Niger Resilience and Agribusiness Master’s Program (N-RAMP) 72068522APS00001 Addendum to the Higher Education for Leadership, Innovation, and Exchan…

Pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the United States Government, as represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI), and USAID/Niger is announcing the Niger Resilience and Agribusiness Masters Program (N-RAMP) Addendum to the Higher Education for Leadership, Innovation, and Exchange (HELIX), a New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) Annual Program Statement (APS), hereafter known as the HELIX APS.

Through this N-RAMP Addendum, USAID/Niger aims to engage locally based new and underutilized partners to expand and amplify the Agency’s work through and with higher education. NPI seeks to support partner countries’ progress to self-reliance, achieve sustainable and resilient results, and catalyze more effective partnering for impact. This Addendum disseminates information to prospective Applicants so they may develop and submit Concept Notes in response and ultimately to be considered for USAID funding. This Addendum describes and provides:

● The type of activities for which Concept Notes will be considered;

● Available funding, process and requirements for submitting Concept Notes and Full Applications;

● The Merit Review Criteria for evaluating Concept Notes; and

● Refers prospective Applicants to relevant documentation and resources.

USAID/Niger anticipates awarding one (1) assistance award, including grants or cooperative agreements, under this Addendum. Issuance of this Addendum does not constitute an award or commitment on the part of the U.S. Government to make an award, nor does it commit the United States Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a Concept Note or Application(s). The actual number of assistance awards, if any, is subject to the availability of funds, as well as the viability of eventual Full Applications received.

Based on the submitted Concept Note(s), USAID/Niger will determine whether to request a Full Application from an eligible organization(s). To be competitive under this Addendum to the HELIX APS, Concept Notes and Full Applications must be fully responsive to all directions under the APS except when specifically noted otherwise in this Addendum or in the request for full application.

An informative session will be held on January 27,2022

The information session will be 3 hours long (2-5pm Dakar Local Time time) and will be held in a language accessible to a US audience (either in English or through simultaneous translation).

"The goal of the information session is to provide an opportunity for applicants to meet and interact with Nigerien higher institutions prior to the submission deadline. The session will include information on the Nigerien higher education context as well as presentations from Nigerien universities."

Logistic details will be provided shortly in www.grants.gov.Any questions related to that session should be directed to following email:amdiallo@usaid.gov with a copy to rtrimble@usaid.gov.

See below details below information related to the informative session

Date: January 27, 2022, at 08:30 am EST

The session will include presentations from the Universities of Tahoua, Tillaberi and Niamey in addition to a Q&A session. The session will be recorded.

Google Meet Link: Meeting Link

Click here to RSVP to the information session

It is the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the entire APS and Addendum Opportunity have been downloaded from www.grants.gov and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion process. If you have difficulty registering on www.grants.gov or accessing the APS, please contact the grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 or via email at support@grants.gov for technical assistance.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Eligibility for the N-RAMP Addendum is restricted to a higher education institution as the primary Applicant (“Prime”) from anywhere in the world; however, Concept Notes must include partnerships between at least one U.S. Higher Education Institution (HEI) and at least one HEI from Niger. Concept notes must meet at least one of the NPI modalities listed in Section III of the HELIX APS. USAID/Niger encourages implementation arrangements that include multiple Nigerien HEI partners, as well as relevant private sector partners.