Deadline: 22-Dec-22
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a Cooperative Agreement from qualified entities to implement the “New Higher Education Activity.”
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s New Higher Education Activity will strengthen the Philippine higher education system to support broad-based, inclusive growth and become a key driver of development. It will do this by strengthening the innovation capacities and workforce development functions of Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) in faculty development, curriculum improvements, and engagement with industry and international partners, as well as overall improvements in HEI management and administration. It will also support improvements in the regulatory environment to improve governance in the sector, support Philippine policies in strengthening human capital development, and provide a platform for convergence for local stakeholders to work together in achieving shared development goals.
Objectives
- To adopt national standards and levels of learning outcomes of education;
- To support the development and maintenance of pathways and equivalencies that enable access to qualifications and to assist individuals to move easily and readily between the different education and training sectors and between these sectors and the labor market; and
- To align domestic qualification standards with the international qualifications framework thereby enhancing recognition of the value and comparability of Philippine qualifications and supporting the mobility of Filipino students and workers
Priorities
- USAID initiatives will promote regulatory quality and private sector growth to create more jobs, increase the government’s capacity for financial self-reliance: that is, the ability to mobilize domestic resources, and ensure institutions across government line departments strengthen their financial management. Education programming will support the government and public stakeholders to improve the country’s human capital development and bolster long-term self-reliance.
- USAID/Philippines’ New Higher Education Activity (NHEA) will help address some of the challenges outlined earlier, all within the context of contributing to USAID’s global policy thrusts, as well as its current country strategy.
- The New Higher Education Activity will strengthen higher education capacity in both the innovation and workforce development spaces, providing technical assistance and capacity strengthening to key partners in these areas, and fostering an enabling environment for workforce development, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
- Together, these will help strengthen higher education institutions that can provide the youth with relevant education and skills needed by the economy, produce a more innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, link academia to industry and their communities, connect local higher education with their international counterparts, and provide a platform for different stakeholders to collaborate in addressing the challenges of human capital development in the Philippines.
- Given Ambisyon 2040 and the eight-point agenda of the current Philippine government that will be the foundation of the next Philippine Development Plan, it is anticipated that the New Higher Education activity will remain relevant even into the next PDP, as well the next CDCS, given the emphasis on job generation, innovation, and inclusive growth.
Funding Information
USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide up to $30 million in total USAID funding over a five-year period.
Outcomes
It identifies three key outcomes for any USAID higher education program:
- Through capacity development, HEIs improve their administrative, research, and instructional performance, thereby affecting higher education systems and the individuals who engage with them through achieving a range of sector-specific outcomes. HEIs with improved performance are better positioned to achieve a variety of developmental outcomes, both within the higher education system and within broader systems that affect a country’s development.
- Through strong partnerships and transnational relationships, HEIs (and the individuals affiliated with them) are able to sustain and continue to improve performance across the three higher education functions. Transnational relationships, however, are about mutual engagement: they promote cross-learning and capacity development that produces stronger academic, research, and professional bonds.
- USAID is also committed to promoting higher education as a central actor in developing local solutions to local problems regardless of sector or education level. USAID uses its convening power to make a place for HEIs in policy discussions. Indeed, while HEIs are often a target of USAID capacity development support, they are just as often—and often simultaneously—partners or key stakeholders in USAID programming in a variety of sectors and for a variety of outcomes.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted.
- USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
- Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law.
- U.S. non-profit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), for-profit NGOs willing to forego their fee, private voluntary organizations, Philippine-based NGOs, universities, foundations, consortiums, and international organizations may submit their applications.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344204
