IREX US/Russia Partnership Grants (for Volga Federal District Only)

For More information See
http://www.irex.org/volgapartner/index.htm We are in the process of posting
this RFA to our website.

International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX)
and
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Announce

 Round II of a Grants Competition for the Program
Partnerships, Networking, Empowering and Roll-Out (PartNER)

Date Issued:  June 14, 2002
Closing Date:  September 16, 2002
Closing Time:  6 PM (Moscow time)
Subject:   Request for Applications

*NOTE: A Russian-language version of this RFA can be found at
www.irex.ru/programs/partner

Notice:  This Request for Applications (RFA) contains 13 sections and covers
three types of grants: Existing Partnership grants, New Partnership grants,
and Roll-Out Partnership grants.   Sections I through III apply to all
applicants and should be reviewed thoroughly to ensure that proposal
applications are completed correctly.  Sections IV, V and VI provide
descriptions of Existing Partnerships, New Partnerships, and Roll-Out
Partnerships respectively, and should be referenced to determine the type of
partnership grant you are eligible to apply for.  US organizations may
disregard Section VI (Roll-Out Partnerships) as Roll-Out partnerships are
limited to Russian organizations.  All applicants should carefully read and
follow Section VII (Proposal Outline and Selection Criteria).

SECTION I:  Summary
IREX and USAID are pleased to announce Round II of a grants competition in
support of strengthening existing, new and roll-out partnerships between US
and Russian organizations as part of the Partnerships, Networking,
Empowering and Roll-Out (PartNER) program. The PartNER program provides
technical assistance in the sphere of social and economic development in the
Volga Federal District (VFD) through support for partnerships in that
region. USAID/Russia provides full funding for the PartNER program, which is
administered by IREX.

The program goal is to spark grassroots initiatives and enable partner
organizations to sustain positive changes that will contribute to the
strengthening of a democratic society and improving the economic environment
in the VFD facilitate the future integration of the VFD into the
international community.

Strategic priority areas for the project include: Social Reform; Local
Governance and Economic Development; and Rule of Law. While partner
organizations themselves will determine the scope of project activities,
PartNER projects should benefit the most vulnerable groups of society-women,
youth, elderly, unemployed, and people with different abilities, who need
assistance to reintegrate successfully into their communities.

During the course of the PartNER program, three types of partnership
activity will be supported: existing partnerships between US and Russian
organizations; new partnerships between US and Russian organizations; and
Roll-Out partnerships between Russian organizations. (See Section VI for a
description of Roll-Out partnerships). IREX recently completed the first
round of competitions and three additional rounds are planned during the
course of the 36-month project:
Round I (completed):  Existing partnership projects
Round II (pending): Existing, New and Roll-Out partnership projects
Round III (pending): New partnership projects and Roll-Out partnership
projects
Round IV (pending): Roll-out partnership projects


As noted above, IREX plans to award up to a total of $780,000 to existing,
new and roll-out partnerships under the Round II competition.  Existing
partnership applicants may request up to a maximum sum of $100,000, new
partnership applicants may request up to a maximum of $70,000 and roll-out
partnership applicants may apply for a maximum of $30,000 in USAID funding.
All projects must be at least six (6) months and not more than twelve (12)
months long.   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 requested funding.  Applicants who are able to provide more than 25%
in match will be more favorably considered. Partnerships that propose to
allocate at least 60% of grant funds to the Russian partner will also be
given priority consideration.

The deadline for Round II submissions is 6 PM (Moscow time) September 16,
2002.  Please note that proposals will be accepted at the IREX/Nizhniy
Novgorod office only. Proposals that are submitted late or are incomplete
will not be considered in the review process. Successful applicants will be
expected to begin their projects in early November 2002, and all projects
must be completed by the end of October 2003.
SECTION VIII:  Where to Submit Proposals
The deadline for submitting proposals is 6 PM Moscow time, September 16,
2002.  The participants must submit three English and three Russian hard
copies of the proposal and one English and one Russian electronic copy in MS
Word or Word Perfect on diskette. Applicants should retain for their records
one copy of any and all proposals, attachments, and other submissions to
IREX.

All participants must submit their proposals to the IREX/Nizhniy Novgorod
office. Proposals that arrive late or are incomplete may not be considered
for funding. Thus, it is very important that the partners, especially
American partners, give their submissions plenty of time to be delivered to
the IREX/Moscow office. Proposal applications will NOT be accepted via fax
or email.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO:
IREX/PartNER Program
3/a Teatralnaya Ploshad, office 13
Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia 603005
ATTN: Gennady Podolny, PartNER Program Manager
Tel: 7-8312-19-5011, 7-8312-19-5018

Questions pertaining to the PartNER project should be sent to
Gennady Podolny, PartNER Program Manager at [email protected] or by fax at:
7-8312-19-3329.


Questions regarding the PARTNER program may also be addressed to IREX in the
US:
IREX/Partnerships & Training Division
Attn: Nancy Coan, Senior Program Officer
2121 K St, 7th floor
Washington, DC, NW 20037
Tel. (202) 628-8188
Fax (202) 628-8189
E-mail: [email protected]