Young Armenia/Young Turkey/Young America: Social and Economic Challenges for Future Leaders: Grassroots Development in a Modern Democracy___Type of Award: Grant Agreement The embassies level of involvement in this program is listed under number I above. Fiscal Year Funds: 2010______Approximate Total Funding: $500,000______Approximate Number of Awards: 1______Approximate Average Award: $500,000______Ceiling of Award Range: $500,000______Anticipated Award Date: Pending availability of funds, September 1, 2010______Anticipated Project Completion Date: August 31, 2011______The Embassies are seeking proposals from qualified applicants for a single project in the amount of $500,000. ______The Social and Economic Challenges for Future Leaders: Grassroots Development in a Modern Democracy project seeks to link young Armenian, Turkish and American leaders in an ongoing dialogue on social and economic issues of importance to all three countries, both face-to-face and via the full range of communication media to be followed by cooperation on community projects in both Turkey and Armenia. ______I. Purpose: The initiative Social and Economic Challenges for Future Leaders: Grassroots Development in a Modern Democracy is a new exchange program that will bring emerging young leaders (ages 21-35) in Armenia, Turkey and the United States together to develop grassroots initiatives that will positively impact peoples lives and deepen ties between the future leaders of all three countries. It will also reach beyond this new exchange to network with alumni of previous leadership exchange programs in all three countries to build a solid foundation of mutual understanding among the three. ______Applicants must identify the U.S., Armenian and Turkish organizations and individuals with whom they are proposing to collaborate and describe previous cooperative activities, if any. Information about the mission, activities, and accomplishments of partner organizations should be included in the submission. Proposals should contain letters of commitment or support from partner organizations for the proposed project. Applicants should clearly outline and describe the role and responsibilities of all partner organizations in terms of project logistics, management and oversight. ________________U.S. Embassy Involvement: Before submitting a proposal, all applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer in Ankara (Tom Leary,
[email protected]; tel: +90-312-457-7335 +90-312-457-7335 ), the Cultural Affairs Officer in Ankara (Craig Dicker,
[email protected]; tel +90-312-457-7438 +90-312-457-7438 ) and/or the Public Affairs Officer in Yerevan (Tom Mittnacht,
[email protected]; tel: +374-10-49-4691 +374-10-49-4691 ). Also, it is important that the proposal narrative clearly state the applicant's commitment to consult closely with the Public Affairs Sections of the U.S. Embassies in Ankara and Yerevan to develop plans for project implementation and to select project participants. Proposals should also acknowledge U.S. Embassy involvement in the final selection of all participants. Applicants should state their willingness to invite representatives of the Embassy to participate in program sessions or site visits. ________Alumni Outreach and Engagement: Proposals must include a plan outlining alumni outreach and engagement. Proposed programs should strengthen long-term mutual understanding, including maximum sharing of information and establishment of long-term institutional and individual linkages. Reviewers will assess ways in which proposals provide substantive plans to prepare exchange program participants for their role as active, effective alumni and how the grantee organization will continue to engage with alumni once they return home. Recipient organization (s) must outline how alumni activities will be sustained after the grant period. _________PROJECT DETAILS: Social and Economic Challenges for Future Leaders: Grassroots Development in a Modern Democracy_________This project will work to expand the capacity of Turkish and Armenian grassroots organizations (NGOs), for example by empowering women, improving job skills for young people in economically disadvantaged communities, raising environmental awareness and activism, etc.. The Embassies envision a hands on program where U.S., Armenian and Turkish grassroots organizations with similar missions will partner on joint projects (addressing womens empowerment, job skills for young people, and environmental awareness) that will be developed and implemented over a series of exchanges and continued post-program engagement among the organizations. The Embassies seek competitive proposals that will build NGO capacity in practice, giving NGO leaders from the three countries opportunities to adopt best practices. Joint projects should be developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated by all three sides. The implementing U.S. grantee will be required to partner and involve one or more Turkish and one or more Armenian grassroots organizations in the program that have demonstrated a commitment to civil society development and the establishment of a dialogue between the government and non-governmental sectors in Turkey and in Armenia. Proposals that do not involve joint projects by all three partners in both Turkey and Armenia will be deemed less competitive. (See Ideal Program Model below for more details.) Applicants should consult with the U.S. Embassies in Yerevan and Ankara when selecting these partners.