Deadline: 19-Jul-2024
The U.S. Embassy Accra announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to train community leaders on leadership, conflict resolution, and preventing violent extremism.
Project Objectives
- The Empowering Female Community Leaders project will train female and male community leaders in vulnerable Upper West Region communities to strengthen their skills in conflict resolution and prevent violent extremism. As a result, female leaders will gain leadership skills and will be empowered to resist the threat of violent extremism growing from community conflicts along with their male counterparts. The trainings will focus on female community leader inclusion to empower women to take a larger role in community leadership.
- Communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana experience intermittent farmer-herder conflicts and intra-community conflicts over chieftaincy and land tenure issues. These conflicts weaken community cohesion, prevent development, and leave communities susceptible to influence from violent extremist organizations. Many communities in the area rely on traditional authorities and other community leaders to manage conflicts. Research shows that when women are included in conflict resolution, peace and stability are more likely to be achieved and is longer lasting.
- Objective 1: By March 2026, 80% of targeted female community leaders will have acquired knowledge and skills about the early signs of radicalization, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and communication skills, to actively become key agents of peace and countering violent extremism in the region.
- Objective 2: By March 2026, 50% community and administrative actors will have understood the role of female community leaders in promoting peace and fight against violent extremism and the drivers of radicalization and prevention measures.
- Objective 3: By March 2026, 50% of targeted female community leaders will have access to dialogue platforms on peacebuilding and prevention of radicalization in the Upper West Region.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $50,000
- Award amounts: maximum of $50,000
- Length of performance period: 12 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1 award (dependent on amounts)
- Anticipated project start date: 1 October 2024
Participants and Audiences
- The successful applicant will work with members of the Upper West Regional Queen Mothers Association (the Association) who participated in the Training of Trainers on Preventing Violent Extremism and Leadership Project funded by the United States in 2023. The Association will conduct peer-to-peer training for community leaders using the skills and knowledge they gained through their previous training. The project implementor will use project funds for costs to coordinate and facilitate the peer-to-peer trainings. Project sites will be in the Upper West Region. The project implementor will use data on community conflict to select high impact training sites. Within the training sites, the implementor will partner with the Association to identify and select for training qualified female leaders to participate in the trainings.
Priority Region
- Upper West Region
Eligibility Criteria
- Not-for-profit organizations, including civil society/non-governmental organizations are eligible to apply.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.