Deadline: 15 May 2020
Through this Addendum to the Locally Led Development Annual Program Statement USAID/Philippines is seeking a special call to local actors for the submission of concepts focused on leveraging and mobilizing local resources by identifying existing local actors and resources in the Philippines and facilitating collaborative engagements among them.
This Addendum seeks to contribute to the Mission’s implementation of the U.S. Congressionally directed Local Works program, which advances locally led approaches to development challenges to promote self-reliance. The specific objective is to facilitate coalition-building and collaborative action among stakeholders from different technical sectors through a systems approach to making sense of local actors, their resources, and their interrelationships.
Objectives
- USAID/Philippines is seeking applications from eligible organizations for an Activity that will identify relevant local actors, facilitate and enhance collaborative intra- and inter-sectoral engagements, and support multi-sectoral coalition building efforts. Anticipated tasks are as follows:
- Support the Mission’s activities on improving human capital by facilitating collaborative engagements among various non-state actors (private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), academic groups, think tanks, professional organizations) and with national and local governments. For example, in the education sector, this activity can support the Mission to facilitate public-private partnerships in selected regions for the benefit of the Department of Education and local school boards, and to strengthen coalitions among private sector actors. Such partnerships will be able to mobilize non-government resources to improve pedagogy and school facilities, thereby enhancing educational outcomes. The same tasks can be undertaken for the Mission’s health initiatives, especially in the areas of family planning, tuberculosis, and maternal and child health.
- Support the strengthening or establishment of coalitions in the economic development sector. USAID/Philippines is implementing economic development activities that advocate for reform of economic policies that make it difficult to do business. The proposed Local Works activity will complement this work at the local level by facilitating partnerships and strengthening economic reform advocacy coalitions in priority regions and provinces . While the range of advocacy organizations within Metro Manila are well-known, USAID/Philippines seeks to identify and collaborate with think tanks and economic advocacy groups in other regions of the Philippines. Building more effective economic reform coalitions and partnerships within and across the various geographic areas, together with national organizations based in the National Capital Region, will provide advocacy force multipliers. The Mission is also interested in helping build “inclusive coalitions” that take into account diverse voices of stakeholders, including women and women’s organizations, to support the creation of an enabling environment for women’s activism and voices.
- Identify CSOs and CSO coalitions/associations/networks that serve as, or have the potential to serve as, local resource organizations (LROs), assess these, and identify recommendations for how these entities might provide greater value to their members and networks. This effort will help inform a forthcoming USAID/Philippines Local Works activity on strengthening civil society organizations that serve as LROs.
- Support the Mission’s activities on agricultural cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises by analyzing the current role and operations of perceived apex organization/s and large federations, and identify and implement recommendations for how these organizations might provide increased value and benefits to members.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $ 1,500,000
- Award Floor: $ 500,000
Learning Priorities
Concepts must incorporate at least one of the following learning priorities:
- Feedback Mechanisms to ensure that information flows in various directions among local actors, partners, and USAID to improve program effectiveness and sustainability.
- Systems-and-Networks-Based Analytical Approaches, which may allow us to better understand the complex environments in which we operate.
- Participatory Decision-Making, which includes locally led priority-setting, collaborative design, and other means of devolving control and ensuring inclusive local leadership.
- Strengthening Local Networks to connect local needs with local resources.
- Local Ownership Approaches to Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning that prioritize local definitions of success.
- Supporting Strategic Transitions, which includes strengthening the role of local institutions and actors to sustain outcomes without foreign assistance.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants:
- Must be local actors in the Philippines. When determining if an entity is a “local actor” for the purposes of this APS, USAID will consider:
- Whether the entity is legally organized under the laws of the Philippines;
- Whether the entity has its principal place of business or operations in the Philippines;
- Whether the entity is majority owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the Philippines;
- Whether the entity is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the Philippines; and
- Whether the entity has projects, offices, and/or registration in other countries, and whether key management decisions are taken by the office located in the Philippines or elsewhere.
- Cannot have received more than $5 million in direct funding from USAID in the past five years.
- Cannot be a U.S.-based organization. U.S.-based organizations are not eligible as prime awardees under this APS.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325804