IRAQ ELECTIONS SUPPORT PROJECT

GRANT COMPETITION REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS NO. RFA-13-148

ISSUANCE DATE: June 25, 2013

CLOSING DATE: July 25, 2013

I. Organizational Background

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an independent, non -governmental organization providing professional support to electoral democracy. Through fieldwork, applied research and advocacy, IFES strives to promote citizen participation, transparency and accountability in political life and civil society. With funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IFES provides technical assistance and support to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to help the IHEC prepare for elections, assist with strategic planning, organizational management, and strengthening i t s capacity to manage external relations. IFES also implements a sub-awards program in an effort to strengthen civil society engagement in the civic and voter education process, as well as to strengthen partnerships between civil society organizations and the IHEC.

1 The English version of this RFA is the only official version. Unofficial translations are available in Arabic and

Kurdish.

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II. Competition Goal and Objectives

This Request for Application (RFA) is issued under Cooperative Agreement AID-267-LA-11-00001 between IFES and USAID for the Iraq Elections Support Project. IFES has been authorized by USAID to award small grants, in-kind or cash, ranging from $30,000 to $100,000 to support voter education and electoral outreach projects that utilize new and traditional media technologies (broadcast, print or electronic media) or techniques for civic and voter education campaigns in general, with reference to the 2013 Kurdistan and 2014 Parliamentary election. IFES encourages NGOs to form partnerships with private local traditional and new media. IFES may consider providing larger sub-awards should organizations demonstrate that they have solid experience managing grants of a larger size as well as based on the proposed programmatic activities.

Proposed activities should focus on helping Iraqis understand the right to a secret vote and the right to information about the electoral process (including candidates, platforms and electoral procedures). Proposals should include activities targeting marginalized and vulnerable communities (including women in special circumstances, such as widows; elderly voters, internally displaced people; people with disabilities; religious and ethnic minorities; and persons without identification) who have often not had the ability to fully exercise their voting rights due to a lack of information about or access to election information.

Eligible applicants (see Section IV) are encouraged to engage first-time voters and vulnerable communities in critical aspects of the electoral process, including voter registration.

The primary objectives of these awards are to: • Support Iraqi citizens in the exercise of their rights to a secret vote and access to timely and

accurate information about the electoral process; • Promote Iraqi citizens’ understanding of the electoral process and their role in it; • Encourage citizens, particularly first -time voters and vulnerable communities, to register to

vote or update their registration information, vote and otherwise engage with the electoral process;

• Promote community-based, creative, and innovative solutions to current obstacles to universal voter participation;

Provide feedback to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on current obstacles to voter participation; and

Build strategic partnerships between the IHEC and Iraqi civil society in order to disseminate effective voter information regarding electoral procedures and processes.

Sub-award applications that link traditional formats with "new" media technologies, involve citizen journalists, or engage first-time voters and vulnerable communities in critical aspects of the electoral process will receive special attention. All applications should specifically identify the voter education activities to be conducted, expected results and how these results tie back to the project’s goals, the direct and indirect target beneficiaries (in terms of gender, age, occupation, etc.), the geographical scope, and the sustainability of the project. All applications should also address the integration of gender into proposed activities. Examples of potential project activities include but are not limited to: developing mobile application for elections; conducting surveys of voters with disabilities who have been unable to

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vote in past elections because of a lack of facilities; developing Facebook forums and other online monitoring networks; radio programs; YouTube training material on the right to vote; mock elections in universities; peer-to-peer voter registration drives; photo essays on the right to vote; outreach efforts to displaced people; the composition of songs, cartoons or street theatre on elections; digital training on election monitoring or reporting; and interactive websites on women and the electoral process.

III. Duration of the Project

This RFA is focused on voter education for future electoral events in Iraq, such as the Kurdistan regional and 2014 Parliamentary election, as well as civic education and information campaigns in general. The duration of each sub-award project is for up to 8 months, with an estimated start date of August 12, 2013. All programmatic deliverables will be due to IFES at the end of the project implementation.

