USAID: Libya Engagement with Voters for Equitable Representation (EVER)

Deadline: 28-May-2024

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications from qualified U.S. and non-U.S. organizations for a cooperative agreement to fund a program entitled Engagement with Voters for Equitable Representation (EVER).

Activity Objectives

• Objective 1: Strengthen Libya’s election institutions and government stakeholders to carry out credible electoral and political processes at the local and national levels 
  • Under Objective 1, the Expected Results of the Activity are:
    • Increased support for electoral reforms promoting public participation in national and local elections.
    • Enhanced HNEC departments and field offices functionality and ability to plan strategically (through provision of training opportunities, capacity building, systems development, expanded outreach, and informational resources for independent election administration institutions national and sub-national levels.)
    • Strengthened communications internally and externally for the High National Election Commission (HNEC Tripoli and Regional Offices).
    • Improved capacity for electoral dispute resolution mechanisms and institutions.
  • Under this objective, the Activity will focus on specific institutions and stakeholders necessary to advance the Libyan democratic processes, particularly elections processes. HNEC departments, and its field offices, are key entities under this Objective. Other key stakeholders are those included in electoral dispute resolution and the necessary legal frameworks and reforms required to move Libya closer to credible national and local elections. One key focus under this objective is sustainable skills development and transfer to these institutions and stakeholders. USAID’s localization efforts must extend to government entities and any support under this objective must align with USAID’s Local Capacity Strengthening Policy.
• Objective 2: Empower the diversity of Libya’s citizens and civil society to advance the democratic process in Libya. 
  • Under Objective 2, the Expected Results of the Activity are:
    • Increased participation of underrepresented groups, including women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and youth, as informed voters and candidates in local and national elections.
    • Municipal and local leaders equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to serve constituents effectively.
    • An enhanced democratic culture with increased civic participation and tolerance – Citizens and civil society groups at the local, regional and national levels increasingly demand accountability from elected and appointed officials
    • Support CSOs in promoting and institutionalizing civic participation.
    • Increased participation of Libyan political parties and citizens, including women, youth, and ethnic minorities, in political processes.
    • Support collaboration between civil society, local stakeholders, and independent institutions to enable advocacy for reforms and address constituents’ rights and needs.
    • Local organizations lead advocacy for an agreed upon legal framework for national and municipal elections.
  • Under this objective, the Activity will increase the skills of CSOs to mobilize citizens and build constituencies around issues of shared interest as well as more effectively lead advocacy campaigns for change, which will simultaneously enhance their ability to network with one another to amplify their voices and those of the citizens they represent. USAID seeks for this Activity to employ a new approach of building CSO networks that are: focused on specific activities/issues; build the capacity of their members in line with Capacity Building 2.01; and seek to build longer-term sustainability. This approach should support CSOs to better weather unexpected shocks to the external environment considering Libya’s closing space for CSOs and anticipating continued stresses to citizen run organizations.
  • Under this objective, the Activity will create and implement a demand-driven small, sub-grants component valued from $100,000 to 500,000 annually to enable local sustainability, and shift more leadership, ownership, decision-making, and implementation to local groups.

Funding Information

• USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. USAID reserves the right to fund any one or none of the applications submitted.
• Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide up to $20,000,000 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.

Guiding Operational Principles

• Inclusive Development/ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) principles: 
  • The Recipient must incorporate the following principles into the design and measurement of activities:
    • Inclusive Development: Inclusion is one of USAID’s core values. USAID promotes a nondiscriminatory and inclusive approach to development that ensures that all people – including those who face discrimination and thus may have limited access to a country’s benefits, legal protections, or social participation (including, but not limited to persons with disabilities, religious/ethnic minorities, women and girls, and youth in underprivileged/underrepresented communities) – are fully included and can participate in and benefit from development processes and activities.
    • Youth Engagement Policy: USAID’s Youth Policy outlines a conceptual approach to youth in devel-opment and provides guiding principles and operational practices in support of USAID’s efforts to mainstream youth in development, carry out more effective programs, and ele-vate youth participation. If youth and women continue to feel disassociated from the democratic government, and are unable to secure gainful employment and/or receive a living wage, then they will continue to lose confidence in Libya’s democratic development.
    • Social Inclusion: The 2020 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy affirms USAID’s vision of a prosperous and peaceful world in which women, girls, men, and boys enjoy equal economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and are equally empowered to secure better lives for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries. Advancing equality between men and women is at the core of USAID’s efforts to promote greater stability and prosperity, and support a more transparent and participatory democratic process in Libya.
• Sustainability, Legacy, and Localization 
  • The Applicant’s approach to sustainability of the goals and objectives is a key consideration for USAID. To the extent possible, reasonable, and within the bounds of Do No Harm and conflict sensitivity – recognizing the diversity and societal divisions in Libya – the Recipient must engage Libyan actors with existing capacity and competitive advantage to implement the activity and to maximize skills transfer and direct relationship building across CSOs and government entities alike. The Recipient must build the institutional capacity of CSOs that it works with while also increasing the resilience of Libya’s civil society. Likewise, government stakeholder entities also require capacity strengthening that is sustainably considered and implemented. The aim is to foster partnerships and to introduce tools and mechanisms in a manner that will continue to develop beyond the timeframe and life of the activity.
• Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) 
  • USAID has put time and effort into building a culture of CLA into its operations. The Recipient must model a CLA culture and integrate that culture into internal processes and in the implementation of activities. A collaborative working relationship between the Recipient and relevant USAID staff is required and as described above will include aspects of co-creation. Where applicable and appropriate, the Recipient should collaborate with the Mission’s other implementing partners, interagency colleagues, and/or other donors.
  • USAID defines CLA as a set of practices that help improve development effectiveness throughout activity implementation. Key aspects for ongoing investigation include:
    • Collaborating: Are they collaborating with the right partners and promoting synergy across USAID activities and activities implemented by others?
    • Learning: Are they asking questions relevant to improving activity implementation and/or sharing information regarding implementation across audiences who can increase understanding of the effectiveness of implementation?
    • Adapting: Are they using information gathered through CLA activities to pause, reflect and inform decisions regarding adaptation of the program if necessary?
• Flexibility and Adaptability of Activities and Managing Risk: 
  • As Libya’s operational environment shifts frequently, the Activity must be able to operate in a wide range of possible security, economic, and political environments. Applicants should address how they will approach programming under such variable conditions. USAID desires to fund an activity which is adaptive to contextual changes in order to achieve the stated objectives. During implementation of the Activity, plans and methods for assessing, mitigating, and adapting to risk factors should be vetted with USAID and regularly reviewed.

Eligibility Criteria

• U.S. and non-US organizations may participate under this NOFO. For the purposes of this NOFO, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) include any incorporated entity, either non-profit or for-profit, other than a governmental organization. All applicants must be physically able to operate in Libya including successfully obtaining needed registrations, permits and access to work in Libya.
• To be eligible for award of a cooperative agreement, in addition to other conditions of this NOFO, organizations must be politically neutral and have a commitment to non-discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. Non-discrimination includes equal treatment without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and political affiliation. Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.400(g), USAID policy is not to award profit under assistance instruments. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the grant program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 700), may be paid under the Agreement.
• In order for an award to be made, the AO must make a positive “risk assessment,” as discussed in ADS 303.3.9. This means that the applicant must possess, or have the ability to obtain, the necessary management and technical competence to conduct the proposed program. The applicant must agree to practice mutually agreed-upon methods of accountability for funds and other assets provided or funded by USAID. If notified by USAID that a pre-award survey is necessary, the applicant must prepare in advance the required information and documents.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.