Deadline: 10 July 2018

The Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) is inviting applicants to submit proposals that will support women’s economic empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

This NOFO seeks proposals to fund a project that will result in the completion a comprehensive index of the status of women in the MENA economies through the strategic collection of information in partnership with specified governments, private business, international organizations, international financial institutions, national statistics offices, trade unions, professional women’s associations, regional think tanks, universities, and/or civil society organizations.

NEA/AC invites applications that focus on promoting women’s economic empowerment through data-driven initiatives that seek to recruit, retain, and promote women in the formal sector in MENA. Funding seeks to support proposals that collect, analyze, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative information on women’s workforce participation and provide analysis-informed recommendations that can be used to shape empowerment initiatives that promote women as active participants in the economy.

Objectives

This project seeks to contribute to the long-term objective to:

• Increase women’s contribution to the economy in the MENA region;
• Empower women to assume a more active role in the economy and society; and
• Increase economic stakeholders’ knowledge of gaps, possibilities, and opportunities for increasing women’s participation in the workforce and contribution to the economy.

Program Activities

• Economic Stakeholders: Stakeholders include governments, employers, workers, and their representative organizations, multilateral organizations, civil society organizations, universities, and other representatives that contribute to the development and growth of economies. Labor ministries, employer organizations, and trade unions are also considered key stakeholders.
• Formal Sector: The formal sector encompasses all jobs with regular wages and are recognized as income sources on which income taxes must be paid. Jobs in the formal economy are included in the gross national product (GNP) and gross domestic project (GDP) of a country.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,500,000
• Award Ceiling: $1,500,000
• Award Floor: $1,000,000

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants include:

• U.S. or foreign
  • Non-profit organizations;
  • For-profit organizations;
  • Private institutions of higher education;
  • Public or state institutions of higher education; and/or
  • Public international or intergovernmental organizations.
• NEA/AC strongly encourages applications from organizations headquartered in the Middle East and North Africa region. International non-governmental organizations with principal bases of operations outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply, but the percentage of total budget actually spent in the region through local partners will be among the elements of evaluation for this competition.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via given website.

For more information, please visit Grants.gov.