IV. Eligibility

IFES may only give awards to non-U.S. based non-governmental organizations (NGOs); local, private, non-profit organizations, for-profit companies (willing to forego profits if required), private universities, research organizations, professional associations, and relevant special interest associations. All organizations shall be legally registered to work in Iraq. Additionally, to be eligible for an award, the applicant must:

(a) Submit a Concept Paper and a Full Application;

(b) Not be included in the “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs”; and

(c) Not provide material support or resources to any individual or entity that it knows, or has reason to know, is an individual or entity that advocates, plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in terrorist activity, including but not limited to the individuals and entities listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13224 and other such individuals and entities that may be later designated by the United States under any of the following authorities: § 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. § 1189), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.), or § 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the USA Patriot Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107- 56 (October 26, 2001)(8 U.S.C. §1182).

USAID’s policy directive on the terrorist financing provision for Assistance instruments has been incorporated into the Standard Provisions for U.S. and Non-U.S. Non-governmental Organizations which are listed under the Internal Mandatory References of ADS 303 and can be found at: http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303maa.pdf

Executive Order No. 13224 can be found at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_register&docid=fr25se01-133.pdf

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List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs which is established by the General Services Administration (GSA) can be found at:

https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) List found at: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx

The UN Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml\

How To Apply:

Step 1:

Describe your proposed project in no more than two (2) A4 pages using the Concept Paper (see Appendix

F) and submit it to ifesiraq@ifes.org along with a copy of your registration certificate not later than July 8,

2013. Concept papers longer than 2 pages will not be considered. Applicants that do not submit both a

concept paper and a copy of the NGO’s registration certificate will not be considered.

The Sub-award Review Committee will check NGOs eligibility and reviews all submitted Concept Papers

and select the pre-finalists.

Step 2:

Pre-finalists will be informed not later than July 14, 2013 through emails with a request to submit a full application for their proposed projects. The deadline for sending the full application is July 25, 2013.

V. Decision Making

Step 1: Concept Paper will be reviewed by a Sub-award Review Committee against the project goals. IFES will notify applicants officially in writing if the Concept Paper was accepted. Along with their notification, applicants will be requested to submit a Full Application. IFES will also officially inform unsuccessful applicants in writing. Step 2: Full Applications will be reviewed by the same Sub-award Review Committee against the Evaluation Criteria as well as Application Requirements for completeness of the application package. IFES may request revision of selected applications before the selection process is finalized.

IFES will notify successful applicants officially in writing. Along with their notification, applicants will receive a pre-award survey form that they will need to fill out and return to IFES for evaluation of applicant organization’s internal capacity. IFES will also officially inform unsuccessful applicants in writing. IFES may, at its option, provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants. An applicant’s rejection does not disqualify the applicant from future solicitation applications.

Based on the results of the pre-award survey evaluation, IFES may conduct an onsite pre-award audit to determine fiscal responsibility, ensure adequacy of financial controls and accounting systems.

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During the review process, additional information may be requested. The applicant will be asked to present the requested information within a specified deadline. Failure to provide it on time will lead to exclusion from the competition.

IFES reserves the right to fund multiple applications or none of the applications submitted.

VI. Application Requirements

Step 1: Concept Paper should be submitted in English and should describe the general description of the project, targeted audience, overall goals and objectives, timeline with milestones, and a total budget. It should not exceed two (2) A4 pages. (See Appendix F – Concept Paper Template) The Concept Paper should be submitted along with a copy of the NGO registration certificate. Step 2: (upon completion step 1) Applications should be written in English, although the language of the training, outreach materials, and local content developed through sub-awards can be English, Arabic, Kurdish or any of the local languages or dialects of Iraq.

Applications must include the following components when submitted to IFES:

A. A completed Application Form (see Appendix A) B. A completed one page Executive Summary (see Appendix B); C. A completed Technical Application (see Appendix C): D. A completed Performance Monitoring Methodology and Plan (see Appendix D); E. A detailed Itemized Budget and Budget Notes (see Appendix E) F. CVs and National ID card/Jinsiya of Project Director and experts that would be working on the project;

G. Two (2) letters of reference from other organizations and/or donors that have worked with the applicant organization and points of contact.

Lack of submission of any of the above stated documents will result in rejection of the application.

