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Sustaining Partnerships into the Next Century (SPAN)
Date Issued: June 29, 1998
Closing Date: August 28, 1998
Closing Time: 6 PM (Moscow time)
This announcement can also be found at http://www.irex.org/span
Summary
IREX and USAID are pleased to announce Round III 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.
In this competition, three rounds of funding are planned during the 30-month project; two have already been completed.
Under Round III, applicants may request up to $140,000 in USAID funding for projects at least six months and no more than 21 months long. Due to the highly competitive nature of this RFP, and in order to increase the number of grants, preference will be given to those applications that request less than the maximum funding amounts. For Round III, special consideration will be given to proposals under $100,000. In order to ensure that there is a strong commitment to partnership activities and to increase the likelihood of sustainability, successful applicants must provide a minimum in matching contributions of 25% 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.
A total number of 25 grants are expected to be awarded throughout the SPAN project, approximately five of which will be awarded under the final Round III competition.
The deadline for Round III submissions is 6 PM (Moscow time) August 28, 1998. Please note that proposals will be accepted at the IREX/SPAN office in Moscow only. Proposals that are submitted late or are incomplete may not be considered in the review process. Successful applicants will be expected to begin their projects in November 1998, and all projects must be completed by July 31, 2000.
USIA NISCUPP Program
The United States Information Agency (USIA) announced a request for proposals in November 1997 intended exclusively for university and college partnerships throughout the NIS-the NIS College and University Partnership Program-in the following academic fields: law, business/economics, education, public administration/public policy, and journalism/communications.
In order to effectively distribute assistance funding and avoid duplication of your efforts, we ask that American universities and colleges interested in partnerships in the above fields apply for funding under the USIA program.
The full request for proposals (RFP) is printed in the Federal Register dated November 20, 1997. The RFP can also be downloaded from the following URL: http://www.usia.gov/education/rfps/menu.htm. Any questions regarding the NISCUPP program should be directed to:
Russian and American University partnerships interested in other fields, and all other relevant partnerships, should apply to the SPAN program administered by IREX and USAID. USIA and USAID missions will jointly review proposals from universities and colleges. We hope this clarification will help as you apply for these programs.
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, Finance, Business Development, Energy, Environment, and Health. Applicants must clearly state in their proposals the target sector(s) under which they are applying for SPAN funding.
The SPAN program will fund small, targeted, and innovative activities that can best contribute to the achievement of one or more of the following USAID/Russia Strategic Objectives:
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. Government employees, including healthcare administrators and hospital personnel, are not eligible to receive salaries under SPAN.
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 on the cover page of their proposals who the grant recipient will be by designating that partner as the Lead Applicant.
Representatives from each selected partnership will be required to take part in an IREX-sponsored conference in Russia within two months following funding approval. These representatives will include the project director and financial officer from the lead partner and the project director from each supporting partnership institution. IREX will cover travel and conference participation costs, and therefore these should not be included in the cost proposal.
For a complete project description and application form visit: http://www.irex.org/span
Last updated: June 29, 1998
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