Deadline: 4 May 2018

The U.S. Embassy is seeking proposals to help develop a “Transparency Ecosystem” that will build upon the foundation of creating a transparent system at the local government level.

Successful proposals will need to include the following elements in their project narrative:

• Innovative Ways to Make Budgets Open to the Public: An innovative proposal to ensure how local budgets and expenditures of a local Village Council – highlighting financial transactions like budgets, spending, procurements, etc. – can be made public so that the data is easily understandable, customizable, and usable from anywhere without restrictions.
• Engaging Communities and Generating Dialogue: Propose ways to engage selected communities around local budgets and enable them to participate in relevant decision-making processes. This can be achieved through but not limited by:
  • Training of local community members as Community Frontline Associates (CFAs), who act as points of contact on local budget related issues, budget process, and citizen engagement on budget process. They will serve to explain what is available in both the online and real “information portals” set up by local government with a focus on making that information available to excluded groups, such as women, Dalits, and other minority groups.
  • Mobilization of local journalists to work closely with local journalist associations, who will act as two-way information channels – both collecting information in these areas through their work and disseminating information through their media outputs.
  • Creative outreach on the function of local government and the devolution of power to local and provincial governments in the changing context of Nepal Federal Structure such as: roles and responsibility of local bodies, their decision making process, budget and citizen roles within the process of power devolution through film, music, and the arts.
  • Community surveys to understand the key priorities for citizens and provide a shared set of perspectives and information that can be used as the basis for discussion as part of multistakeholder dialogues.
• Open Budget Accountability Incubator: Create an Open Budget Incubator akin to a business incubator for the private sector, the project should help “accountapreneurs” develop the tools, skills, networks, outreach efforts and funding streams they need for success. This will include conducting trainings to create an understanding and expand the knowledge around legal and technical issues, accountability and integrity, organizational development (strategy, financial management, communications, etc.) and advocacy. It will also help establish communication and networks support based on political-economy analysis and through intentional efforts to make connections between relevant stakeholders who can ensure that the ideas achieve maximum impact.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any non-governmental organization may submit a proposal. Cost-sharing or matching is encouraged but is not required.
• In order to receive funding from the U.S. Embassy an organization must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.

How to Apply

Proposals should be submitted via email at the address given on the website with the subject line, “U. S. Embassy Fiscal Transparency Proposal.”