Applicants are welcome to also submit other supporting document(s) that will strengthen the application. If applicable, applicant organization should submit additional information about other projects (project summary, budget, etc.) on similar topics, submitted or already funded by other donors, Support letter for potential implementation partner and previous voter & civic education materials such as booklet, posters, banners and etc. IFES supports the costs associated with undertaking a particular project, such as the salaries and fringe benefits (not to exceed 20% of labor costs) of project staff, office rent and utilities, in-country project-related travel, local consultants, communication costs, supplies and other project expenses. IFES may also provide support for minor equipment (e.g., cellphones, personal computers, copiers, fax machines), provided that the equipment is not readily available at the sub-recipient institution and is required to carry out the project.

IFES does not support:

• Costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any application in response to this RFA;

Construction or renovation of facilities; • Endowments;

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• Existing deficits; • International Travel; nor • Vehicles Purchase or Lease.

VII. Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be used in assessing project proposals according to the relevant areas:

• Prior experience and demonstrated expertise in implementation of related projects, in a timely and effective manner; prior history of successfully managing grants or sub-awards; and proven capacity to implement the project, and comply with the managerial, financial and administrative requirements of the sub-award (25 points);

• A feasible and complete Technical Application (25 points); • A feasible and complete Project Monitoring Methodology and Plan (25 points); • A competitive budget with efficient and reasonable cost structure (25 points).

Applications with the highest scores will be considered for funding.

All proposals should specifically identify the activities to be conducted, the expected results and how these results tie back to the project’s goals, the direct and indirect target beneficiaries (in terms of gender, age, occupation etc), the geographical scope, and the sustainability of the project.

All proposals should address the integration of gender into the proposed activities. Proposals with a commitment to cost sharing are encouraged.

VIII. Application Submissions and Competition Schedule

Competition announcement: Date: June 25, 2013 Q&A/Information sessions will be conducted in Basrah, Baghdad, and Erbil in the period June 25 – July 4, 2013. Please check http://www.ifes.org/About/Business-Opportunities/Procurement-Notices.aspx for additional information on the dates, times and locations of the information sessions.

Deadline for submission of Concept Papers: Date: July 08, 2013

Notification to successful pre-finalist applicants: Date: July 14, 2013

Deadline for submission of full applications: Date: July 25, 2013 Award announcement: Date: August 12, 2013

Applications should be submitted before the deadline. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications should be submitted in English, electronically via email, to the following email address: ifesiraq@ifes.org.

All the materials and documents submitted as part of this competition become the property of IFES and will not be returned to the applicant. IFES guarantees the confidentiality of applications.

IX. Question and Answer Session for Potential Applicants

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IFES will hold information sessions in Erbil, Basrah, and Baghdad (see above for details). At these sessions, IFES will explain the outlined here application process and requirements. Interested organizations are encouraged to attend (attendance is at the organizations’ own cost and no funds are available to assist organizations to attend this information session). The Questions and Answers from those information sessions will be posted on http://www.ifes.org/About/Business-Opportunities/Procurement-Notices.aspx and will be considered as amendment(s) to this RFA.

X. Additional Terms & Conditions

Non-Disclosure Agreement

IFES reserves the right to require any applicant to enter into a non-disclosure agreement.

Intellectual Property

Applicants should not use any intellectual property of IFES including, but not limited to, all logos,

registered trademarks, or trade names of IFES, at any time without the prior written approval of IFES, as

appropriate.

Applications

All accepted applications shall become the property of IFES and will not be returned, unless the

applicant requests their application back in writing.

Partial Awarding

IFES reserves the right to accept all or part of the application when awarding the subgrant.

No Liability

Issuance of this RFA does not constitute a commitment on the part of IFES to make an award nor does it

commit IFES to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any application in response

to this RFA. Further, IFES reserves the right to reject any or all applications received or stop solicitation

process at any time, without assigning any reason or liability.

IFES shall not be liable to any applicant, person, or entity for any losses, expenses, costs, claims, or

damages of any kind:

Arising out of, by reason of, or attributable to, the applicant responding to this RFA; or

As a result of the use of any information, error, or omission contained in this RFA document or provided during the RFA process.

