Deadline: 1-Mar-24
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Governance for Local Development Plus (GOLD +) program.
USAID/Senegal four-year decentralization activity Governance for Local Development Plus (GoLD+) will increase local government effectiveness and accountability in mobilizing resources and delivering quality, equitable services for citizens. This follow-on activity is expected to consolidate and reinforce the USAID/GoLD (2016-2023) intervention. Specifically, GoLD+ will increase the legitimacy, credibility, and quality of engagement between local populations and their government. This will be accomplished by increasing local revenue mobilization, inclusive development, reinforcing accountability, and strengthening service delivery. GoLD+ will facilitate the collaboration of subnational government entities among themselves, coordination with the central government, and partnerships with the civil society and private sector in the regions of Kolda, Sédhiou, Kédougou, Tambacounda, Ziguinchor, and Dakar.
GoLD+ will focus on increasing local revenue mobilization to facilitate greater public investment in health, education, and WASH. Through improving good governance and intergovernmental collaboration, the new activity will foster greater inclusion, equity, transparency, and accountability at the local government level-the first and most significant point of contact between government and citizens. Local government’s ability to respond positively to its citizens’ needs is one of the most important factors for promoting stability, transparency, democracy, and reinforcing resilience within vulnerable regions.
Applicants must align their learning agenda with USAID/Senegal’s four learning priorities:
- GOS Commitment and Capacity: Understanding how to support GOS capacity and commitment through collaboration on the implementation of the Plan Senegal Emergent and Plan d’Actions Prioritaires Ajusté et Accéléré (PAP 2A).
- Private Sector Engagement (PSE): Understanding PSE conditions, landscape, and barriers, and how USAID/Senegal can advance PSE to support Senegal’s Journey to Self-Reliance.
- Civil Society: Understanding of approaches to greater engagement by civil society with local systems and effective public financial management and accountability.
- Gender and Youth Engagement: Understand how to improve social, political, and economic inclusion for women, youth, and other marginalized groups.
Funding Information
- USAID intends to provide $25,225,000 in total USAID funding over a four – year period.
Result Framework
- Sub-purpose 1/IR.1: Improve resources mobilization and management capacity
- Sub-IR.1.1: Improved local government resource mobilization
- Sub-IR.1.2: Strengthened management and investment capacity of local governments
- Sub-IR.1.3: Fostered financial resources policy reforms
- Sub-purpose 2/IR.2: Increase participatory and inclusive local governance
- Sub-IR.2.1: Improved participatory and social accountability mechanisms
- Sub-IR.2.2: Increased women, youth, and disabled persons participation in local governance
- Sub-purpose 3/IR.3: Strengthening ability of local entities to support service delivery
- Sub-IR.3.1: Improved sectoral management bodies in local level
- Sub-IR.3.2: Increased collaboration among local government, stakeholders, and partners
- Sub-IR.3.3: Increase effective implementation of norms and standards of social services
- Sub-purpose 4/IR.4: Reinforced local organization capacity and skills to transition to direct award with USAID
- Sub-IR.4.1: Improved local organization technical and management abilities
- Sub-IR.4.2: Improved local organization management systems and internal control
- Sub-IR.4.3: Foster ability to maintain relationships with stakeholders
Target Population
- The GoLD+ activity will primarily work with subnational government entities called Collectivités Territoriales (known as Communes and Departments), which covers a wide range of Senegalese government institutions from cities to regional level organizations. The goal of the activity is to reinforce CTs’ capacity to respond to citizens’ needs in key sectors such as health, education, agriculture, NRM and WASH. As such, citizen participation will also be at the heart of this initiative to ensure they actively benefit from the activity’s interventions, especially youth, women, and vulnerable populations and citizens’ needs especially in health, education, agriculture NRM, and WASH sectors.
Geographic Focus
- To foster cross-sectoral synergies, the ended GoLD program concentrated core activities in four regions where USAID/Senegal works in the health, education, and economic growth sectors: Kédougou, Kolda, Sedhiou, and Tambacounda. Within these regions, 13 Departments, and 77 Communes have been identified as local Governance activity partners.
Eligibility Criteria
- USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
- Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.