Deadline: 30 September 2020
In Afghanistan, Management Systems International (MSI) is the prime contractor implementing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)–funded “Afghanistan’s Measure for Accountability and Transparency” (AMANAT) project.
Through this Annual Program Statement (APS), AMANAT will assist international and Afghan nongovernmental and private sector organizations by supporting innovative and targeted activities that are intended to reduce or prevent corruption in the delivery of public services.
The purpose of this Annual Program Statement (APS) is to identify and support activities that focus on innovative and targeted activities against corruption, especially corruption that affects public services. The AMANAT project seeks proposals from a wide range of international and Afghan national, regional, and local civil society organizations (CSOs), media organizations, and business associations to implement specific activities that fit within this scope. Proposed projects must target particular corruption problems in creative ways that are likely to produce positive results. Just simply conducting public awareness campaigns or advocacy or oversight efforts are not likely to produce the effective and lasting impacts that AMANAT is seeking.
All proposed activities shall directly relate to the achievement of the objectives of the AMANAT program. Applicants are encouraged to propose the best mix of approaches and activities to achieve the results envisioned under the proposed program. Grant projects should include innovative, targeted and localized approaches, especially those that mainstream gender or engage women, as well as encourage collaborative work among several civil society organizations (CSOs) in different regions or working in different sectors. They are looking for project activities that address particular corruption problems and are likely to yield effective results in reducing corruption. Just conducting public awareness campaigns, advocacy campaigns, or oversight initiatives related to corruption is not enough.
Key Areas of Interest
The areas listed below highlight some of the topics for which AMANAT is interested in receiving grant applications under this APS. These areas have been identified as examples of where more innovative ideas are needed to support citizens, mass media, and private sector engagement in the fight against corruption. All ideas should seek to have an impact on corruption in the delivery of public services, such as health, education, pensions, licensing and permitting, land distribution, refugee matters, disability services, etc. Other innovative ideas are welcome, as well.
- Fighting corruption in the context of future peacebuilding – Research has shown that countries which actively fight corruption early after peace agreements are signed tend to do better in terms of improving stability, building their economies, and reducing corruption over the midterm. Looking at the progress of peace talks with the Taliban, AMANAT would like to get the Afghan CSO community thinking actively about how they can become more engaged in confronting corruption, assuming that these talks lead to an agreement and a peacebuilding environment in the near future. In this regard, list of some ideas that CSOs might develop further and propose to AMANAT. As always, additional ideas for grant proposals will be considered. All proposals should:
- be innovative and creative in their goals and approaches;
- clearly identify how results and outcomes will be measured to demonstrate the impact of the proposed activities, and identify particular central government institutions and/or geographic areas of Afghanistan where you believe the political will exists to implement such changes and reforms. Propose ways for citizen groups to conduct advocacy and oversight of those sectors and functions, and report on their findings to the public and the authorities to promote reform and change, as well as working to ensure sustainability and impact.
- Youth-focused anti-corruption programs which make youth more aware of corruption and hasthem become more engaged in fighting corruption. Projects need to appeal to a youth audience, using innovative platforms and provide them with incentives to oppose corruption. Activities could take the form, for example, of a film festival of short videos made by young people about their personal experiences with corruption and how to stand up for their rights, school debates, and sports events with anti-corruption themes, as well as innovative ways to reach youth on social media platforms among others. Additionally, cricket/soccer and other sports tournaments with a focus on anti-corruption messages and slogans can be considered as well as anti-corruption drawing competitions and other extracurricular activities focusing on anti-corruption messaging.
- Simple e-governance apps for citizens – Develop simple apps that can be used by non-literate populations or by those who do not have smartphones, for example, using SMS, text or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) apps to register citizen complaints, blow the whistle on corrupt officials, support citizen watchdogs, get receive information from the local government on service delivery (fee schedules, budget expenditures, etc.), and find out how to stand up for your rights with a view to demonstrate the impacts such e-governance apps can provide the Afghan citizen.
- Monitor local budgets – Participate in local budget hearings, monitor how the budget is used to pay for public services and publicize the findings to ensure transparency and accountability for the use of government funds. The oversight data can be added to a central open data bank that is accessible to the public.
- Comprehensive anti-corruption campaigns which can include musical concepts addressing anti-corruption in Pashto and Dari language, with symbols/badges/marks/logos tackling anticorruption with a wide geographical distribution. Such a comprehensive anti-corruption campaign can include a combination of songs, logos/marks, and different types of materials for a time between 6-12 months.
