Deadline: 4-Mar-25
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is announcing an APS to implement the USAID/West Bank and Gaza People-to-People Partnership for Peace Fund Activity.
This APS seeks to engage people directly affected by the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and invites applicants to approach peacebuilding with a greater focus on reconciliation, advocacy, dialogue among groups with diverse views, and healing. To this end, USAID encourages applications that:
- Integrate psychosocial support to address trauma resulting from recent events as well as the long-term conflict;
- Grow the diversity of individuals and groups meaningfully engaged in the peacebuilding community;
- Strengthen civil society’s capacity and inclination to promote and pursue peacebuilding; and
- Engage youth and women to help renew a shared
USAID is looking for activities that introduce new and innovative approaches that build conflict mitigation and leadership skills. These efforts should aim to create a new generation of leaders and civil society actors who understand the complex and competing narratives related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and who can advocate effectively for the conflict’s non-violent resolution. Activities should encourage grassroots efforts that can build popular support for negotiations between the representatives of the parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with an eye toward advancing a sustainable agreement for lasting peace.
USAID is also looking for programs that reach marginalized groups, religious communities, and communities not already served by peacebuilding programming as well as ideas on how to build a broader and more interconnected community of peacebuilders.
Goal
- The overall goal of MEPPA is to build the foundation for peaceful co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians and enable a sustainable two-state solution. Working toward that vision, this funding opportunity seeks to strengthen people-to-people grassroots linkages to address common challenges and enhance peacebuilding momentum to affect institutional and policy change.
Objectives
- This funding opportunity for the MEPPA People-to-People Partnership for Peace Fund Grants Activity aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Increase partnership between Palestinians and Israelis, and Arab and Jewish Israelis, to address issues of common interest or concern.
- Bolster efforts by Palestinians and Israelis to address internal divisions that must be overcome to foster peaceful coexistence.
- Improve the enabling environment for cross-border partnership, particularly in development sectors, such that policies, procedures, and structures allow Palestinians and Israelis to engage in meaningful interactions across sectors without any barriers and fear of intimidation.
- Strengthen the resilience of peacebuilding constituencies and institutions.
Focus Areas
- Activities under this solicitation should advance the APS goal of conflict transformation by building and expanding popular support for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians through a people-to-people approach. New partners are encouraged as well as partnership arrangements between organizations that will build the capacity of local sub-partners, in order to increase the potential for impact and sustainability while building the peacebuilding field. Activities may implement new and creative solutions or build upon proven techniques to address development challenges.
- Competitive applications will integrate a people-to-people approach through joint activities that advance overarching MEPPA objectives, regardless of the sector. The list below provides possible focus areas for cooperation, but many other types of interventions could be considered under this APS.
- Working within Israeli and Palestinian societies to mitigate the effects of the conflict and to increase understanding of the other, in preparation for joint work supporting peacebuilding.
- Engaging faith leaders to build trust, understanding, and deepened cooperation across religious communities.
- Engaging community leaders, key figures, issue-based groups, or others to encourage structured dialogues to advance core issues of the conflict, as well as “citizen diplomacy” or the ability of citizenry to influence government policy or societal discourse.
- Approaching peacebuilding with a greater focus on reconciliation, dialogue and healing, and integrating psychosocial support that addresses trauma resulting from recent events and the long-term conflict.
- Empowering women and youth and building their leadership skills to actively take part in peacebuilding efforts beyond equal participation in interventions. Activities that focus on promoting women’s rights and meaningful participation in society and peacebuilding efforts will be prioritized,
- Leveraging non-governmental institutional relationships to lead advocacy efforts in an attempt to influence public opinion as well as negotiating parties in favor of a peaceful two-state solution.
- Supporting youth innovation or entrepreneurship, especially in disadvantaged communities.
- Engaging youth creatively and innovatively with viable alternatives to radical interests and to counter violent extremism.
- Promoting greater understanding of different lived experiences and narratives, as a way of engendering basic respect.
Funding Information
- Subject to funding availability, USAID anticipates executing multiple awards up to a total USAID funding amount of no more than $15 – $20M.
- It is expected that awards provided through this APS will fall into two (2) categories of potential awards as follows:
- Cooperative Agreements: These have a range from a minimum USAID-funded amount of $750,000 to a maximum USAID-funded amount of $5,000,000, excluding any cost share or matching funds, if applicable.
- Fixed Amount Award (FAA): These have a range from a minimum USAID-funded amount of $250,000 to a maximum USAID-funded amount of $750,000 excluding any cost share or matching funds, if applicable.
- The period of performance for the awards is estimated to range from 12 months to three years. The estimated start date will be upon the signature of the awards.
Eligibility Criteria
- Qualified U.S. or non-U.S. organizations, non-profit, or for-profit entities may apply for funding under this APS. To be eligible, all entities must be legally registered entities under applicable law and eligible under the relevant laws to receive funding from USAID. Individuals, unregistered, or informal organizations are not considered eligible applicants.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.