Bangladesh America Maitree Activity

Today’s global development and humanitarian challenges are vast, demanding, and complex. They are inherently local, shaped by the history and factors specific to each context. USAID’s responses to these challenges build on the priorities, knowledge, and aspirations of the people who live them every day and know them best. USAID is reinforcing its commitment to shift more ownership of priority setting, project design, implementation, and measuring results to local people and institutions with the capabilities and credibility to drive change in their own countries and communities. Over the past decade, USAID has contributed thought leadership, invested in innovative processes, and adopted acquisition and assistance reforms to elevate local leadership and strengthen local systems. USAID has partnered with local organizations, provided project-based assistance to governments, and sought to shift power from foreign intermediaries to local implementers. USAID/Bangladesh has long shared a strong partnership with Bangladesh since its independence. It is a partnership anchored in common interests. USAID’s portfolio in Bangladesh is the largest in Asia, with some of the world’s most important food security, and health programs, along with strategically important democracy and governance, basic education, and environment activities. USAID/Bangladesh also oversees a large humanitarian assistance program in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. USAID/Bangladesh is committed to enhancing the capacity of local institutions to help Bangladesh achieve upper middle income country status and to advance USAID/Bangladesh’s Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). The Bangladesh America Maitree Activity will advance broad-based, inclusive, and more sustainable development through local partnerships that complement the Mission’s CDCS goal and development objectives. This activity will (1) establish a grant-making mechanism managed by a local organization to provide funding to qualifying local recipients through a local, competitive process; and (2) increase the organizational capacity of recipient organizations to compete for grants and implement development interventions; and (3) build the capacity of local organizations to collaborate with each other, build networks, and develop local solutions to development problems. The goal of the Bangladesh America Maitree Activity is to build the capacity of local organizations that implement development programs in key sectors that align with USAID’s strategy in Bangladesh. The prime local awardee will, through a competitive process, select local subrecipients to implement programs in line with the Mission’s CDCS. The activity will include a component to build the institutional capacity of the subrecipients. The activity will also focus on facilitating collaboration and network-building amongst local organizations so that development solutions reflect their own development goals and priorities. This will provide a platform for USAID to work with an array of organizations that are prepared and able to lead Bangladesh as it progresses on its development journey. The objectives of the Bangladesh America Maitree Activity are as follows: To advance the objectives of the USAID/Bangladesh 2020-2025 CDCS which will see that “Bangladesh is committed to democratic principles and inclusive growth with an increasing capacity to economically diversify, address inequality, and become a resilient Indo-Pacific partner.” To include Bangladeshis in decision making, design of sub-grants, and implementation processes for USAID’s development programs in Bangladesh. To build the capacity of selected local organizations to lead development efforts, manage international donors' funds, collaborate with each other, develop grassroots ideas on how to tackle development problems, and enable positive development outcomes. If USAID partners with local organizations, it will better advance its CDCS objectives and elevate USAID’s contribution towards more inclusive growth in Bangladesh, while strengthening local NGOs’ organizational and institutional capacity and contributing to Bangladesh’s goal to be an upper middle income country by 2041. The recipient shall establish a grant making mechanism that funds local indigenous organizations to achieve the goals of the activity stated above. Subsequent to establishing the grant making mechanism, the recipient shall administer and monitor the implementation of the sub-awards and report the results and outcomes to USAID. The recipient will select subrecipients for activities that contribute to the CDCS goals and objectives. The recipient must be familiar with and enforce the rules and regulations governing USAID grant-making mechanisms, particularly as they apply to the solicitation and administration of sub-awards. The recipient is not limited to the procurement mechanisms used by the Mission, but may take into consideration the types of solicitation and procurement processes the Agency employs. The recipient must ensure all US Government (USAID) guidelines and regulations related to the issuances of grants are followed, including the mandatory analyses that are required to make an USAID award (i.e. the gender, environment and climate risk analysis). In addition, if there is a requirement of a Bumper Analysis, ADS 225 analysis or any other analysis, the recipient will work with the recipients to complete those analyses. The Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) will assist the awardee in determining the requirement of the analyses. The recipient, in collaboration with the AOR, will ensure that earmarks and the corresponding conditions attached to any funding are fulfilled. The recipient shall establish and manage a Grants Evaluation Board to set pre-solicitation technical focus areas and selection criteria for potential subrecipients, as well as, review applications and select subrecipients. USAID/Bangladesh’s involvement in the Grants Evaluation Board will be detailed out in the Grants Manual; however, USAID’s involvement in the selection and administration of grants-will be kept to a minimum. The Grants Manual should include conflict of interest issues. The Grants Evaluation Board may include certain representatives from USAID to ensure grants are made in accordance with USAID’s funding requirements. To ensure a diverse array of local subrecipients, the grant size will range between US$25,000 (twenty five thousand) and US $1,000,000 (one million). We encourage and anticipate multiple awards as well as new and diverse partners or