Strengthening Government Through Civil Society Engagement in Panama

Deadline: 14-Mar-25

The U.S. Mission to Panama has announced a call for its Strengthening Government Through Civil Society Engagement Program to support the development of strong, capable, and accountable Central American governments; with Central American civil society demanding government accountability without reprisal of their rights and being able to influence policy outcomes.

This call for proposals expresses particular interest in transparency projects that allow citizens to have access to government data at all levels of government, CSO and citizen participation in government budgets, and strengthening or establishing oversight procedures.

Goals

• Support the development of a strong, capable, and accountable Panamanian government. Support Panamanian civil society to advocate for government accountability without reprisal of their rights and be able to influence policy outcomes. Host nation governments uphold the values and practices of liberal democracy and citizens hold their governments accountable for these actions.

Objectives

• Projects should focus on one or more of the following objectives:
  • Objective 1: Panama’s democratic institutions implement meaningful reforms to hold corrupt actors accountable and decrease impunity.
  • Objective 2: Panama manages public revenues transparently and is accountable for investing public resources responsibly.
  • Objective 3: Panamanian civil society holds government accountability and can influence policy outcomes. The government of Panama upholds the values and practices of liberal democracy; citizens hold their government accountable for these actions.
  • Objective 4: Panama’s government adequately resources oversight institutions, ensuring their independence, and promotes reform of personnel selection and retention processes to develop a competent civil service that provides nonpartisan continuity and services to all residents of Panama.

Focus Areas

• By the end of the project, applicants must demonstrate that the project has contributed to at least one of the following three focuses:
  • Strengthened policies/procedures to improve budget transparency and government services;
  • Making government stronger, more capable, and more accountable;
  • Enhanced engagement between government and civil society that will be sustained beyond the project timeframe.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $500,000
• Award Ceiling: $250,000
• Award Floor: $100,000
• Fiscal Year 2024 Economic Support Funds (ESF) for a project period between 18-24 months.

Ineligible Activities and Costs

• The following activities and costs are not covered under this announcement (this list is not exhaustive):
  • Construction or renovations is not an allowable activity under this award;
  • Projects intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the applicant organization;
  • Projects seeking funds for personal use;
  • Administration of a project that will make a profit;
  • Expenses incurred before or after the specified dates of award period of performance (unless prior written approval is received);
  • Projects designed to advocate policy views or positions of foreign governments or views of a particular political faction;
  • Alcoholic beverages;
  • Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities, and any associated costs, are unallowable, except where specific costs that might otherwise be considered entertainment have a programmatic purpose and are authorized either in the approved budget for the federal award or with prior written approval of the Grants Officer.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants who are eligible to apply are U.S. non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS or overseas-based NGOs, institutions of higher education, and international public organizations (IPOs) and other qualified organizations that are able to respond to the NOFO and be able to mobilize in a short period of time. Panama NGOs are highly encouraged to apply. A consortium of organizations can apply together if there is one lead organization submitting the proposal. U.S. and overseas-based Non-Governmental Organizations, and International Organizations are strongly encouraged to apply with a Panamanian NGO sub-grantee.
• To be eligible for a grant award, in addition to other conditions of this NOFO, organizations must have a commitment to non‐discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. Non‐discrimination includes equal treatment without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and political affiliation.
• Applicants are reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in any sub‐awards issued under this grant award.
• The Department of State will issue an award to the Applicant whose application represents the best value to the U.S. Government based on technical merit, efficient use of U.S. Government funds, and satisfactory organizational capacity. The Department of State reserves the right to make an award based on the initial application received with or without discussion or negotiations.
• U.S. Embassy Panama encourages applications from potential new partners.

Application Requirements

• Technical Format Requirements
  • For all application documents, please ensure:
    • All pages are numbered, including budgets and attachments,
    • All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper,
    • All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Calibri font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.
• Complete applications must include the following for proposal submissions:
  • Completed Cover Sheet that includes a project title, name of the solicitation organization, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
  • Completed and signed SF-424, SF-424a [and SF424b,] , as well as, if applicable, your organization’s most recent audit.
  • Table of Contents (not to exceed one page in Microsoft Word) that includes a page-numbered contents page, including any attachments.
  • Executive Summary (not to exceed two pages in Microsoft Word) that includes:
    • The target country,
    • Name and contact information for the project’s main point of contact,
    • A statement of work or synopsis of the project, including a concise breakdown of the project’s objectives, activities, and expected results,
    • The total amount of funding requested and project length,
    • A brief statement on how the project is innovative, sustainable, and will have a demonstrated impact.
  • Proposal Narrative (not to exceed ten [10] pages in Microsoft Word). Please note the ten-page limit does not include the Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Attachments, Detailed Budget, Budget Narrative, or NICRA. Applicants are encouraged to submit multiple documents in a single Microsoft Word, (i.e., Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Proposal Narrative, and Budget Narrative in one file).
  • Budget Narrative (preferably in Microsoft Word) that includes an explanation and justification for each line item in the detailed budget spreadsheet, as well as the source and a description of all cost share offered. For ease of review, U.S. Embassy Panama recommends applicants order the budget narrative as presented in the detailed budget. Project management and/or personnel costs should include a clarification of the roles and responsibilities of key staff and percentage of time devoted to the project. The budget narrative should communicate to U.S. Embassy Panama any information that might not be readily apparent in the budget, not simply repeat with words what is stated numerically in the budget.
  • Detailed Line-Item Budget (preferably in Microsoft Excel) that includes three [3] columns including the request to U.S. Embassy Panama, any cost-sharing contribution (not required), and total budget (see below for more information on budget format). A summary budget should also be included using the OMB-approved budget categories (see SF-424 as a sample). Costs must be in U.S. dollars.
  • Attachments (not to exceed nine [9] pages total, preferably in Microsoft Word) that include the following in order:
    • Page 1-2: Project Monitoring Plan.
    • Page 3: Roles and responsibilities of key project personnel with short bios that highlight relevant professional experience. This relates to the organization’s capacity. Given the limited space, CVs are not recommended for submission.
    • Page 4: Timeline of the overall proposal. Components should include activities, and project closeout.
    • Page 5-7: Additional optional attachments. Attachments may include further timeline information, letters of support, memoranda of understanding (MOU)/agreement, etc. For applicants with a large number of letters/MOUs, it may be useful to provide a list of the organizations or government agencies that support the project rather than the actual documentation.
  • Applicants with a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) must include the latest NICRA as a .pdf file if including NICRA charges in the budget. This document will not be reviewed by the panelists, but rather used by U.S Embassy Panama project and grant staff if the submission is recommended for funding and therefore does not count against the submission page limitations, as described above. If the applicant’s proposal involves sub-grants to organizations charging indirect costs, please submit the applicable NICRA also as a .pdf file (see below for more information on indirect cost rates). Applicants must specify if their organization instead elects to charge the de minimis rate of 10% of the modified total direct costs.
  • Note: U.S. Embassy Panama retains the right to request additional documentation for those items not included on this form.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.