Office of Global Womens Issues (S/GWI) has announced a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) outlining concepts and capacity to manage a program that will partner equitably with a range of local, women’s civil society organizations in no fewer than two countries and regions to advance women’s economic empowerment (WEE) by reducing barriers to women’s participation in the economy.

Goal: To grow and sustain the leadership of women’s civil society organizations in improving the enabling environment for women’s full and free participation in the economy, including through support to women-led advocacy for legal, regulatory, and policy reform; implementation of such reform; accountability for such reforms; and reduction of social and cultural barriers.

Objectives

Applicants should propose objectives that:

• Support an enabling environment for WEE: Advance WEE efforts to improve the enabling environment for women’s full and free participation in the economy in no fewer than two countries and regions. This may include support for advocacy and programmatic efforts targeting the development of legal, regulatory, and policy reform; implementation of such reform; accountability for reforms; and reduction of social and cultural barriers to promote an enabling environment for women’s full and free participation in the economy. 
• Support to women’s civil society organizations: Partner equitably with a range of local women’s civil society organizations advancing locally designed WEE efforts, including but not limited to organizational capacity-building and technical assistance to advance civil society organizations’ core growth and sustainability.

Funding Information

The total $3,000,000 grant funding available under this RSOI must be directed for work to support women’s empowerment. At least $2,000,000 of the funding available under this RSOI is directed for work to support women’s leadership.

Priority Regions and Countries

• Applicants must propose work equal to the planned funding amount ($3,000,000) in no fewer than two countries in two different regions. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to work in as many as possible of each of the following regions: subSaharan Africa (AF); East Asia and the Pacific (EAP); Europe (EUR); the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); South and Central Asia (SCA); and the Western Hemisphere (WHA).2 Final country selection will be confirmed in consultation between the successful applicant and S/GWI. Additional countries may be selected during project implementation. Country selections may be subject to additional approvals and/or vetting.
• The following countries are not currently priorities for this RSOI due to existing or planned assistance programs: Eswatini, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Tajikistan, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, and Uzbekistan

Eligibility Criteria

Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria: 

• Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO); or 
• Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; and
• Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active and equitable partnerships with incountry partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders, including NGOs and private sector actors; and
• Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs in size, scope, and focus. S/GWI reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.