Deadline: 26-Mar-21
The U.S. Mission to Pakistan is pleased to announce a call for proposals for Empowering Girls through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Goal
- Encourage young women to consider STEM fields as their academic and career choice through skill-building programs at Pakistan’s Lincoln Corners.
Objectives
- In a series of 20 workshops and 2 intensive camps over a year, a cohort of 200 girls in the Islamabad and Lahore districts will gain the ability to identify a challenge and develop a technology-focused project or product (website, application, game, or software) to address it.
- By collaborating with the grantee on 20 STEM-focused workshops and 2 intensive camps over a year, each participating Lincoln Corner will demonstrate an enhanced capacity to independently run experiential learning programs for next-generation entrepreneurs and Innovators.
Funding Information
- Anticipated Award Amount: The award floor is $40,000; the award ceiling is $50,000.
- Duration of Award: One year (October 2021-September 2022).
Audiences
- Middle and high school-aged (13-16) girls from lower-middle-income households who are studying in public sector schools in the Islamabad and Punjab districts.
- The mode of content delivery will be both in Urdu and English languages.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility is open to international non-profit organizations. Organizations may sub-award or subcontract 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 entitles are not eligible to be the prime recipient of an award under this NOFO. When sub-awarding or subcontracting 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.
Evaluation
- In line with the Department of State’s Evaluation Policy, U.S. Embassy Islamabad’s Public Affairs Section may include this award in its program evaluation efforts.
- When applicable and feasible, Recipient shall cooperate with the Grants Officer (GO), Grants Officer Representative (GOR), and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist’s requests to contribute data on specific performance measures and indicators; consider GO and GOR input on design and methodology of Recipient-led evaluation efforts; provide any evaluation reports produced under the award to the GO and GOR for review; incorporate the project into any third-party evaluations that PAS may initiate.
Review and Selection Process
- The criteria are designed to assess the quality of the proposed project, and to determine the likelihood of its success. The criteria are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application.
- Applications will be reviewed based on their fullness, coherence, clarity, and attention to detail. Past performance on grants awarded by the U.S. Department of State, other United States government, or international donor agencies may also be considered.
- The proposal submitted by your organization should comply with the requirements of 2 CFR 200 relevant to your organization and the activities of your proposal. PAS reviews all proposals for eligibility.
- Eligible proposals will be subject to compliance of Federal and Public Diplomacy regulations and guidelines and may also be reviewed by the Office of the Legal Adviser or by other Department elements.
- Final technical authority for assistance awards resides with the Department’s Grants Division A/OPE. All submissions are screened for technical eligibility. If a submission is missing any required forms/documents listed in section D, it will be considered ineligible and will not be reviewed by the grants review committee.
- Proposals will be approved based on an evaluation of how the proposal meets the solicitation review criteria, U.S. foreign policy objectives, the priority needs of the Public Affairs Section, and availability of funding. A Grants Review Committee will evaluate all technically eligible proposals.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331079