U.S. Department of State’s Embassy Accra Public Diplomacy Section Grant: Strengthening Ghanaian Democracy and Civic Engagement for the 2024 Elections

Important! To successfully submit a proposal, you must visit the U.S. Embassy Accra’s website for more information and a complete set of instructions.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Department of State’s Embassy Accra Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) announces an open competition for organizations to implement a project that strengthens Ghana’s democracy and promotes transparent, credible, and peaceful 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections that reflect the will of the people. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Full proposals may be submitted for consideration through March 24, 2024, 23:59. 

Priority will be given to projects that yield concrete, measurable results. Projects consisting solely of conferences or roundtable discussions, speaker series, theoretical research or surveys, or the writing or publishing of books, are unlikely to be funded.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The United States and Ghana have a close and enduring friendship rooted in our mutual commitment to freedom and democratic values. Ghana is recognized as a stable, democratic country with a history of successful political transitions, a free press, an active civil society, and has held eight free and fair elections since 1992. Despite Ghana’s status as a relative model of democratic governance on the continent, governance systems at both the national and local level are weak, subject to corruption, and often insufficiently accountable to citizens. That is why the U.S. Government continues to work alongside our Ghanaian partners to improve accountable governance and strengthen democratic institutions in the country. 

Additionally, under the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, of which Ghana is a partner country, our first objective is to: “strengthen social cohesion within and between at-risk communities; reduce community tensions and stigmatization between and among historically marginalized communities; and reduce instrumentalization of communal identities for political purposes.” Our second objective is to: “improve government responsiveness, inclusion, and accountability, to at-risk communities through strengthened inclusive, democratic political processes both locally and nationally; a strengthened environment for accountability and transparency; improved service delivery; and improved access to and trust in the justice sector.” 

Proposals should encourage fair and inclusive political processes during the Ghana’s 2024 general election through activities that highlight shared values between the United States and Ghana. All programs must include a strong American element and/or connection with American expert(s), organization(s), or institution(s) (separate and beyond any involvement with the U.S. Embassy or its American Corners) that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives.

PRIORITY PROGRAM AREAS

Peace and Security: Activities that give voice to Ghanaian youth, marginalized communities, and local government through civic education and conflict resolution skills; strengthen citizenship and civic education so that communities will be able to engage in debate and sensitive conversations, and to hold one another accountable, without resorting to violence.

Media and Press Freedom: Activities that protect press freedom and strengthen the journalism profession through targeted training on fact checking, journalist ethics, and countering misinformation to journalists across the country; and promote media and information literacy, especially among youth so that Ghana’s media institutions and journalists are less vulnerable to external threats to their credibility, and more prepared to be valuable contributors to Ghana’s democratic process.  

Democracy and Civil Society: Activities that strengthen internal capacity for management, planning, and issue advocacy among civil society organizations, especially those reflecting marginalized voices underrepresented in the public debate or engaged in democracy and governance issues, in order to support more diverse opinions in civic engagement and public debate during the campaign season for the 2024 presidential elections, separate from the dominant political parties and their allies. 

PARTICIPANTS AND AUDIENCES

Programs may be geared to a variety of audiences, depending on the topic (institutions, civil society, media, community leaders, youth, etc.). Proposals will be evaluated based on a well-reasoned strategy for addressing the intended audience, stakeholders, and beneficiaries (primary and secondary). Proposals for projects that include participation of U.S. Government exchange alumni will be given additional consideration. 

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Anticipated program start date: On or after June 1, 2024

Length of performance period: 12 months or less

Number of awards anticipated: 2-5 awards (dependent on amounts)

Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $100,000

Total expected available funding: up to $150,000

Type of Funding:  19.040 – Public Diplomacy Programs; 19.022 — Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs; 19.979 Regional Peace and Security

Funding Instrument Type: Grant or Fixed Amount Award

This NOFO is subject to availability of funding.

COMPETITION TIMELINE

March 24, 2024, 23:59 (GMT) – Call for proposals closes

April 19, 2024 – Notification of selected proposals.*

June 1, 2024 – Earliest project start date.

*Additional proposals may be selected after this date subject to available funding. Note that no proposals received after the close of this NOFO end date will be considered.

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

This announcement requests full proposals from qualified organizations from the United States and Ghana, including:

·        Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience

• Non-profit or governmental educational institutions
• Governmental institutions

Note: For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply. Proposals from individuals will not be considered for this funding opportunity.

OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible. Note: Applicants without a valid, active registration will not be eligible for this funding opportunity.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Visit the U.S. Embassy Ghana’s website for a complete set of instructions at: https://gh.usembassy.gov/education-culture/public-affairs-small-grants/. Please read the instructions carefully. Applications that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be considered ineligible. All submissions must include the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and the SF-424A Budget Information—Non-Construction. These forms and the instructions for completing them are available at grants.gov/forms.

Note: Any templates provided by the U.S. Embassy Accra (available on the U.S. Embassy Accra Grant’s webpage under “Additional Resources”) are best practices, not mandated for use. However, they are tools to assist with presenting important elements for a proposal to be considered eligible.