Deadline: 16-Jan-2023

Do you have an idea or program to help integrate gender and youth more fully into development and emergency food security, resilience, and emergency response activities? If yes, then you can apply for Gender and Youth Activity (GAYA) Small Grant Program.

Save the Children Federation, Inc., the prime implementer of the GAYA Associate Award, is soliciting applications to improve the collection and/or use of gender and/or youth data to design and adapt development and emergency food security, resilience, and emergency response activities.

Applications will support the development, testing, packaging, and sharing of process improvements, innovations, and/or research to improve the collection and use of gender and/or youth data. Save the Children Federation, Inc. will issue up to four Program Improvement Awards under this RFA.

All grants will be made as sub-awards under the Save the Children US GAYA cooperative agreement with USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and recipients will be required to follow all relevant USAID rules and regulations. These grants will be made as Fixed Amount Awards.

Priority Areas

The development of these resources and/or processes should strive to address a known resource, knowledge, methodological, or capacity gap within the development and emergency food security, resilience and emergency response community, including, but not limited to the following priority areas:

• Collecting Data;
• Sensitive data collection;
• Data collection for gender equity or youth empowerment;
• Alternative methods of knowing and understanding;
• Disaggregating data;
• Data analysis and recommendations;
• Evidence-based reflections;
• Data usage and usage barriers.

Grant Information

• GAYA’s Program Improvement Awards include:
  • A grant of up to $240,000 USD over a two-year period;
  • Ongoing support from a team specialized in gender, youth, and program management.

Type and Number of Awards

• The award(s) will be a fixed amount sub-award (FAA), which is a type of sub-award that provides a predefined level of funding based on a schedule of pre-determined milestones and results rather than reimbursement based on actual costs. By utilizing this awarding mechanism, Save the Children aims to reduce the administrative burden, encourage smaller organizations to apply, and focus efforts on strengthening capacity for qualitative inquiry;
• Save the Children plans to award up to four sub-awards under this RFA. The final number of awards will depend on the quality of applications received, demand, and availability of funding. It is anticipated that awards solicited through this RFA will be issued on or about June 2023 and that work will commence within 4-8 months of the closing date of the application cycle (January 16, 2023). Save the Children reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted;
• Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of Save the Children or USAID, nor does it commit Save the Children or USAID to pay for the costs incurred in the submission of an application. Save the Children and USAID reserve the right to reject any or all submissions received and to negotiate separately with an applicant, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of Save the Children and the GAYA donor, USAID.

Eligible Projects

• Projects that strengthen innovative localized approaches to gender and/or youth, led by local partners;
• Projects that help BHA implementing partners better collect, analyze, and use information on gender and/or youth issues or strategies;
• Projects that transform negative gender norms, taboos, attitudes, and behaviors, and/or projects that incorporate positive youth development approaches;
• Projects that consult and actively involve diverse perspectives and marginalized populations across the activity lifecycle. An example of this might be using a participatory design process with young people in the lead to design your proposed intervention. Or having a women’s community group involved in designing and leading a new data collection effort. Or involving LGBTQI+ people in conversations about how to ask questions about sexuality and gender in a data collection tool.

Eligibility Criteria

• They accept applications from US or non-US nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), for-profit organizations, research institutions, or higher education institutions (HEIs). Applicants can be from anywhere across the globe, but applications must be implemented in countries where USAID/BHA works or has funded activities in the past three years;
• Organizations must have successfully received and managed USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance funding within the past three years (2020, 2021, 2022). This includes receiving funds as the Prime awardee, or any level of sub-awardee.
• Applications from local or regional organizations led by youth up to the age of 29 years are encouraged;
• Applications from local or regional organizations led by or focused on women are encouraged;
• They encourage applications from organizations led by or serving all persons and identities regardless of age, gender, or disability;
• This RFA is geared towards both development and emergency food security, resilience, and emergency response activities;
• Organizations that are sub-recipients or sub-contractors to Save the Children or Mercy Corps in any agreements are allowed to apply.
• Local or regional organizations are particularly encouraged to apply
• Local implementing partners are greatly encouraged to apply.

Who cannot apply?

• Applications that will be fully or partially implemented in Guatemala, Nicaragua, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip will not be considered.
• Applications will not be accepted from:
  • Members of the GAYA consortium: Save the Children and Mercy Corps including other country and fundraising offices beyond the US (e.g., Save the Children UK, Mercy Corps Uganda);
  • Individuals and/or sole proprietorships;
  • Government entities, including ministries;
  • Public international organizations;
  • Firms operating as commercial companies or other organizations (including nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations) that are wholly or partially owned by foreign governments or agencies; and
  • Organizations that have not received USAID/BHA funding in the past three years (2020, 2021, 2022). This includes receiving funds as the Prime awardee, or any level of sub-awardee.

For more information, visit GAYA Small Grants Program.