USAID/Egypt – Women Empowerment Grant RFI

TO ALL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS AND MEMBERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY:

The United States Agency for International Development in Egypt (USAID/Egypt) is in the process of designing a new five-year, $30-40 million activity to support gender equality and female empowerment, with a concentration on advancement of the enabling environment for women’s empowerment; economic opportunity; and, prevention and protection from gender-based violence (GBV).

 The proposed activity, Nosf Misr (Half of Egypt), responds to the U.S. Government and the Government of Egypt’s (GOE) shared policy priorities on gender equality and female empowerment, as well as USAID/Egypt’s desire to increase inclusive economic governance; combat gender-based violence; and, improve the public participation of females. It recognizes that Egypt’s broader economic and social development requires the removal of barriers to participation of women – 50% of the population – and supporting them to achieve their full potential.

 This is a Request for Information (RFI) which intends to provide public information to parties interested in USAID’s support in Egypt, as well as to collect any information and suggestions about USAID’s planned programming in this sector.  Information collected is intended to help in the Mission’s activity design and development for an intended future solicitation.

 Requested Action:   

At this time, USAID is seeking any feedback on the draft Project Description.  Please note USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time, and in accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.  Responses to this RFI are voluntary and USAID will not pay respondents for any information provided in response to this RFI.

While we welcome any comments you may have on the attached project description, we are particularly interested in the following:

 1. Based upon the information presented, as the project is envisioned, are the cross-sectoral objectives achievable and mutually reinforcing?  

2. USAID is considering a co-creation process for this activity to blend expertise and approach across sectors; would you be interested to participate?

The following is information related to co-creation:

Collaboration and co-creation refers to a range of activities that bring people together to design and create something that offers shared power, shared decision-making and shared value between the involved participants. Co-creation allows for a range of stakeholders—funders, implementers, partners, potential users, and beneficiaries—to holistically debate and generate a specific shared outcome. examples could include a richer understanding of a problem, a strategy, ideas or specific plans for action, OR lessons and insights from past actions. 

CHARACTERISTICS AND BENEFITS OF CO-CREATION 

By creating new partnerships and tapping into a range of skill sets and resources, co-creation’s outputs reflect diverse perspectives and broad buy-in. People from across a technical area, geography, and demographics can contribute, evaluate, and refine ideas and concepts. Together, they test assumptions and build consensus around critical problems, barriers, and potential solutions. Co-creation is flexible and can take many forms, including: one-on-one with an outside expert; in collaboration with small group; or in a large group of stakeholders focused on a particular challenge. 

3. What could USAID consider doing at a co-creation conference that would help to facilitate creative approaches to addressing the three objectives, or that would help you understand USAID priorities?

4. USAID seeks to create new pathways to collaborate with local organizations, civil society organizations, religious organizations involved in women’s empowerment and private sector entities such as businesses in sectors that employ women (such as food processing) and business development centers, incubators, and accelerators that are instrumental in creating economic opportunities for women. Are there successful examples of this that could be scaled to meet the stated objectives in the project description?