Grants to Support Education in Syria

Deadline: 15-Jul-21

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) are seeking applications to support the provision of quality, inclusive education in no regime-held areas of Syria, including those liberated from ISIS.

Integral to stabilization efforts is improved equitable access for Syrians to moderate, quality education services for children and youth as well as access to technical and vocational education for out-of work youth and young adults.

Quality education services are critical to denying extremists the space to indoctrinate the next generation of Syrians with violent extremist ideologies, as well as to help reduce the flow of further Syrians to neighboring countries in pursuit of opportunities for their children in order to avoid a lost generation.

Proposals should outline approaches to continue ongoing U.S. efforts to: support and develop the capacity of the local education providers, education oversight bodies, and civil society organizations to more effectively manage education; develop innovative approaches to ensure students are recognized for their learning gains; provide teacher training to ensure quality and grade-appropriate education is provided in classrooms; support light refurbishments of damaged schools; and, provide psycho-social support and training to children, teachers, and community members to address the trauma epidemic in a country in which over 80% of children have been affected by conflict (according to UNICEF).

Proposals should outline approaches to: support and develop the capacity of the local education providers, education oversight bodies, and civil society organizations to more effectively manage education; ensure students are recognized for their learning gains; provide teacher training to ensure quality and grade-appropriate education is provided in classrooms; conduct light refurbishment of damaged schools; and, provide psycho-social support and training to children, teachers, and community members to address the trauma epidemic.

Objectives

A successful proposal will demonstrate how to best set the stage for a Syria that will eventually have functioning school systems in non-regime-held areas, enabling youth to obtain an education that prepares students for higher education or the ability to access economic and vocational opportunities. Proposed project activities should achieve the following objectives:

Increase equitable access to educational opportunities to reduce the risk that youth will be recruited to join violent extremist groups and/or be forced to migrate outside of Syria to pursue opportunities;
Provide teachers and caregivers with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide psycho-social support to youth to address trauma and help overcome fear and personal security concerns;
Strengthen the capacity of education authorities/supervisory bodies, other education actors, and child protection officers to deliver vital education services;
Incorporate consideration of a unified education system (K-12) in Syria in all relevant programming in order to contribute to broader reintegration of the Syrian education system;
Support education that promotes inclusivity, generates safe spaces, and alternatives to radicalized education as a way to expel violent extremists from communities and effectively counter violent extremists’ ideologies;
Provide safe and adequate school structures for children including water, sanitation, and health facilities;
Provide technical and vocational education training (TVET) to out-of-school youths and out-of-work young adults, especially for women in female-headed households to secure market-driven skills to find employment;
Evaluate impact of all training in preparing students for higher level education, adjusting trainings as necessary; and
Develop pilot programs related to education, reintegration and social cohesion for youth, especially considering expansion into Hassakeh Governor-ate and potentially non-regime-held areas of northwest Syria if the security situation permits.

Projects Must Include

Teacher training based on local needs assessments;
Development of teaching materials especially related to remedial education and psycho-social training activities;
Psycho-social training and support activities for students in grades 1-12, teachers, parents, and community members;
Technical and Vocational Education Training – including market research to identify viable areas for employment, curriculum development, review of materials and employ-ability of graduates, and linkages to apprenticeships;
Light, non-construction school rehabilitation (e.g. replacing windows, doors and minor repairs), with a particular focus on WASH facilities to limit the spread of infectious diseases and also encourage female students to remain in school;
Capacity building activities for local education authorities to better manage education; and,
A rigorous results-based monitoring plan with demonstrated feedback loops to show tangible outputs and outcomes of the project.

Funding Information

Estimated Number of Awards: One (1)
Estimated Total Program Funding: $18,000,000
Estimated Base Year Award Ceiling: $6,000,000
Estimated Base Year Award Floor: $3,000,000
Estimated Length of Project Period: One to Three (1-3) years

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants include:
- U.S. or foreign
- Non-profit organizations;
- For-profit organizations;
- Private, public, or state institutions of higher education;
- Public international organizations; and
- Small businesses with function and regional experience in the areas of education in conflict zones in the MENA region.
Prime Applicant
- To be considered for funding under this opportunity, applicants SHALL:
  - Have demonstrable previous experience working in the MENA region and organizational capacity to implement project components in Syria. This should be addressed within the project narrative section of your application.
  - Have experience in conducting risk assessments and monitoring and evaluating projects and sub-recipients in order to document and assess the short- and long-term outcomes of proposed projects.
  - Demonstrate the ability to effectively work through extensive partnerships with Syria based education actors and administrative bodies, which are necessary to ensure that all project activities can be implemented quickly.
  - Meet ALL of the registration requirements.
  - Meet any requirements listed as MANDATORY.
- Additionally, applicants should:
  - Demonstrate expertise in NEA/AC’s strategic focus areas of civic engagement and a strong understanding of needs in Syria.
  - Demonstrate experience implementing similar projects in Syria or other conflict areas.
  - Demonstrate capacity to operate an assistance management project of multiple and diverse activities across Syria.
  - Demonstrate experience managing and monitoring a significant number of sub-recipients and/or direct assistance projects. Applications must clearly outline this experience, including total volume (total dollar amount, number of partners, and number of projects), size and length of sub-awards managed, and geographic and thematic focus. If the applicant has provided capacity-building support to sub-grantees, please indicate the type of support. A sample sub-grant risk assessment and monitoring plan, and sub-award policy/manual, must be provided as part of the proposal.
  - Demonstrate in the project and budget narratives how the assistance mechanism will be managed, monitored, and evaluated to ensure compliance with the project objectives and Federal regulations. The successful applicant will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of all sub-recipients, and/or other direct assistance to ensure completion of activities, programmatic efficacy, institutional strengthening, and financial propriety.
  - Demonstrate the ability to accomplish the required activities with minimal full-time staffing and without establishing a dedicated local office in Syria.
  - Demonstrate the ability to involve local partners.
  - Demonstrate the ability to recruit/hire education specialists, especially those working in early-childhood development, psycho-social support, curriculum development, and TVET programming, etc.
Local Partners
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit projects that include partnerships with local organizations that would work together on specific programmatic objectives or priorities and that utilize local expertise. In particular, NEA/AC strongly encourages applicants not based in the MENA region to partner with local organizations.