Deadline: 30-Nov-22
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs’ Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) seeks proposals promoting the Syrian-led political process facilitated by the United Nations.
The Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) aims to support programming to advance the UN-facilitated, Syrian-led negotiation process called for by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254 seeking a political settlement and ceasefire in Syria.
This funding opportunity will support elements of UNSCR 2254 where the United States identifies a reasonable expectation of advancing a transparent and democratic political resolution to the conflict in Syria, including through support for the Constitutional Committee. It will also promote democratic practices and inclusivity in targeted areas of Syria, laying the foundation for an enduring peace. Applicants should seek to partner with a range of political process stakeholders unaffiliated with the Syrian regime as well as civil society and Syrian citizens, while prioritizing the inclusion of women, youth, and religious and ethnic minorities.
Achievable Objectives
- A successful proposal will demonstrate how to best approach and support the advancement of a political solution to the Syrian conflict. Proposed project activities should achieve the following objectives:
- Improved capacity of civil society and political groups unaffiliated with the Syrian regime to productively engage in negotiations linked to UNSCR 2254;
- More informed, diverse civil society and citizen voices contribute to a political solution to the conflict;
- Enhanced democratic and good governance practices, consistent with UNSCR 2254 principles, at the sub-national level;
- Engagement with diverse citizens to participate in political process dialogue and encourage Syrians to participate in shaping an enabling environment for peace; and
- Increased peaceful coexistence between non-regime aligned political groups and communities affected by conflict.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $9,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $3,000,000
- Award Floor: $1,000,000
- Estimated Length of Project Period: One to Three (1-3) Years
Project Activities
- Approaches to strengthen relationships, engagement, and outreach among Syrian PPS involved in formal negotiations (including the Constitutional Committee) and Syrian citizens (both in Syria and the diaspora);
- Mechanisms to strengthen the media and communications capabilities of PPS;
- Approaches to elevate the participation and voices of marginalized groups such as religious and ethnic minorities, youth, and women in the Constitutional Committee, other elements of the political process, and subnational reforms;
- Efforts to enhance the technical capacity and skills of PPS to effectively participate in negotiations;
- Supporting logistics for PPS to travel for participation in negotiations;
- Activities to promote democratic reforms, greater accountability to constituents, and transparency at the sub-national level in areas outside of Syrian regime control in ways that create the conditions for the eventual implementation of UNSCR 2254; and
- Activities to ease tensions across conflict lines in areas outside of Syrian regime control (i.e. between northeast Syria and northwest Syria) and among political groups active in those regions.
Project beneficiaries shall include, at a minimum:
- PPS unaffiliated with the Syrian regime;
- Syrian citizens located in areas of Syria outside of regime control where the level of risk permits the implementation of project activities such as parts of northeast Syria under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the northern Aleppo countryside under the control of the Syrian National Army; and Syrian citizens in the diaspora.
- NEA/AC will implement this project in collaboration with other U.S. entities and international donor governments supporting the political process in Syria.
- NEA/AC will require weekly reporting on project activities and standard quarterly reporting (at a minimum) in addition to ad hoc reporting requests.
Eligible Countries and Territories
- In this announcement, they seek to support activities focused on Syria. The project should be implemented from a third country, with a strong justification for why that country was chosen. NEA/AC highly recommends a presence in Berlin, Germany for operational and donor liaison purposes. NEA/AC requires that applicants be in sound legal standing with appropriate government authorities in the country where the project will be managed at the time of application to this funding opportunity. Key overseas personnel must be co-located, while consideration should be taken for minimizing the need for expatriate and/or Third-Country National staff and operational costs. Award recipients will be required to maintain legal standing throughout the life of the award, including for any sub-grant made under its auspices.
- Please note: Applications that focus on activities for countries and territories other than those listed will NOT be considered.
Eligibility Criteria
All applicants will be screened by NEA/AC to determine whether they meet all of the program eligibility requirements
- Eligible Applicants include:
- U.S. or foreign
- Non-profit organizations;
- For-profit organizations;
- Private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and
- Public international organizations
- NEA/AC is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities.
- NEA/AC welcomes applications irrespective of an applicants’ race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. We encourage applications from organizations working with underserved communities, including women, people with disabilities, and youth
- NEA/AC strongly encourages applications from civil society organizations headquartered in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. International non-governmental organizations with principal bases of operations outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply, but the percentage of total budget actually spent in the region through local partners will be among the elements of evaluation for this competition.
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 diverse Syrian political actors and implement activities inside non-regime held areas of Syria.
- Demonstrate the ability to advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) through a project team inclusive of Syrian nationals with previous experience managing stabilization programming in the region reflected at all levels of project management.
- Meet ALL of the registration requirements.
- Additionally, applicants should:
- Demonstrate experience implementing similar projects in Syria or other conflict areas.
- Demonstrate experience managing and monitoring a significant number of sub-recipients and/or direct assistance projects. Applications should clearly outline this experience, including total volume (total dollar amount, number of partners, and number of projects), scope and length of sub-awards managed, and geographic and thematic focus. If the applicant has provided capacity-building support to sub-recipients, please indicate the type of support.
- 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 efficient staffing and without establishing a dedicated local office in Syria.
- Demonstrate the ability to involve local partners.
- Demonstrate the ability to recruit/hire technical consultants with subject matter expertise relevant to prospective beneficiaries involved in Syrian political process negotiations.
- Demonstrate a successful track record of building a cohesive and effective team consisting of diverse and geographically dispersed members and clear plan for continuing success under this funding opportunity.
- 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 working in or on Syria.
- Registration Requirements
- To apply for NEA/AC (Federal) funding, organizations, whether based in or outside the U.S., must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and an active account with the System for Award Management (SAM). Applicants who do not meet all registration requirements are NOT eligible for funding under the opportunity.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344229