___________Audience: Emerging grassroots leaders (15-20 from the U.S. , 15-20 from Armenia and 15-20 from Turkey selected through merit-based competitions) age 21-35 involved with grassroots efforts in among other areas empowering women, improving job skills for young people in economically disadvantaged communities, and environmental awareness and activism.__________._______________Ideal Program Model:1. A two to three week U.S.-based program that would mainly focus on the development of a joint community-based project that Armenian,Turkish and U.S. participants would develop and implement for the rest of the program. This program could also include seminars; site visits; and individual mentoring for the Armenian and Turkish participants. Programs should also include a one- or two-day debriefing and evaluation session at the end of the program in Washington, D.C.2. A one to two week program in Turkey for Armenia, Turkish and U.S. participants. This would mainly focus on the continued implementation of joint community-based project originally started during the U.S.-based program. This program could also include seminars; site visits; and on-site consultancies by U.S. and Armenian participants to Turkish organizations/workplaces. It should also include a one- or two-day debriefing and evaluation session at the end of the program.3. A one to two week program in Armenia for Turkish, Armenian and U.S. participants. This would mainly focus on the continued implementation of joint community-based project originally started during the U.S. and Turkish-based program. This program could also include seminars; site visits; and on-site consultancies by U.S. and Turkish participants to Armenian organizations/workplaces. It should also include a one- or two-day debriefing and evaluation session at the end of the program.4. The project should establish a plan for regular communication amongparticipants through electronic and digital image communications. Also,the project should reach out to participants in other similar USG-funded exchange programs in Armenia and Turkey. Programs could also support materials translated into Turkish and Armenian, small grants for projects designed to expand the exchange experience and support for the development of alumni association._______________________________IV. Application and Submission Information:Note: Please read the complete announcement before sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFGP deadline has passed, DOS staff may not discuss this competition with applicants until the proposal review process has been completed.____________________IV.2. To Download a Solicitation Package Via Internet: The entire Solicitation Package may be downloaded from Embassy Ankaras website at http://turkey.usembassy.gov/cultural_educational_events.html or from the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov. Please read all information before downloading.________________________IV.3. Content and Form of Submission: Applicants must follow all instructions in the Solicitation Package. The application should be submitted per the instructions under IV.3f. Application Deadline and Methods of Submission section below. IV.3a. You are required to have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to apply for a grant or cooperative agreement from the U.S. Government. This number is a nine-digit identification number, which uniquely identifies business entities. Obtaining a DUNS number is easy and there is no charge. To obtain a DUNS number, access http://www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1-866-705-5711 1-866-705-5711 . Please ensure that your DUNS number is included in the appropriate box of the SF 424 which is part of the formal application package. IV.3b. All proposals must contain an executive summary, proposal narrative and budget.Please Refer to the Solicitation Package. It contains the mandatory Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI)( see http://www.state.gov/g/drl/p/2009/index.htm)document for additional formatting and technical requirements. ________________IV.3F. APPLICATION DEADLINE AND METHODS OF SUBMISSION:Application Deadline Date: July 1, 2010Methods of Submission: Applications may be submitted in one of two ways: 1.) In hard-copy, via an internationally recognized overnight delivery service (i.e., DHL, Federal Express, UPS, Airborne Express,),to: Office of Public Affairs (attention: Cultural Affairs Section)U.S. Embassy, Ankara110 Ataturk BlvdKavaklidere 0640 AnkaraTurkey2.) or electronically to:
[email protected]_____IV.3f.1 Submitting Printed Applications: Applications must be shipped no later than the above deadline. Delivery services used by applicants must have in-place, centralized shipping identification and tracking systems that may be accessed via the Internet and delivery people who are identifiable by commonly recognized uniforms and delivery vehicles. Proposals shipped on or before the above deadline but received at the US Embassy-Ankara more than 14 days after the deadline will be ineligible for further consideration under this competition. Proposals shipped after the established deadlines are ineligible for consideration under this competition. The embassies will not notify you upon receipt of application. It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure that each package is marked with a legible tracking number and to monitor/confirm delivery to the embassy via the Internet. Delivery of proposal packages may not be made via local courier service or in person for this competition. Faxed documents will not be accepted at any time. Only proposals submitted as stated above will be considered. Applicants submitting hard-copy applications