subrecipients. The recipient or any of its subsidiaries will be ineligible to apply for grants to avoid conflicts of interest. The prospective recipients may submit applications in Bangla (this is encouraged to be as inclusive as possible); however, it is the responsibility of the recipient to translate such submissions into English and share with USAID/Bangladesh, if that particular concept/application is selected/shortlisted for further consideration. The Bangladesh America Maitree Activity recipient will initiate quarterly, or more frequent, calls for applications from Bangladeshi indigenous organizations that are formed and registered locally. The following flow chart describes the Bangladesh America Maitree Activity: Building the capacity of the people, organizations, and systems is a primary focus of the Bangladesh America Maitree Activity and the recipient will be responsible for setting up a comprehensive capacity-building program for subrecipients. The subrecipient will undertake a deliberate process to improve the execution of organizational mandates to deliver results for its stakeholders. The capacity building process will focus on governance, application development, financial management and internal controls, human resources management, procurement systems, program performance management and reporting, environmental compliance and reporting ,local organization network building and collaboration, and business development and sustainability. The capacity-building initiatives will be both at pre and post-award stages, so that all potential organizations, including new organizations who have never received USAID funding, are able to participate in the call for grants. This will be achieved through a combination of formal training interventions, training needs assessments, mentoring, shadowing, and other techniques. Among other things, the recipient will define performance improvement priorities with each subrecipient(and its stakeholders) and establish targets. The recipient will analyze and assess gaps between the current and desired performance. The recipient will also select and implement solutions that contribute to performance improvement and then monitor and measure change in performance. The recipient must prepare and submit a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan. PROGRAMMATIC FOCUS Through this activity USAID/Bangladesh will work with local Bangladeshi organizations on the following programmatic areas, which are briefly described below. PUBLIC HEALTH LANDSCAPE AND VISION Although Bangladesh has made significant progress in health, nutrition and population indicators, challenges remain to achieving its objective of universal health coverage (UHC). While the government health service delivery network is substantial, government health spending as a proportion of gross domestic product is among the lowest in the world. Bangladesh spends only $46 per capita on health[1], while out-of-pocket payments account for 73 percent of total health expenditures[2], one of the highest rates in the world. Other multifaceted health systems challenges include weak governance, accountability, and institutional capacity; lack of public primary health care in urban areas; and poor quality of services and ineffective regulation in the public and private sectors. Rapid urbanization as well as industrialization, climate change, deforestation, intensive and globally connected animal agriculture make the country vulnerable to emergence of new infectious diseases, and threats of increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Government of Bangladesh is currently implementing the $14 billion Fourth Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Program (4th HPNSP) covering the period from January 2017 to June 2023, which aligns with the sustainable development goals. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY Bangladesh’s projected population, based on current growth trends, is well over 200 million by 2050. This demographic burden places tremendous economic, social and environmental strain on the country and dramatically affects its ability to provide for its citizens. ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and one of the most vulnerable to natural hazards. The majority of Bangladeshis rely on the country’s natural resources to supplement their livelihoods, placing tremendous strain on an already heavily degraded environment. Frequent natural disasters, significantly diminished ecological services, and an ever-increasing energy demand are key challenges facing Bangladesh as it transitions to a middle-income country. USAID/Bangladesh works with the GOB to build resilience of individuals, communities, institutions, and the economy to the impacts of natural hazards and changing climatic conditions. DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GOVERNANCE Bangladesh, with more than 165 million residents, is the third-largest Muslim-majority and the eighth-most populous country. At the crossroads between South and Southeast Asia, the country could aid U.S. Indo-Pacific promotion of a free, open international system. Averaging more than six percent economic growth for more than a decade, Bangladesh is set for graduation from Least Developed Country status in 2024, underscoring the efficacy of $6 billion in USAID assistance provided since independence in 1971, but corruption, an inaccessible justice system, and concentrated authority hinder development. EDUCATION SECTOR OUTLOOK AND PROGRESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP Over the last decade, Bangladesh has made notable progress in expanding access to education. In a country of over 18 million primary school students, Bangladesh has achieved near universal net primary enrollment, with approximately 98 percent of children of primary school age enrolling in school. Bangladesh has also achieved gender parity in access to education, and 50.9 percent of all enrolled students were girls in 2016. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE Bangladesh is a lower middle-income country where poverty and food insecurity remain major challenges. It is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, with a total population of over 160 million–nearly a third of who live on less than $1.90/day. Located in a low-lying and densely populated deltaic plain, Bangladesh is extremely susceptible to floods, cyclones, storm surges, landslides, and droughts. Exposure to these conditions often contributes to an inability to meet basic dietary and nutritional needs on the part of the most vulnerable.
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