Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Thu, 16 Oct 1997 17:31:59 -0700 (PDT)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and
the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) Announce Round I
of a Grants Competition
Sustaining Partnerships into the Next Century (SPAN)
USAID and IREX are pleased to announce Round I of a grants
competition in support of strengthening existing partnerships between
US and Russian organizations as part of the Sustaining Partnerships
into the Next Century (SPAN) program.
Span Goals
The goal of the SPAN project is to support, deepen, and expand
partnerships between US and Russian organizations and institutions
within key strategic sectors of the USAID program in Russia. The
eight target sectors are: Civil Society, Rule of Law, Tax Reform,
Financial Sector, Business Development, Energy, Environment, and
Health.
The SPAN program will fund small, targeted, and innovative
activities that can contribute to the achievement of the following
USAID/Russia strategic objectives:
Tax system reformed to correspond to a de-centralized market
economy;
Accelerated development and growth of private enterprises;
A robust and market-supportive financial sector;
Increased,better-informed citizens' participation in political and
economic decision making;
Legal system that better supports democratic processes and market
reforms;
Improved effectiveness of selected social benefits and
services; and
Increased capacity to deal with environmental pollution as a threat
to public health.
Since the SPAN objective is not unilateral technical assistance to
Russia, but support for mutually beneficial and existing relations
between US and Russian organizations, the partners must present a
joint project which would lead to the strengthening of existing
cooperative activities in order to be eligible for funding. The
proposal must demonstrate how these activities will benefit both the
US and the Russian organizations.
Eligibility
US and Russian institutions and organizations, which can demonstrate
that they have a successful existing partnership in the target
sectors specified above, whether previously funded by USAID, other
donors, or local resources, are encouraged to apply. It is important
to note that prior USAID funding is not a prerequisite for applying.
Project funds may not be used for profit making activities or
commercial gain. Only one organization may serve as the actual grant
recipient on behalf of the partnership. The grant may be awarded to
either the Russian or the US partner, and partners should identify in
their proposals who the grant recipient will be. USAID and IREX
particularly encourage applications from partnerships representing US
minority organizations and/or Russian organizations from outside of
Moscow and other large cities.
Summary
In this competition, three rounds of funding are planned during the
30-month project. Under Round I, applicants may request up to
$200,000 in USAID funding for projects a minimum of six months and a
maximum of 30 months long. In order to ensure that there is a strong
commitment to the partnership activities and to increase the
likelihood of sustainability, successful applicants must provide a
minimum of 25% in match contributions of USAID funding. However,
applicants are strongly urged to offer well-documented match
commitments up to 50% and beyond. Additional consideration will be
given to applicants that do so. Due to the highly competitive nature
of this RFP, and in order to increase the number of grants,
preference will also be given to those applications that request less
than the maximum funding amounts. For Round 1, special consideration
will be given to proposals under $150,000.
It is expected that additional competitions will be announced in
January 1998 for 27-month projects with a maximum funding level of
$180,000, and in June 1998 for $140,000 for 21-month projects. A
total number of 25 grants are expected to be awarded throughout the
duration of the competition: 10-15 grants under Round I, and
approximately five each for Rounds II and III, respectively.
The deadline for Round I submissions is November 26, 1997.
Successful applicants will be expected to begin their projects in
late-January 1998, and all projects must complete their activities by
July 31, 2000.
The full text (in English and Russian) of the request for
proposals (RFP) can be downloaded from the IREX Web site:
If you have any questions about the Sustaining
Partnerships into the Next Century (SPAN) project and are in the
United States, please contact Mr. Eugene Shekhtman at
[email protected].
If you are in Russia and have any questions, or
would like a Russian or English hard copy/fax of the RFP, please
contact Stewart Chisholm at the Moscow IPP IREX office:
Phone: (7)(095) 203-64-38
Fax: (7) (095) 203-43-11
E-mail: [email protected]
Closing Date: November 26, 1997
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