Deadline: 31-Oct-22
The United States – Agency for International Development (USAID) Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) Activity through its Energy Evolution Challenge grant facility seeks applications to fund, in the form of grants, qualified organizations/companies that can lead the development and strengthening of regional knowledge hubs that support the US climate change strategy and aligned with the goals of the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute (PERPI) as mandated under Republic Act 11572.
This call for grant applications seeks to respond to the development challenge of underutilized energy data and information from both local and international sources. This grant will support the establishment of an innovative institutional system and programs in the Visayas that will manage and harness energy knowledge and mobilize its use to effectively inform policy formulation, investments programming, and project implementation. This regional hub will be an independent entity that can provide an objective analysis of energy policies that can inform and support government decision-makers.
The USAID Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) Activity is looking for a Partner that can develop, launch, and sustain the gathering, consolidation, analysis, and application of energy data and information. USAID ESP has on-going partnerships with USAID’s Cities Development Initiatives or CDIs namely the cities of Iloilo and Tagbilaran. However, other LGUs that have viable prospects or have exemplary initiatives for energy knowledge mobilization in the Visayas can also be considered for the grant. Preference will be given to locations with existing USAID projects, not necessarily implemented in the CDI sites.
Objectives
The strategic use of energy knowledge enhances the capability of the country to achieve longterm energy resilience and security. While there is an abundance of experience and data on energy in the country, these are typically dispersed, at times not analyzed to the best extent possible, and not shared across the sector. There are many reasons for this situation. This grant seeks to distill lessons and good practices to make energy knowledge more cutting-edge, accessible, and useful for policy formulation and project implementation. This grant will have 5 major objectives, described as follows:
- Assess the state of energy information gathering, consolidation, and use in the country. Applicants will conduct an inventory of all institutions, consortia, programs, projects, and other activities focused on, related to, or supportive of the generation and application of energy knowledge. This inventory will include international as well as national efforts relating to the country’s energy knowledge but will focus more on the regional situation specific to the Applicant’s intended location or scope. A key purpose of this objective is to avoid duplication of efforts and instead pursue harmonization and complementation.
- Establish or strengthen a regional energy knowledge network or consortium. The Applicant will help strengthen a consortium or network, if existing, or organize a new one to support energy knowledge management in the region. This network needs to consider the inclusion of both private and government institutions, particularly educational ones. Apart from data gathering and assessment, the research hub shall provide or serve as an avenue or forum for innovation, research and academic collaboration with multilaterals, government, and the private sector. Particular attention also needs to be given to Affiliated Renewable Energy Centers (ARECs) that have the competency and capacity to lead activities on energy knowledge management. This network or consortium need to prepare a sustainability plan as part of this grant.
- Conduct a priority research that will provide relevant input to vital energy programs and policies. While there is a plethora of research that the country’s energy sector needs to boost security and resilience, the Applicant must identify one priority research agenda. The prioritization of this research agenda will be guided by the key needs of the government and the energy sector and the absence of support for the said need. Prioritization will also take into account available resources and technology. The Applicant will develop a clear and concise set of criteria to identify this priority research and the indicators of its success.
- Enhance or develop educational curricula and trainings on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Various educational institutions, development agencies, civil society organizations, and even private businesses are providing or supporting formal course and/or training programs on renewable energy and energy efficiency. As a part of the first objective, the Applicant will also assess the state of energy instruction and learning in its region to determine gaps and opportunities for enhancements. The Applicant will then propose and eventually implement innovative programs that will enhance existing energy learning pedagogy.
- Establish or strengthen energy field schools and laboratories. Finally, in support of energy learning and in pursuit of cutting-edge innovations in RE and EE, the Applicant will develop new or support existing energy field schools and/or laboratories. These energy labs will focus on nascent technologies or systems that have the potential to be replicated or scaled up. Choice of focus will also take into account local resources and allied industries. The Applicant will develop a methodology to identify these technologies or systems that would be worth incubating. Developing partnerships with funders and investors to support the said incubations would also form part of this grant and will be a task of the grantee.
Targets by the Number
- 500 MW of new additional electricity generating capacity.
- $750 MILLION of private sector investments leveraged.
- 3 UTILITY IMPROVEMENT/RELIABILITY PLANS implemented.
- 6 ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS FRAMEWORKS developed and implemented.
- 5 LOCAL ENERGY CODES adopted by LGUs.
- 5 LGUS INTEGRATED under the EVOSS ACT.
Funding Information
- Up to PhP12,000,000 for each award.
Eligibility Criteria
This grant prioritizes applications from private higher academic institutions, technical and vocational institutes, Affiliated Renewable Energy Centers, civil society organizations, and other local organizations involved in energy knowledge generation, gathering, analysis, sharing, and application. Primary applicants may partner with government entities such as state universities and local government units. Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Demonstrated experience working in the energy industry in the Philippines, with preference to organizations with established track record in research, organizational development, data analytics, and knowledge management.
- Applications meet minimum evaluation criteria for
- Soundness of technical approach
- Understanding of local context, and
- Qualifications of proposed personnel .
- Demonstrated financial capacity to manage large USG grants or sub-grants portfolio.
- Cost realism of the budget .
- Past performance.
Expected Results
Anticipated outputs for this grant will include the following:
- A comprehensive energy knowledge assessment report covering the region proposed by the grantee, complemented with a series of presentations to various partners and stakeholders.
- A functional and organized regional energy knowledge network, consortium or hub with a detailed sustainability plan.
- A comprehensive report on a strategic energy agenda rendered in the prescribed USAID format and in multi-media form including but not limited to presentations, videos, and social media releases.
- A new or an enhanced energy learning curriculum or learning methodology or approaches developed with and adopted by a higher education institution, a technicalvocational institution, or a civil society organization.
- A functional energy field school or laboratory with a completed or on-going technology or systems incubation initiative.
- A policy paper that combines the results of the various studies and field activities, focused on a predetermined policy area concerning energy resilience and security.
- A communications plan and the actual conduct of at least 4 events or activities that promote the findings of the grant.
- Monthly quick updates, full quarterly reports, and a comprehensive final Terminal Report.
For more information, visit https://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/usaid_esp_guc_rfa-2022-04-v_regional_energy_knowledge_hubs_-_visayas.pdf