DUNS Number

The selected applicants must obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number before any award is made. A DUNS number is a unique identifier issued to any organization receiving a US Government (USG) funded sub-award, which is used to verify the existence of an organization globally. A DUNS number is issued by Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), which can be obtained by following the steps

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below:

Visit the website—http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform—to ensure that their organization does not already have a DUNS number;

To perform the search, the applicant will enter the organization’s name, physical address in Iraq, and phone number;

Once the search is complete, the applicant should click “Request Your Existing D-U-N-S Number” next to the organization’s name;

If the applicant’s organization is not recognized after completing the search, a request for a new DUNS number must be submitted by clicking the “Request a New D-U-N-S Number,” at which point the applicant will complete the full, detailed information of the organization as prompted; under normal circumstances, the DUNS is issued within 1-2 business days after the request is submitted.

For technical difficulties, the applicant should contact the D&B HelpDesk at the following email address

(govt@dnb.com). IFES may also assist the applicants in this process.

Proposals submitted to the competition must be original and the sole work of the applicant

organizations.

Entire RFA

This RFA, any addenda to it, and any attached schedules, constitute the entire RFA.

Thank you for your interest.

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APPENDIX A: Application Form

Iraq Elections Support Project

Complete Legal Name of Applicant Organization

Project Title

Applicant Organization’s Registration Certificate Number

Office Address

Legal Mailing Address (if different), including zip code

Office Telephone Number(s) and Cell phone if applicable, including area code

Fax Number

E-Mail Address (es)

Director of Organization

Project Director

Project Dates (month/year – month/year)

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APPENDIX B: Executive Summary

A. Project Summary: (please describe your project in no more than one page, including

objectives, how t h e project helps achieve the overall goals of the sub-grants

competition, target audience, target results, and geographic coverage)

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1. Background/Context APPENDIX C: Technical Application

Please identify the context of the proposed project, including opportunities and challenges for implementation. Why is your proposed project important?

2. Project’s Goal and Objectives: Describe the project’s goals and objectives and how they relate to the goals and objectives of the competition. Consideration should be given to how the project plans to use "new" media technologies, involve citizen journalists, or engage first-time voters and vulnerable communities (including women in special circumstances, such as widows; elderly voters, internally displaced people; people with disabilities; religious and ethnic minorities; and persons without identification) in critical aspects of the electoral process.

3. Target Audience What is your main target audience? What groups of citizens will the project primarily serve?

4. Innovation and sustainability Please explain how your project is innovative and how project activities can lead to sustainability.

5. Program Activities and Work Plan Please outline the proposed program activities, which should be clearly defined. Also, please provide a detailed work plan using the outline below.

Week

Activity

Location

Expected

Result

Responsible

Person

Verifiable

Criteria of

Completion

6. Organizational Capacity Please briefly present your organization’s mission, its core activity, main current sources of funding, as well as past activities, with an emphasis on previous experience in civic and voter education. Explain what makes it the able to successfully implement the proposed project.

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Appendix: D: Project Monitoring Methodology and Plan

A performance monitoring plan is a critical tool for planning, managing, and documenting data

collection. It contributes to the effectiveness of the performance monitoring system by assuring that

data will be collected on a regular and timely basis. All proposals are required to submit a performance

monitoring methodology and plan, which should have clear indicators, results, and measurement

criteria. The Performance Monitoring Plan should include:

• A detailed definition of each performance indicator; • The source, method, frequency and schedule of data collection, and • Staff responsible for collecting data.

As a part of the monitoring plan sub-awardees are required to submit a monitoring methodology, which

should include how the performance data will be collected and how and when it will be reviewed,

analyzed and reported.

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Appendix E: Itemized Budget and Budget Notes

Complete the budget by line-item for each category of budget expenditure that you are requesting in

this grant application. The budget should only include items that are appropriate for the proposed

initiative. Indicate costs in in US Dollars ($). No indirect/overhead costs should be included as a

percentage of total direct costs. Indirect/overhead costs should be converted into direct costs and

should be justified in the Budget Notes. If awarded funding, NGOs will receive funding in USD,

transferred from the IFES Washington, D.C. account. Budget Notes must accompany the budget and

explain, in detail, each budget item.

Budget Format Sample:

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APPENDIX F: Concept Paper Template

A. Description of Project (not more than half a page): briefly describe your project idea and activities.

B. Geographical Scope and Targeted Audience:

C. Project Goals and Objectives:

D. Project Expected Outcomes and Deliverables:

E. Timeline and milestones:

F. Total Proposed Budget: