• Civil Society and Governance
  • Civil Society and Governance Overview
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Civic Education
  • Citizen Participation
  • Advocacy
  • Democratic Governance
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Women's and Minority Rights
  • Disenfranchised Groups
• Education
  • Education Overview
  • Basic Education
  • Higher Education
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  • Education for Vulnerable Groups
• HIV/AIDS
  • HIV/AIDS Overview
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Institutional Capacity Building
• International Exchanges
  • International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges Overview
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Professional Exchanges
  • Youth Exchanges
• Capacity Development and Training
  • Capacity Development and Training Overview
  • Participant Training
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Grant Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Grant Solicitation and Management Cooperative Agreement

World Learning helps develop a wide range of institutional-strengthening options for individuals, groups, or entire organizations. Each year these programs works with citizens and institutions in more than 20 countries to design and implement development programs that address critical global issues such as poverty and exclusion, improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the marginalization of women and children, the global education crisis, and the urgent need for government accountability. Programs reflect the fundamental belief that the most effective path to sustainable change is to help individuals and communities harness and enhance their full potential.
 
The Grants Solicitation and Management Program
The goal of the Grants Solicitation and Management Program (GSM) is to provide health grants management services to USAID’s Bureau of Global Health and USAID Missions around the world. GSM streamlines health grants process in health sectors including family planning, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and control of infectious diseases; as well as supporting community-based service delivery, training, and related activities.

Partnering with World Learning lightens the burden on USAID by assuming full responsibility for grant solicitation, review, award, management, monitoring and close-out phases, or by partnering with USAID Missions on any aspect of the grant-making process. GSM also provides technical assistance to grantees.

Benefits to USAID

• Streamlined grant solicitation and management process
• Reduced administrative/management burdens
• Involvement in application reviews and grantee selection as desired
• Optional capacity building technical assistance for grantee organizations
• Delegated monitoring of grantee compliance and reporting
• Flexible levels of grant/grantee supervision
• Cost-efficient and comprehensive support

Benefits to Grantees

• Expedient fund-advanced/cash-flow process
• Technical support on compliance with USAID and US Government regulations
• Organizational capacity building services
• Quality grant monitoring services

USAID's Responsibilities

Primary:

• Prepare the parameters of each solicitation
• Approve the solicitation package
• Approve all sub-grants

Optional:

• Write the program description and selection criteria
• Review applications and select grantees
• Provide program/technical supervision
• Others depending upon the grant programs and the desires of USAID

World Learning's Responsibilities
Optional Services:

• Prepare solicitation materials
• Advertise/outreach to potential applicants
• Receive/process/screen applications
• Coordinate review/ranking committees
• Assess capacity of applicants/grantees
• Issue/manage/monitor grant awards and perform close out
• Provide customized technical assistance, grantee site visits and compliance monitoring/reporting.

Value
The costs of administration and management will be kept at a reasonably small percentage of the entire grant   program budget. This may vary in some cases, depending on size of grant and management capacity of the grantee. Ensuring the World Learning provides the best value to USAID is one of World Learning’s core priorities.

Technical Assistance to Grantees
All GSM grantees receive essential technical assistance to ensure proper funds-management and reporting. However, if desired by USAID, World Learning can deliver additional technical assistance tailored to supporting more or longer-term grantee development. The cost for this additional support can be added to the grantee budget and covered by the USAID/Mission or funding entity.

Achievements of GSM

• GSM has managed grants to US PVOs and local NGOs on behalf of USAID/W and USAID Missions with activities in Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Uganda, USA, and Zambia
• Providing trainings, workshops, and direct technical assistance to NGOs on capacity building topics including:
  • Technical and financial training in grants management
  • Administrative/Finance Capacity Building Assessments
  • Performance Monitoring Plans
  • Contracting for organization-wide external audits 
• GSM developed elaborated tools and procedures for effective management of grants, including a grants management database.
• Awarded a Cooperative Agreement to implement Special Programs to Aid the Needs of Survivors (SPANS) GSM in support of USAID’s goal of improving the health and well being of specific vulnerable populations.
• GSM has permanent field staff in Ethiopia and Madagascar.

USAID Missions and GSM
USAID Mission from around the world may add funds to the GSM Agreement fro specific grant activities in their countries. The GSM Cooperative Agreement is a Leader with Associates Award. Missions can add funds to the main leader award, or create their own “Associate Award” in which case the Mission retains the Agreement Officer’s Technical Representative (AOTR) and Agreement Officer responsibilities.