- Build a culture of public integrity through anti-corruption education in schools and universities– Teaching young people about public integrity, anti-corruption and the rule of law gives them the knowledge, skills, and behaviors to fight corrupt practices and establish new behavioral norms and values for society. Activities can focus on building the capacity of teachers to integrate anti-corruption into the existing school curriculum and developing new resource materials for primary school and higher grades, as well as integrating actions which are attuned to young people, with the aim to provide sustainable impacts.
- More active engagement of businesses and business associations – Develop activities that will engage the private sector more effectively in fighting corruption. This might involve business associations in developing and monitoring “integrity pacts” signed between companies and government agencies to halt corrupt practices in public procurements. It could also support the establishment of “business review boards” that would oversee how public tenders are developed and implemented. Projects could also focus on how permitting, licensing, and public procurement processes can be simplified.
- Complaint management – Hotlines and simple text-based apps can be developed to allow citizens to register their corruption complaints. Then, a process can be implemented to pass these complaints to the relevant government office for resolution and feedback. An open access dashboard can be developed to display to citizens how the government is responding to such complaints. For complaints that are not resolved within a specified amount of time, more active approaches can be designed to incentivize resolution.
Cross-Cutting Approach
In developing innovative program approaches, AMANAT strongly encourages applicants to consider and apply the following cross-cutting practices:
- Mentor and Support Other CSOs
- Innovate and Build on Past Successes
- Sustainability
- Explore Joint Initiative / Coalition / Partnership Arrangements
Number and Size of Award
Grants to be awarded under this NOFO may vary in size from US$10,000 to US$250,000, subject to funds availability. To be eligible for grants over $100,000, organizations need to demonstrate significant past experience conducting projects of similar size and complexity and would be required to employ rigorous financial systems that exercise appropriate controls over projects with larger funding. If applicants do not have such past experience, they are encouraged to apply, but at lower funding levels.
Expected Period of Performance of Award
Though usually issued for the one-year duration, grants may also be issued for up to eighteen months in duration if the proposed project is ascertained to require a longer duration.
Eligible Entities
Any non-partisan legally registered international and Afghan CSO and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); consortia of local CSOs, research organizations, universities, business organizations or the mass media is eligible to submit applications under this APS. For-profit companies are eligible to be prime recipients of a grant but may NOT receive any profit or fee under a grant award. Organizations may submit applications representing their firm or in partnership with other local organizations. If applications are made through a partnership or consortium, there must be one lead organization identified that would be responsible for managing the overall activity.
Ineligible Entities
The following are not eligible for grant support: individuals and government entities; political parties or organizations; organizations that advocate, promote, or espouse anti-democratic policies or illegal activities; faith-based organizations pursuing exclusive religious purposes or whose programs and services discriminate based on religion, and whose main objective of the grant is of a religious nature; and any entity whose name appears on the:
- List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-Procurement Programs
- Specially Designated Nationals List
- The list established and maintained by the 1267 Committee with respect to individuals, groups, undertakings, and other entities associated with Al-Qaida
Eligible and Ineligible Activities
- Activities that are eligible for funding include those that support APS objectives. Any purchases or activities that are not necessary to accomplish grant purposes are considered ineligible activities.
- Execution of grant-funded activities must take place in Afghanistan, and all costs must be reasonable, allocable, and allowable. Reasonable costs are those costs that are generally recognized as ordinary and necessary and would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of normal business. Allocable costs are those costs specifically linked to the execution of the activity, such as project staff salaries, experts’ fees, training, meetings and seminars, publications, purchase, and rental of equipment, office expenses, incountry travel, and other direct costs. Allowable costs are those costs which conform to any limitations in the grant award.
- Specific cost items that are unallowable under a grant include profit or fee; application preparation costs; international travel; payment of debts; political elections and related campaign activities; fees for public and elected government officials; fines and penalties; creation of endowments; military equipment; surveillance equipment; commodities and services for support of police and other law enforcement activities; abortion equipment and services; luxury goods and gambling equipment; parties or “representation” expenses; purchases of restricted goods without prior USAID approval, such as agricultural commodities, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, used equipment, and fertilizer.
- Project activities can only start after the signature of the grant agreement between the applicant and the AMANAT Project. Costs incurred before the signing of the grant agreement will not be reimbursed unless previously approved in writing by the MSI Director of Contracts and Grants or their designee.
For more information, visit http://www.acbar.org/rfq/11470.jsp
