Deadline: 1 June 2020
The U.S. Consulate General Peshawar Public Affairs Section (PAS) has announced an open competition for assistance awards, contingent on funding availability, through the Public Diplomacy Grants Program.
Under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), PAS is seeking proposals for projects to support communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts in three main areas:
- Economic empowerment and entrepreneurship;
- Increased services and governance, and
- Citizenship, civil rights, and the constitution.
Project Goals
The Public Affairs Section invites proposals that address one or more of the goals listed below:
- Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship: Projects should promote microenterprise and/or the growing technology sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Projects should incorporate social responsibility and/or access to finance and may include training and/or internships. Projects should strengthen networks of entrepreneurs and connect them with subject-matter experts at higher education institutions, and/or incubators, and/or other centers of excellence. Projects should address inclusion of minorities and/or other vulnerable persons, including communities in the Newly Merged Districts.
- Increased Services and Governance: Projects should facilitate greater civic and political participation among diverse residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts. Proposed projects should facilitate knowledge transfer from subject-matter experts to stakeholders to facilitate an increase in the provision of healthcare, social services, local employment, food security, access to information, and other basic services. Proposed projects must aim for gender-balanced participation, as indicated by participation by no less than forty percent women.
- Citizenship, Civil Rights and Constitutionalism: Proposals will support genderbalanced workshops in Peshawar to train new voters, including tribal youth, on democratic rights and processes, citizenship, and basic human rights so that they increase their awareness and understanding of how their enfranchisement contributes to the peace, prosperity, and development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts. The project could include exposure tours of government facilities and offices, judicial and law enforcement facilities, and/or universities and think tanks to observe local and state policymaking and legislative processes and to meet with government officials. The grantee should also form “Communities of Young Tribal Leaders” who would conduct follow-up activities in their respective areas.
Project Objectives
Organizations may submit more than one proposal under this funding opportunity. Projects that address one or more of the below objectives are welcome. Each proposal will require its own application and should specify which project objective(s) the activities support. Some project objectives below specify the issues or a range of issues that will be considered.
- Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship: By the end of the project, entrepreneurs will have increased access to economic and employment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; enhanced entrepreneurial capacity; will have identified support for establishing and growing businesses; will have contributed to increased job placements, particularly for youth, women and vulnerable persons in the labor force; and/or will be able to support a business-enabling environment. Any of these objectives may be achieved through the following means:
- Workshops or trainings or other strategic and innovative instructional methods for reaching underrepresented entrepreneurs
- Tours, briefings, or other methods of exposure at successful businesses and enterprises
- Strategic communications initiatives
- Increased Services and Governance: By the end of the project, diverse members of civil society and government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts will have increased capacity to facilitate the provision of healthcare, social services, local employment, food security, access to information, and/or other basic services to the residents of the region. This increased capacity will lead to enhanced trust in government and civil society institutions by increasing access to basic services, including health and education. The project will support the establishment of government institutions that deliver basic services and enable more balanced gender representation in government. Proposed projects must aim for gender-balanced participation, as indicated by participation by no less than forty percent women. Any of these objectives may be achieved through the following means:
- Workshops, trainings, or other strategic and innovative instructional methods for transferring knowledge from subject matter experts on the provision of government services to participants ·
- Tours, briefings, or other methods of exposure at successful civil society organizations and government institutions at the local, provincial, and national level.
- Citizenship, Civil Rights and Constitutionalism: By the end of the project, a gender-balanced group of new voters, including tribal youth, will understand and be able to exercise their democratic rights and feel confident to participate in democratic processes. They will have an enhanced understanding of democratic processes, citizenship, and basic human rights, and how their enfranchisement contributes to the peace, prosperity, and development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts. Participants will demonstrate enhanced trust in government and civil society institutions by increasing access to basic services, including health and education services. Any of these objectives may be achieved through the following means:
- Develop an implementation plan for the formation of “Communities of Young Tribal Leaders” who would conduct follow-up activities in their respective regions.
- Workshops and trainings on democratic processes, voting, citizenship, and basic human rights
- Tours of government facilities and offices, judicial and law enforcement facilities, and universities and think tanks to observe local and state policymaking and legislative processes and to meet with government officials.
Funding Information
The per project floor is ten thousand dollars $10,000; the per project ceiling is twenty-five thousand dollars $25,000.
Duration
All award activities should be completed within 12 months of the award start date. Projects expected to span six months or less should not be submitted for more than ten thousand dollars $10,000.
Participants and Audiences
Participants and audiences should be appropriate to the strategies proposed and may include a variety of societal segments addressing leaders and influencers or addressing vulnerable populations. Unless strong justification is provided, all projects should strive to achieve gender balance. Projects should be focused in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Newly Merged Districts.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility is open to international and Pakistan-based non-profit organizations. Organizations may sub-award or sub-contract with other entities, but only one non-profit organization can be the prime recipient of the award. Pakistan government entities are not eligible to apply.
- For-profit entities are not eligible to be the prime recipient of an award under this NOFO. When sub awarding or sub-contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
- The applicants must submit proof of their non-profit status with their proposal submission (e.g. proof of 501(c) (3) status, Pakistan NGO license). Applications that do not include proof of non-profit status will not be considered for an award.
- Individuals are not eligible for an award under this NOFO. U.S.-based or registered organizations should provide proof of registration to operate in Pakistan or have a documented agreement with a partner organization registered to operate in Pakistan.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326311