Let Girls Learn | PRE SOLICITATION 391 APS 16 00001

Let Girls Learn (USAID/Pakistan) Grant Opportunity FAQs

1) What is the Let Girls Learn grant opportunity?

It is a pre-solicitation notice from USAID/Pakistan announcing an upcoming Annual Program Statement (APS) for a new Let Girls Learn/Pakistan activity focused on adolescent girls and young women.

2) Is this notice the full funding announcement?

No. This is a pre-solicitation notice. The full funding opportunity details (program description, application instructions, deadlines, and official points of contact) are expected to be provided in the APS once it is officially released on Grants.gov.

3) What problem is this program trying to address in Pakistan?

The planned activity is intended to reduce major barriers that keep girls from accessing education and later employment in Pakistan. The notice highlights barriers linked to poverty, restrictive cultural norms, geographic isolation, and security constraints, and notes that girls face obstacles not only in starting school but also in staying enrolled through completion and progressing to higher levels of education.

4) Who is the program designed to benefit?

The activity focuses on adolescent girls and young women in Pakistan.

5) Why does the notice emphasize "agency" for adolescent females?

The notice states that adolescent females often have limited agency, meaning they may have little decision-making power over their lives. This limitation is tied to challenges in education participation and later workforce participation.

6) What does the notice say about women in the workforce and leadership?

It notes that women remain minimally visible in the workforce and in leadership roles.

7) What does the notice say about the evidence base for what works?

It acknowledges there are approaches that appear to work, especially among civil society organizations, but describes the evidence base as promising yet largely anecdotal.

8) What does the notice say about gender equity education policies?

It states that implementation of existing gender equity education policies is weak, particularly at the local level.

9) What are the three challenge areas applicants are expected to address?

The planned activity concentrates on three challenge areas:

• Access to learning opportunities: challenges for adolescent girls in accessing opportunities to learn, including distance to schools, safety concerns, affordability, and limited availability of appropriate programs.
• Preparation for employment and exposure to work: limited options that prepare girls for employment or expose them to work experiences and female role models, affecting confidence, skills development, and awareness of career pathways.
• Social and cultural norms: entrenched norms that discourage prioritizing girls' education and limit women's participation in the workforce.

10) How many grants does USAID plan to support under this activity?

USAID indicates that, subject to the availability of funds, it intends to support one or more grants aligned with each of the three challenge areas.

11) How long is each grant expected to run?

Each individual grant is anticipated to run for up to two years.

12) What types of interventions are expected?

The notice describes that applicants are expected to address the challenge areas through partnerships and targeted interventions. Specific intervention designs and requirements are expected to be detailed in the full APS.

13) What are the main goals of the planned Let Girls Learn/Pakistan activity?

The initiative aims to create or expand opportunities for adolescent girls to gain education and related skills so they can become active and positive contributors within their families, schools, and communities. More broadly, it seeks to advance gender equity and women's empowerment by widening learning opportunities, improving preparation for work, expanding exposure to career options and supportive networks, and strengthening the enabling environment that affects girls' success at school, at home, at work, and in community life.

14) What results are proposals expected to contribute to?

The APS is expected to include results that proposals should support, including:

• Stronger local government capacity to develop, implement, and coordinate evidence-based gender equity measures (particularly in education).
• Increased equitable access for adolescent females to formal and non-formal education and training.
• Improved workforce readiness among adolescent girls and young women.
• Increased exposure to work and career opportunities.
• More positive attitudes and openness toward the role of young women in Pakistan's economic, social, and political development.

15) What is meant by "formal and non-formal" education in this notice?

The notice references both formal and non-formal education and training as areas where equitable access for adolescent females is expected to increase. Detailed definitions and eligible activities are expected to be clarified in the full APS.

16) When was the full APS expected to be released?

USAID planned to release the full APS on Grants.gov by the end of September 2016.

17) Where will the official APS be posted?

The full APS is expected to be posted on Grants.gov.

18) Who can be contacted with questions about this notice?

Questions about the pre-solicitation notice can be emailed to the Agreement Officer, William Sedlak, at wsedlak@usaid.gov, with a copy to shumayun@usaid.gov.

19) Will USAID answer substantive questions before the APS is released?

No. The notice states that substantive questions about the APS will not be answered until after the APS is officially released.

20) How will questions be handled once the APS is released?

After release, questions would be handled through a formal Q and A process, and responses would be published as an amendment.

21) Can applicants contact USAID technical staff directly?

No. The notice warns applicants not to contact USAID technical staff directly, and states that doing so could lead to exclusion from the competition.

22) Does this pre-solicitation notice guarantee an APS will be issued or awards will be made?

No. The notice includes standard USAID caveats stating it does not obligate USAID to issue the APS or make awards. Issuance depends on internal approvals and the availability of funds.

23) Are unsolicited applications accepted?

No. The notice states that unsolicited applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted in response to the APS once it is posted.

24) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broadly framed to include qualified international and Pakistani non-governmental organizations (NGOs). International and Pakistani for-profit firms may also be eligible provided they forgo profit under the award.

25) Are universities eligible to apply?

Yes. The notice clarifies that colleges and universities are generally treated as NGOs under USG and USAID regulations, so both public and private universities are eligible to apply.

26) What funding category and CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under the education funding activity category and is associated with CFDA 98.001.

27) Which USAID mission/location is associated with the opportunity?

The opportunity is associated with USAID in Islamabad, Pakistan (USAID/Pakistan).

28) What is the closing date for this opportunity?

The source data shows an original closing date of 2017-10-02. However, the notice indicates that controlling details and deadlines would be those published in the full APS on Grants.gov.

29) If there is a discrepancy in dates or details, which information controls?

The notice indicates that the controlling details and deadlines are the ones published in the full APS on Grants.gov.

30) Is funding guaranteed for one grant per challenge area?

No. USAID states it intends to support one or more grants aligned with each challenge area, but this is subject to the availability of funds and internal approvals.