USAID Civic Initiatives Support Program

Attachment I: Application Template

DEMOCRACY, RIGHTS & GOVERNANCE GRANTS

2014-2016

Issue Date: February 2, 2014

Deadline for submitting the proposal:

March 16, 2014 @4:00PM

USAID Civic Initiatives Support Program (USAID CIS)

38 Sulieman Al Hadidi Street, Um Uthaina
P. O. Box 1252 Amman, 11821 Jordan

Tel.: +962 6 5933116 - Fax: +962 6 5934554

Email:

  1. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

NAME OF ORGANIZATION:

ADDRESS:

WEBSITE:

GENERAL E-MAIL:

NAME OF DIRECTOR:

CONTACT INFO for Signatory of Grant Agreement (Name, Title,Email and Mobile):

PROPOSED PROJECT TITLE:

PROPOSED DURATION OF THE PROJECT:

TOTAL AMOUNT REQUESTED FROM FHI 360:

TOTAL APPLICANT COST SHARE:

Contact Information for 3 Donor References (Organization, Project Title, Award Amount, Award Period, Contact Name/Title, Phone, Email)

By signing this Application Form, the Applicant verifies that it has reviewed a copy of the USAID CIS Grants Manual (available on website: cisjordan.org), and that the Applicant’s management has read and understands its contents.

Signature of Authorized Representative: / Submission Date:
______ / ______
Title of Authorized Representative:
______
  1. NARRATIVE APPLICATION

Applicant is requested to complete the below application form as provided. However, applications should not be more than 10 pages (Font: Arial, Size: 12, Weight: Normal, Line Spacing: Single).

  1. Table of Contents

List all page numbers and attachments

  1. Issue Selection (Maximum 3 paragraphs)

Describe the issue your project will tackle and why it is a priority for Jordan’s democratic development. In addition, describe how this links to your organization’s mission and track record in this area. Describe which sources of information and research you will utilize to conduct your review.

  1. Summary (Maximum 3 paragraphs)

Clearly and concisely summarize the goals and objectives of your proposed project. State how your project goals and objectives link to the objectives of the Democracy, Rights and Governance RFA.

  1. Proposed Intervention(s)

Describe the proposedintervention(s)that will lead to achieving visible changes and reforms to policies in the wider democracy, rights and governance arena. The RFA included some illustrative interventions for guidance.

  1. Anticipated Outputs
    List, describe and if possible discuss briefly the anticipated output(s) of the proposed project while emphasizing their unique attributes and potential value-added (in the area of the selected issue and/or in the DRG area).
  1. Anticipated Outcomes
    Describewhat this proposed project hopes to achieve vis-a-vis its objectives and goals. Discuss briefly anticipated barriers and obstacles to attaining such an outcome.
  1. Technical Approach
  1. PREPARATORY PHASE:

Describe the consultation and review processes the project will undertake. Elements include after action review, issue analysis, stakeholder consultations and an analysis of challenges. Include a description of the key document(s)that may be produced as a result of the consultation and review process and their contribution to the design of activities.

NOTE: If the Applicanthaspreviously conducted a similar review processforthe selected issue, a description of the process (i.e. after action review, stakeholder consultations, legal analysis, etc.), andan outline of the current state of affairs with regard to the selected issue and the Applicant’s stance on the issue should be included here.

  1. ACTION PHASE:

Describe actions of the proposed project. Actions can be grouped under major components (i.e.advocacy related actions) thatare anticipated at this stage (pending a thorough review of the issue and previous actions as described in the preparatory phase).

  1. PLAN FOR INCLUSION STRATEGIES:

Describe the project’s utilization of appropriate inclusion strategies within project activities and across all implementation phases. Strategies that are relevant to this RFA are: Gender Equality; Youth and Marginalized Groups Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. Describe briefly the following with reference to your defined issue: What are the existing gender gaps? How will the different roles and status of women and men affect the work to be undertaken? How will the anticipated results of the work affect women and men differently? Who has access to and control over the resourcesand information and how does that impact the proposed activities? Are there barriers to participation and leadership? How does the project intend to remove those barriers?

  1. Expected Impact, Monitoring & Evaluation Plan

Describe the expected impact of the project and prepare a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Plan. The purpose of a Monitoring & Evaluation Plan is to describe how the project’s progress towards its stated results/objectives will be measured, including what data and data collection methods will be used to display that the project objectives have been achieved. Specifically, it should indicate how achievement will be measured for each of the desired or expected results/objectives of the project.

It is important to note that the implementation of planned activities does not demonstrate the achievement of the project’s result. For example, “All five workshops for youth will take place” is a statement of activity, not achievement of the objective for the workshops. More relevant evaluation measures would include observing whether participants made concrete plans during the workshop; what activities participants carried out after the workshop, making use of the knowledge, skills, or alliances formed as a result of the workshop; and participants’ perception of the workshop’s value to their work.

Any activities that will be undertaken to measure impact should be described fully above and in the implementation schedule. All monitoring and evaluation activities must be budgeted.Activities that contribute to evaluating impact include:

  • Tracking actions of groups that stem from project activities
  • Administering participant surveys at the beginning and conclusion of conferences, workshops, or other project events
  • Monitoring press coverage of topics relevant to the project and those specific to the project
  • Hiring external evaluators to conduct an impact assessment and/or evaluation of previous work on the selected issue to define new strategies and approaches to achieving project objectives
  • Training staff on specialized M&E topics
  • Conduct a baseline evaluation in Q1 of the project and a post-assessment in the final quarter of the project

The M&E Plan Template (Attachment VII)should be used to draft an M&E Plan.

  1. Management Plan

Describe how this projectwill be managed, including a description of key personnel responsibilities and experience. In addition, if the project includes partnerships with other organizations, describe the roles and responsibilities of each.

  1. Action Plan

Applicants are required to present their anticipated plan of action for the entire duration of the project. The Action Plan Template (Attachment III) shouldbe used to describe the steps that need to be taken to achieve the project’s goal(s) and outline the month-by-month schedule of activities and sub-activities that will take place; or milestones which will be met throughout the proposed project period. The outline should also explain how other stakeholders (individual activists or experts, CSO coalitions) will be identified and integrated into the various steps of the project and the specific roles of each.

  1. Institutional Strengthening Plan

Describe what the organization would like to improve or strengthen and why (i.e. upgrade training curricula to provide more effective training, etc.). In addition, outline how it will contribute to meeting the organization’s mission and long-term sustainability as well as the goals of the proposed project.

  1. Annexes
  2. Plan of Action Template (Attachment III)
  3. Curriculum Vitae for Key Personnel
  4. Summary of previous work on this issue (links or actual products/publications)
  5. Budget (Attachment II)
  6. M&E Plan Template (Attachment VII)

USAID CIS Democracy, Rights & Governance Grants Application (Attachment I), 30January 2014, pg.1