Background

The Central African Republic (CAR) has been beset by cycles of violent conflict since gaining independence from France in 1960. A source of diamonds, gold, oil, and uranium, CAR has been riven by regional power struggles between armed groups and across borders. During CAR’s most recent crisis in late 2012 and early 2013, rebel groups—angered by the government’s neglect of the country’s North and the failure to implement a peace plan from a previous civil war—formed the Séléka, or “Alliance,” and seized power. The predominantly Muslim Séléka carried out attacks on civilians, spurring retaliatory assaults by primarily Christian and Animist self-defense groups known as the Anti-Balaka, or “Anti-Machete.” The scale of the violence prompted fears of genocide, and almost a million people fled their homes to other parts of CAR or to neighboring countries. Governments in the region brokered the departure of the Séléka from power and installed a transitional government that was able to hold CAR’s first peaceful and democratic election in February of 2016. This election and the peaceful transition that followed opened the way for accelerating efforts to stabilize the country, but one year later many of the efforts to push forward with disarmament and reconciliation have been stalled.

Description

USIP seeks to strengthen innovative approaches to bridging religious and ethnic community divides, and advance reconciliation and trust-building. Under this competition, USIP is soliciting proposals for projects that seek to reduce tensions among communities and contribute to the peaceful return of refugees and internally displaced people to their homes. The projects will pilot approaches to reconciliation, such as using innovative technology (e.g., mobile phones applications, or video messages between divided communities), or traditional conflict resolutions mechanisms as a means to initiate interaction between communities that have been divided or isolated due to the conflict. Funded projects will also contribute to learning about successful approaches to bridging divides through a clearly outlined monitoring, evaluation and learning component.

How to Apply

Please submit your project proposal using the USIP online Grants Management System Fluxx. This system is used by all applicants, reviewers, grantees, and USIP staff for each step of the application process and grant administration. To register for this competition, please visit here and complete the registration form. Be sure to select “Middle East and Africa” for the center to which you are applying. USIP will contact applicants directly to provide access to the concept note application form in the system. Please allow 3 business days for the registration to be approved.

All applicants seeking consideration for this competition must register by May 22nd, 2017 at 5:00pm U.S. Eastern Daylight time.

The deadline for submitting project proposals is June 1st, 2017 by 5:00pm U.S. Eastern Daylight time. USIP Grants staff will be able to provide technical assistance throughout the process.  Please contact meagrants@usip.org with any questions.

Final award notification is announced in mid-September, 2017. Please feel free to be in touch with specific questions or for additional information as you submit concept notes. Do not submit applications for projects outside of this competition’s theme and geographic area. USIP will not review unsolicited applications. All submissions will receive a response. You may submit your questions to meagrants@usip.org.

Eligibility and Guidance:

• Non-profit and academic institutions are eligible to apply for funding, provided they are duly registered organizations with demonstrated capacity to manage U.S. government funding. Private sector for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply. USIP does not make grants to individuals.
• Support cannot be provided to government agencies or to employees thereof.
• Support cannot be provided to non-governmental organizations for a formal evaluation of their own programming unless otherwise indicated. USIP will, however, consider applications that propose an NGO research or evaluation consortium for the purposes of conducting a comparative study.
• Those currently working on USIP-funded projects or contracts may not be eligible to apply. Please contact meagrants@usip.org with any questions.
• USIP does not provide funds for the creation of a new organization, the construction or maintenance of an office, direct social services, or micro-enterprise projects.
• Grant funds are not available for degree-related work. Requests for dissertation research support should be directed to USIP’s Jennings Randolph Peace Scholarship Dissertation Program.
• Applications that list as participants, consultants, or project personnel any members of USIP’s Board of Directors, staff or fellows will not be accepted, nor will applications that list USIP as a collaborator in the project’s activities.
• Please review the Grant Application Process and Frequently Asked Questions “FAQ” sections of the website.

Proposal Guidance Stronger project proposals will include or reflect:

• A clearly articulated link to USIP’s conflict resolution and peacebuilding mandate.
• A demonstrated-awareness of previous and current related work being implemented by other organizations, and an explanation of how the proposed project offers a unique contribution.
• A well-developed project logic, with clearly-defined objectives aligning with the problem to be addressed, and clearly-defined activities that relate to the objectives.
• A demonstrated- organizational capacity and, where relevant, personnel based in the countries where the grant funds are being applied.
• A demonstrated awareness of possible risks and security challenges, as well as strategies to mitigate them.
• A thoughtful monitoring and evaluation plan that will provide evidence on whether the project achieved its objectives and contribute to learning on approaches to bridging divides and reconciliation.
• A demonstrated ability to engage men and women equally in their programming as appropriate to the scope of the project.

Funding

Under this grant competition, USIP seeks to make one or two (1-2) grants in the range of $30,000 (minimum) to $100,000 (maximum).

Final decisions regarding funding will be made by the United States Institute of Peace Board of Directors. If you have any questions, please email Raya Barazanji at rbarazanji@usip.org.