation—Building Evaluation Skills and Documenting Local M&E Solutions

Deadline: 3 April 2017

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) has announced an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for “DRL Evaluation Innovation Fund: Democratizing Learning and Evaluation-Building evaluation skills and documenting local M&E solutions” that focus on improving evaluation skills and/or documenting evaluative evidence related to the improvement of democracy, human rights and labor programs overseas.

DRL’s Evaluation Innovation Fund is a new initiative that seeks to contribute to the office’s ongoing mission—promoting democracy, protecting human rights and international religious freedom, and advancing labor rights globally—by supporting applied research and evaluation to improve projects overseas.

Objectives

  • Building evaluation skills: DRL encourages applicants to propose concepts that seek to support and build skills for those interested in evaluating democracy, human rights and labor programs overseas, including, but not limited to activists, civil society organizations, and evaluation practitioners.
  • Documenting local solutions: Project concepts may also focus on documenting and sharing local solutions to program implementation, monitoring and evaluation of DRG programs in complicated or complex environments.

Funding Information

  • DRL anticipates having approximately $400,000 available to support one to three successful applications submitted in response to this NOFO, subject to the availability of funding.
  • Applications should not request less than $50,000 and no more than $400,000.
  • Applicants should include an anticipated start date between June2017 – October 2017 and the period of performance should be between 12-24 months.
  • For projects less than $100,000, DRL expects to provide a fixed amount (fixed price) award in order to reduce some of the administrative burden and record-keeping for grantee organizations.

Focus Areas

  • Evaluation skills development for local activists, civil society organizations, evaluation practitioners and/or members of voluntary organizations for professional evaluation (VOPE) through in-person or virtual training, workshops, or mentorship.
  • Organization of peer learning or exchanges to share and document best practices in implementing, monitoring and evaluating DRG programs in conflict and fragile states, or in complicated or complex environments.
  • Information dissemination showcasing how organizations and evaluators can use research and evaluative evidence to learn how to improve democracy, human rights and labor outcomes overseas, illustrating how local solutions can be used to inform USG policies and programs.
  • Supporting human rights advocates and/or voluntary organizations for professional evaluation (VOPEs) to advocate for the use of evidence-based policies, which use research and evaluative findings, to better inform national and international agendas on human rights.
  • Developing toolkits and manuals illustrating approaches and methods that small, grassroots organizations, networks or social movements can use to monitor and evaluate their social change initiatives, especially in instances where external evaluation support is not feasible.

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.
  • Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities and relevant stakeholders, including private sector partners and NGOs, and have demonstrable experience in administering successful and preferably similar projects.
  • DRL encourages applications from foreign-based NGOs headquartered in the geographic regions/countries relevant to this NOFO.
  • Applicants may form consortia and submit a combined application. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant with the other members as sub-award partners.
  • DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on applicants that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards, and these applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
  • DRL is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its projects and activities.
  • DRL welcomes applications irrespective of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.
  • DRL encourages applications from organizations working with the most at risk and vulnerable communities, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, members of ethnic or religious minority groups, and LGBTI persons.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can access the application package via given website.

For more information, please visit DRL Evaluation Innovation Fund.

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