must also submit the "Executive Summary" and "Proposal Narrative" sections of the proposal in text (.txt) or Microsoft Word format via the internet address noted above. V. Application Review InformationREVIEW CRITERIA Technically eligible applications will be competitively reviewed according to the criteria stated below. These criteria are not rank ordered and all carry equal weight in the proposal evaluation:1. Program Planning and Ability to Achieve Objectives: Program objectives should be stated clearly and should reflect the applicants expertise in the subject area and region. Objectives should respond to the topics in this announcement and should relate to the current conditions in the target country/countries. A detailed agenda and relevant work plan should explain how objectives will be achieved and should include a timetable for completion of major tasks. The substance of workshops, internships, seminars and/or consulting should be described in detail. Sample schedules should be outlined. Responsibilities of proposed in-country partners should be clearly described. A discussion of how the applicant intends to address language issues should be included, if needed. 2. Institutional Capacity: Proposals should include 1) the institutions mission and date of establishment; 2) detailed information about proposed in-country partner(s) and the history of the partnership; 3) an outline of prior awardsU.S. government and/or private support received for the target theme/country/region; and 4) descriptions of experienced staff members who will implement the program. The proposal should reflect the institutions expertise in the subject area and knowledge of the conditions in the target country/countries. Proposals should demonstrate an institutional record of successful exchange programs, including responsible fiscal management and full compliance with all reporting requirements for past DOS grants as determined by Grants Staff. The Department will consider the past performance of prior recipients and the demonstrated potential of new applicants. Proposed personnel and institutional resources should be adequate and appropriate to achieve the programs goals. The Department strongly encourages applicants to submit letters of support from proposed in-country partners. 3. Cost Effectiveness and Cost Sharing: Overhead and administrative costs in the proposal budget, including salaries, honoraria and subcontracts for services, should be kept to a minimum. Proposals in which the administrative costs do not exceed 25% of the total requested USG grant funds will be more competitive (see IV.3e.2 #14 for clarification on this). Applicants are strongly encouraged to cost share a portion of overhead and administrative expenses. Cost sharing, including contributions from the applicant, proposed in-country partner(s), and other sources should be included in the budget request. Proposal budgets that do not reflect cost sharing will be deemed not competitive on this criterion.4. Support of Diversity: Proposals should demonstrate substantive support of the Department's policy on diversity. Achievable and relevant features should be cited in both program administration (selection of participants, program venue and program evaluation) and program content (orientation and wrap-up sessions, program meetings, resource materials and follow-up activities). Applicants should refer to the Departments Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) and the Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines section, Item IV.3d.2, above for additional guidance. 5. Post-Grant Activities: Applicants should provide a plan to conduct activities after the Bureau-funded project has concluded in order to ensure that Bureau-supported programs are not isolated events. Funds for all post-grant activities must be in the form of contributions from the applicant or sources outside of the Bureau. Costs for these activities must not appear in the proposal budget, but should be outlined in the narrative.6. Program Monitoring and Evaluation: Proposals should include a detailed plan to monitor and evaluate the program. Program objectives should target clearly defined results in quantitative terms. Competitive evaluation plans will describe how applicant organizations would measure these results, and proposals should include draft data collection instruments (surveys, questionnaires, etc) in Tab E. Successful applicants (grantee institutions) will be expected to submit a report after each program component concludes or on a quarterly basis, whichever is less frequent. The Department also requires that grantee institutions submit a final narrative and financial report no more than 90 days after the expiration of a grant. __________VII. Embassy ContactsFor questions about this announcement, contact. the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer in Ankara (Tom Leary,
[email protected]; tel: +90-312-457-7335 +90-312-457-7335 ), the Cultural Affairs Officer in Ankara (Craig Dicker
[email protected]; tel: +90-312-457-7438 +90-312-457-7438 ) and/or the Public Affairs Officer in Yerevan (Tom Mittnacht
[email protected]; tel: +374-10-49-4691 +374-10-49-4691 ). All correspondence with the Embassies concerning this RFGP should reference the title Young Armenia/Young Turkey/Young America: Social and Economic Challenges for Future Leaders. Please read the complete announcement before sending inquiries or submitting proposals. Once the RFGP deadline has passed, Embassy staff may not discuss this competition with applicants until the proposal review process has been completed.