Pathways Challenge Grants - Request for Applications

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The United States Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) announces a Request for Applications (RFA) to support the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas initiative with one award totaling exactly $3,861,386. WHA expects to award one grant with a start date of Sept 2013 and a project period not to exceed 3 years, using FY12 appropriated Economic Support Funds. WHA reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and will determine the resulting level of funding for the award pending availability of funds.Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas has brought together 15 partner countries, including the U.S., that share a common vision on the need to identify and adopt effective policies and practices for promoting inclusive economic growth, allowing exchange of best practices and innovative solutions. For more information, please visit www.pathways-caminos.org. In preparation for the next Pathways ministerial in Panama in Oct 2013, the Pathways countries have established a Challenge Framework to launch a series of public competitions to solicit the most innovative and scalable ideas for generating inclusive economic growth under each of the four pillars of Pathways to Prosperity. The objective of these competitions is to: identify one solvable challenge per pillar; source innovative solutions to those challenges with input from public, private and not for profit sectors; field test the best proposals; and develop strategies to scale up successful projects.Interested applicants are invited to submit proposals for an award of $3,861,386 from the U.S. Department of State. Of this amount, the selected applicant will be expected to sub-award and manage approximately $2,250,000 in four grants in one of 13 Pathways countries (excluding the U.S. and Canada). The selected subawards primary beneficiaries must be in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. This grant will provide a robust mechanism to test and scale innovations. Applicants will engage Pathways Challenge Competition finalists and/or winners in a participatory design process and will be asked to provide one or more Triple Bottom Line Return on Investment (ROI) studies. Applicants should identify effective scaling strategies for each demonstration project. The Pathways Clearinghouse mechanism, administered by the OAS, will be a primary mode of sharing lessons learned through the demonstration projects and disseminating proposed scaling strategies. See full RFA for more information. For further information, contact:Aaron SpencerStrategy and Resources UnitOffice of Policy, Planning, and CoordinationBureau of Western Hemisphere AffairsSpencerAE@state.gov202-647-8851

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