Deadline: 1 May 2020
The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3), Office of Education invites interested Applicant(s) to submit Concept Notes that advance USAID learning priorities in the education sector through implementation of targeted research and capacity building activities.
The primary objective of USAID education programming is to strengthen partner countries’ capacity to achieve sustainable, quality learning and education outcomes to support their Journey to Self-Reliance. USAID investments should support efforts of country-level partners to measurably and equitably improve learning and education outcomes across all education levels. Achieving self-reliance in education will require sustained, collective efforts of the whole education system5 –including governments, schools, academia, teachers, parents and caregivers, youth, the private sector, community organizations, and donors–to strategically and deliberately address weaknesses and leverage the strengths of a country’s education system over time. Improving availability and use of high-quality data and evidence to drive education reforms and investments is critical for accomplishing USAID Education Policy objectives. At present, the ability of development actors to use data and evidence for decision-making is constrained by the lack of timely, reliable and context-specific data, as well as actors’ capacity to use such data when they are available.
Purpose
Advancing USAID learning priorities in the global education sector as a global good to improve education and learning outcomes is the overarching goal of this Addendum to the HELIX APS.
Outcomes
- Outcome 1: Targeted research to advance implementation of USAID education sector learning priorities conducted.
- Outcome 2: The capacity of in-country development actors, including but not limited to academia, government, research institutions, and think-tanks, to generate high quality, actionable data and evidence in the course of conducting research related to USAID learning priorities strengthened.
- Outcome 3: The capacity of in-country development actors, including partner governments, nonstate education service providers, and USAID staff, to use data and evidence to inform programmatic and investment decisions in the course of research related to USAID learning priorities strengthened.
- Outcome 4: Highly specialized technical assistance to design and implement education research that supports country-specific priorities provided
Funding Information
Subject to the availability of funds, USAID/Office of Education (E3/ED) anticipates supporting one award 18 of up to $40 million, through funding by the Office of Education and buy-ins from USAID Missions, Bureaus, and/or other Operating Units over the life of the award.
Duration
The anticipated period of performance for an award made under the SHARE Addendum to the HELIX APS is five (5) years (60 months).
Eligibility Criteria
- USAID defines “Implementing Partners” as U.S. and non-U.S. non-governmental organizations that can design and implement assistance activities outside the United States. All Implementing Partners must be legally registered entities under applicable law and eligible under the relevant laws to receive funding from a foreign source. NPI provides further details on eligibility, depending on the approach to partnership.
- Eligibility for the SHARE Addendum is not restricted to any specific entity as the primary Applicant (also known as the “Prime”) can be any registered organization from anywhere in the world, but the Concept Note(s) must meet at least one of the NPI modalities listed under the HELIX APS. The onus is upon the Applicant(s) to demonstrate the viability of the Concept Note(s) in accordance with the NPI requirements.
- All interested organizations are restricted to submitting only one Concept Note as the Prime Applicant. If more than one Concept Note is received with the same Prime Applicant, USAID will seek written clarification from the relevant entity regarding which Concept Note should be considered for review. If clarification is not resolved within five (5) business days, all Concept Notes submitted by the Applicant will be deemed ineligible.
Notes:
- Applicants can serve as sub-awardees or supporting partners on multiple Concept Notes submissions under the SHARE Addendum under the HELIX APS.
- USAID does not require a cost-sharing requirement from Applicant(s) submitting Concept Note(s) in response to the SHARE Addendum under the HELIX APS.
- Individuals, unregistered, or informal organizations are NOT eligible to be Implementing Partners.
- Applicants can serve as sub-awardees or supporting partners on multiple.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326057