Funding for USAID Civic and Economic Integration Program in Georgia

Deadline: 21-Dec-21

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Georgia (USAID/Georgia) is seeking applications from qualified entities to implement the USAID Civic and Economic Integration Activity to better integrate ethnic and religious minorities into wider Georgian social, political, and economic life, in order to create the environment necessary for the social cohesion and acceptance of diversity necessary for democracy to function.

In so doing, USAID builds Georgia’s resilience to external and internal malign influences that seek to undermine its democratic and economic development, as well as its territorial integrity.

Objectives

To achieve the purpose, the activity is expected to address the following integrated and mutually reinforcing objectives:

Increase participation of ethnic and religious minorities in government policies and services; and
Expand and strengthen mutually beneficial socio-economic linkages between majority and minority communities.

Funding Information

USAID intends to award one Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide $20,000,000 in total USAID funding over a 5-year period.

Activities

Critical barriers to integration can be grouped in two primary categories:
- policy and governance barriers, and social and economic barriers. To address these barriers, the USAID Civic and Economic Integration activity will:
  - support the introduction and implementation of policies and government services that enhance participation of ethnic and religious minorities; and
  - strengthen mutually beneficial socio-economic linkages between majority and minority communities.
This approach is designed so that both of the objectives are integrated and mutually-reinforcing within one cohesive activity. Objective 1 provides the legal and policy framework necessary to support the strengthening of socio-economic linkages. Simultaneously, the social and economic links and networks between majority and minority communities achieved in Objective 2 will support the growth of local interest groups and create demand for the democratic representation necessary to create equitable laws and policies. Economic interdependence and labor-market integration is a necessary, though insufficient, condition for civic integration. The success of the activity requires achieving both objectives – without one, the other will not be sustainable or maximally impactful.
The USAID Civic and Economic Integration activity’s theory of change is that:
- If, policy and government services include minorities and engage them meaningfully in decision-making processes, and
- If, mutually-beneficial socio-economic linkages increase between minority and majority communities,
Then, ethnic and religious minorities will become better integrated into Georgia’s social, economic, and political life, contributing to the social cohesion and respect for diversity necessary for democracy to function.

Eligibility Criteria

U.S. and non-US organizations may participate under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
USAID welcomes applications from organizations which have not previously received financial assistance from USAID. USAID will not accept applications from individuals.
Applicants must have established financial management, monitoring and evaluation processes, internal control systems, and policies and procedures that comply with established U.S. Government standards, laws, and regulations. The successful applicant(s) may be subject to a responsibility determination assessment (Pre-award Survey) by the Agreement Officer (AO).
The Recipient must be a responsible entity. The AO may determine a pre-award survey is required to conduct an examination that will determine whether the prospective recipient has the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills – or ability to obtain them – in order to achieve the objectives of the program and comply with the terms and conditions of the award.

Diverse Partnerships/Consortium and Leveraging Local Expertise

Applicants are expected to recognize, leverage, and strengthen existing national and local expertise and to collaborate with a wide range of public and private sector actors.
USAID/Georgia recognizes that the activity incorporates a wide technical range of democracy, rights, and governance, and economic growth objectives. In light of this, the use of a strong consortium or alliance of partners (prime and sub-awardees) in an integrated approach to achieving objectives including partnerships with the private sector may be considered

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336465