Strengthening Civil Society in Ecuador

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications from US and local organizations for funding to support a program entitled “Strengthening Civil Society in Ecuador” The authority for the RFA is found in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Please refer to the Program Description for a complete statement of goals and expected results.While for-profit firms may participate, pursuant to 22 CFR 226.81, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments such as cooperative agreements. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the grant program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (22 CFR 226, OMB Circular A-122 for non-profit organization, OMB Circular A-21 for universities, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for-profit organizations), may be paid under the Cooperative Agreement.Applicants under consideration for an award that have never received funding from USAID will be subject to a pre-award audit to determine fiscal responsibility, ensure adequacy of financial controls and establish an indirect cost rate.Subject to the availability of funds, USAID intends to provide approximately $2,581,000.00 in total USAID funding to be allocated over the thirty-month year period. USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.Award will be made to the responsible applicant whose application offer the greatest value to the U.S. Government. Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. This RFA and any future amendments can be downloaded from http://www.grants.gov. Select “Find Grant Opportunities,” then click on “Browse by Agency,” and select the “U.S. Agency for International Development” and search for the RFA. In the event of an inconsistency between the documents comprising this RFA, it shall be resolved at the discretion of the Agreement Officer. All guidance included in this RFA takes precedence over any reference documents referred to in the RFA. Any clarification questions concerning this RFA should be submitted in writing to Ms. Doanh Van, Agreement Officer via e-mail at dvan@usaid.gov and Luisa Alvarado, Acquisition and Acquisition Specialist, via email at lalvarado@usaid.gov by the date listed above. If there are problems in downloading the RFA from the Internet, please contact the Grants.gov help desk at 1.800.518.4726 or support@grants.gov for technical assistance. For the purposes of this RFA, the term "Grant" is synonymous with "Cooperative Agreement"; "Grantee" is synonymous with "Recipient"; and "Grant Officer" is synonymous with "Agreement Officer". The applicant shall submit applications in BOTH electronic and hard copy format as described in Section IV. Applications must be received by the closing date and time indicated at the top of this cover letter. Late applications will not be considered for award. Applications must be directly responsive to the terms and conditions of this RFA. Telegraphic or fax applications (entire proposal) are not authorized for this RFA and will not be accepted. Please note that for Questions, you need to contact Mireya Matute to MMatute@usaid.govUSAID Phone Number is 5932-398-5501 (Luisa Alvarado), or 5932 398-5418 (Mireya Matute). Please submit your questions by e/mail.