Oceans Plastics – Solid Waste Management Program (Dominican Republic)

Deadline: 18-Sep-23

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a Cooperative Agreement from qualified entities to implement the Oceans Plastics – Solid Waste Management Activity.

Purpose

• This Activity’s goal is to reduce waste in municipalities leading to cleaner oceans in the Dominican Republic. To achieve clean oceans, USAID will work on the Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic enabling communities and economies to thrive and to build resilience to climate and economic shocks.
• The objectives of this activity are:
  • Best SWM practices are implemented in accordance with the 2020 SWM Law at the national and municipal level on the Northern Coast by building capacity and strengthening governance.
  • Communities, in coordination with local governments and the private sector, reduce waste at the source by adopting sustainable waste management practices.
  • Circular economy models for plastic that foster innovations and partnerships are established and expanded in collaboration with private sector partners.

Cross-Cutting Issue Integration

• Youth
  • The Activity encompasses activities for youth aged 10-29 years as agents of change and to secure the generational economic shifts in the region. The border region has the highest rates of youth migration compared to other parts of the country due to lack of opportunities and community cohesion. The purpose of including youth in these activities is to enable this age group to participate in addressing development challenges of their communities.
• Gender and Inclusive Development
  • The Activity will support gender equality, women’s empowerment and the inclusion of vulnerable groups and must ensure alignment with GODR’s initiative under the Gender and Climate Change Action Plan (PAGCC-RD). The work plan should demonstrate:
    • An understanding of the issues facing each marginalized group,
    • Which specific needs and interventions are required to reach each of the different marginalized groups,
    • Which specific strategies are required to ensure the different marginalized groups are able to access the Activity’s services, and
    • A plan to ensure the safety of marginalized groups while accessing the Activity’s services.
• Climate Change
  • The DR is ranked as one of the 10 most vulnerable and exposed areas in the world to climate change impact. This Activity is expected to strongly contribute to progress towards the 2022-2030 Climate Strategy, helping address climate change under climate mitigation, adaptation and critical populations by:
    • Mitigation: Reduce, avoid, or sequester CO2 and methane emissions from the plastics life cycles, improving landfills and waste segregation, reducing landfill fires and air pollution.
    • Adaptation: Reduce flood risk resulting from poorly managed solid waste (e.g. increase collection, prevent littering, etc.) to stop clogging of street drains and waterways, linked to health impacts in low-lying coastal or riverine cities.
    • Critical populations: Support to achieve systemic changes that increase meaningful participation and active leadership in climate action of local communities as well as women, youth, and other marginalized and/or underrepresented groups.
    • Finance: Mobilize public and private finance for climate and solid waste management and build the capacity of municipal governments to increase revenue from solid waste services.
• Private Sector and Local Partner Engagement
  • Engagement with the private sector presents a timely opportunity to promote sustainable development and self-reliance in the Dominican Republic and maximize the impact of USG investments in SWM and ocean conservation.
• Science, Technology and Innovation
  • The Activity is committed to harness the power of science, technology, and innovation to deliver more cost-effective and sustainable results. Illustrative examples include but are not limited to:
    • Working to strengthen the capacity of municipalities to improve waste management practices through innovative and evidence-based use-reduction, reuse, and recycling strategies,
    • Establish enhanced local and regional markets for recycled plastic,
    • Support, where possible, waste to energy initiative.
  • The activity aims to result in products, processes, tools, approaches, delivery models, and/or other interventions that have the potential to achieve significant improvements in current solid waste management alternatives. Innovation programs seek to:
    • Identify new products, services, processes, technologies or ideas that fill a needs gap and/or deliver impact more cost-effectively or sustainably than existing practices.
    • Produce improvements that are beyond incremental or existing trajectories, in terms of impact, beneficiaries reached, time saved, costs lowered, etc.
• Sustainability
  • The Activity must analyze key sustainability issues and considerations around a host of issues including economic, financial, social soundness, cultural, institutional capacity, political economy, technical/sectoral, and environmental. Where appropriate, the analysis should discuss generally how the Activity objectives could help achieve sustainability goals.

Funding Information

• USAID intends to award a Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide US$15,000,000.00 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.
• The anticipated start date for this award is November 1, 2023.

Eligible Applicants

• Eligibility for this RFA is not restricted.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.