Active Communities - Effective States (ACES)

Pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), Center for Democracy, Rights and Governance (DRG) announces the Active Communities - Effective States Annual Program Statement (known hereafter as ACES APS). The Agency will administer any resulting awards in accordance with Parts 200 and 700 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; Standard Provisions for US/Non-US Organizations; as well as the additional requirements in this APS and any Rounds.

Through the ACES APS, USAID announces its desire to engage in a diverse range of partnerships, including with new and underutilized development actors (namely local and locally established organizations) to expand and amplify the Agency’s work in fostering the rule of law and greater accountability of public institutions to citizens and enhance citizen participation and access to services across sectors through activities that advance the USAID objective of supporting partner countries’ Journey to Self-Reliance.

The ACES APS is not a Request for Applications (RFA) or a Request for Proposals (RFP). Rather, the ACES APS requests Concept Papers in response to Rounds published to this APS. Based on the review of those Concept Papers by a USAID team, USAID will determine whether to request a full Application from the successful applicant(s). To be competitive in a particular Round, applications must be fully responsive to all submission instructions under this APS as well as any additional instructions and review criteria detailed in the Round.

USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the concept papers and applications submitted under this APS and its respective Rounds. USAID also reserves the right to not conduct a co-creation phase and request full applications from successful Applicants at the Concept Paper stage.

USAID is available to respond to questions from applicants about the process. For questions on specific Rounds, applicants must submit questions by email to the point of contact (POC) identified in the specific Round through which they are considering submitting a Concept Paper. As Rounds are issued, notifications will be posted on www.grants.gov.

NOTE: There are three (3) Addenda currently opened under this APS; Addendum documents can be found under the "Related Documents" tab.

APS: The ACES APS Amendment #1 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

APS: The ACES APS Amendment #1 Q&A document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

APS: The ACES APS Amendment #2 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

APS: The ACES APS Amendment #3 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

APS: The ACES APS Amendment #4 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #1: The ACES APS Addendum #1 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #1: The ACES APS Addendum #1 Q&A document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #2: The ACES APS Addendum #2 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #2: The ACES APS Addendum #2 Q&A document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #3: The ACES APS Addendum #3 document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Addendum #3: The ACES APS Addendum #3 Q&A document has been uploaded under the "Related Documents" tab.

Please see Section III of the ACES APS and Rounds published to this APS for eligibility information regarding organizations.