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Funding Opportunity Title: U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Diplomacy Section: Annual Program Statement Funding Opportunity Number: PDS-Nouakchott-APS-FY-2023 Deadline for Applications: March 24, 2023, at 12:00 noon UTC/GMT. Applications for programs are accepted on a rolling basis. Assistance Listing Number: 19.040 – Public Diplomacy Programs Estimated Total Amount Available: $300,000 Maximum for Each Award: $150,000 Requests for funding above this amount will not be considered. Minimum for Each Award: $30,000 A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Department of State announces a request for Full proposal from organizations interested in applying for funding for program proposals that strengthen ties between the United States and Mauritania through cultural, educational and exchange programming that highlight shared values and promote bilateral cooperation. PDS invites organizations interested in potential funding to submit an application outlining program concepts that reflect this goal. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Applicants must submit a full proposal, which is a concise, 8–12-page proposal designed to clearly communicate a program idea and its objectives with the development of a full proposal application. Upon review of eligible applications, PDS will invite selected applicants to be in touch with PDS team for award procedures. Purpose: PDS Nouakchott invites full proposals for programs that strengthen education, entrepreneurship, cultural and environmental ties between the U.S. and Mauritania through programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. All programs must include an American cultural element, or connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Examples of PDS-funded programs include, but are not limited to: · U.S. experts conducting lectures, seminars, or speaking tours · Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances, and exhibitions · Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs · Professional and academic exchanges and programs · Libraries, community centers, or other institutions that are interested in becoming an American Space · Programs developed by an alumnus/a of a U.S. sponsored or supported educational or professional exchange program · Projects to promote English language teaching skills or widen access to books and other sources of information about the United States This notice is subject to availability of funding. Priority Program Areas: Proposals should be related to one or more of the following U.S. Embassy priority program areas: Strengthened Security for Americans and Mauritanians Example projects under this program area could focus on: Crime and safety awareness Countering Violent Extremism Increased Opportunity and Reduced Poverty Example projects under this program area could focus on: Entrepreneurship Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) Environmental protection Promoting an Inclusive Society Example projects under this program area could focus on: Promoting social inclusion Reducing discrimination in all its forms Advocacy for inclusive national identity Cross-Cultural dialogue and understanding Human rights Cultural and ethnic diversity Participants and Audiences: The target audiences should be youth, women, culturally/ethnically diverse communities, and/or marginalized groups. The following types of programs are among those not eligible for funding: Programs relating to partisan political activity. Charitable or development activities Construction programs Programs that support specific religious activities Fund-raising campaigns Lobbying for specific legislation or programs Scientific research Programs intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization. Programs that are not Mauritania-specific Programs submitted on behalf of individuals. Programs that duplicate existing programs C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION Eligible Applicants The Public Affairs Section encourages applications from the United States and Mauritania, including from: Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience. Educational institutions Non-profit or governmental educational institutions For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required. When cost sharing is offered, it is understood and agreed that the applicant must provide the amount of cost sharing as stipulated in its proposal. Other Eligibility Requirements Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding. D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1. Application Package The U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Affairs Section will accept proposals until March 24, 2023, at 12:00 noon UTC/GMT. A grant committee composed of U.S. Embassy employees will review eligible applications. The review and selection process may take up to about six weeks from the deadline of the proposal submission. All application materials must be submitted by email to PASNouakchott@state.gov. All proposals should ensure that the following requirements are met. Please follow all instructions below carefully. proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Please ensure: The proposal clearly addresses a project description summarizing goals, objectives outcomes, performance indicators, beneficiaries, and proposed timeline. A clear statement of the applicant’s organizational capacity to carry out the proposed activity and manage U.S. Government funds. All documents are in English. All budgets are in U.S. dollars. All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins. 3. Program Statement (about 8-12 pages in Microsoft Word) that includes: Name of the organization The target country/countries The total amount of funding requested from PDS, total amount of cost-share (if any), and total program amount (PDS funds + cost-share), and program length. A synopsis of the program, including a brief statement on how the program will have a demonstrated impact and engage relevant stakeholders. A concise breakdown explicitly identifying the program’s objectives, activities and expected results that contribute to each objective. A brief description of the applicant(s) that demonstrates the applicant’s expertise and capacity to implement the program and manage a U.S. government award.

A.1 Background The U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Nouakchott, announces an Open Competition for organizations interested in submitting full applications for projects that promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, and good governance in Mauritania. U.S. Embassy Nouakchott invites organizations interested in potential funding for such projects to submit proposals outlining program concepts that reflect these goals. Please carefully follow all instructions below. A.2 Goals Improve the human rights environment and inject critical capacity building efforts to promote good governance and inclusive political participation in the lead up to the municipal and legislative elections in 2023 and the presidential election in 2024. Proposed programs should be designed to achieve at least one the following outcomes: Objective 1: Improve protection of human rights and dignity, including efforts to combat slavery and gender-based violence in Mauritania. Objective 2: Promote good governance through fighting corruption – including related to management of natural resources. Objective 3: Promote political inclusion through active participation of women, youth, and marginalized communities in both the municipal and legislative elections in 2023 and the presidential election in 2024, and provision of technical assistance to the National Electoral Independent Commission (CENI) to ensure implementation of free and fair elections. A.3 Expected Results Specific results could include the following: Provide skills to civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and community members to more successfully advocate for reform and to provide services to victims of human rights violations. Increase the level of political participation by women, youth, and marginalized communities. Increase the capacity of the CENI to facilitate free and fair elections, which will in turn allow the public to have more confidence in the electoral system. Discourage corrupt practices on the part of authorities. A.4 Main Activities Proposed programs should consist of activities such as workshops, campaigns, and technical fora to support both the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (GIRM) and civil society in protecting human rights and promoting good governance. Programs would aim to deliver one or more of the following: Tangible human rights outcomes such as improving access of victims of slavery and their children to civil registration documentation without which they cannot exercise their full rights as citizens of Mauritania. Improvement of overall governance through facilitation of increased political participation by women, girls, and marginalized communities. Promotion and curbing of corruption through awareness raising efforts. Technical support to the CENI to improve the capacity of this key institution to hold free and fair and transparent elections that Mauritanians can increasingly trust. To achieve the goals and expected results, the program should include one or more of the following activities/suggested actions here: Objective 1: Improve protection of rights and dignity by supporting human rights, including efforts to combat slavery and gender-based violence in Mauritania. Improve the delivery of tangible human rights outcomes by designing and implementing anti-slavery activities such as addressing awareness on the lack of access of victims of slavery and their children to civil registration, promote access to civil registration documents, working with the GIRM to facilitate such access, and scaling up those efforts to reach wider local, regional, and national actors. Promote efforts to fight gender-based violence, especially violence against young girls and women, and improve the capacity of human rights activists to effectively do so. These efforts may be coordinated with the Ministry of Social Affairs’ Observatory for the Rights of Women and Girls (ONDFF) and appropriate United Nations agencies. Objective 2: Promote good governance through fighting corruption – including management of natural resources. Strengthen democratic governance and fight corruption by enlisting support from civil society organizations to design and implement tailored focus groups, training, workshops, and delivery of capacity-building efforts – including press – to reach as many Mauritanians as possible. Efforts should help to raise awareness on natural resource depletion, improve understanding of resource monitoring and verification tools by CSOs and other appropriate actors, and/or build an educated citizenry to counter corruption, including in the management of natural resources. Objective 3: Promote political inclusion through active participation of women and youth in municipal and legislative elections and provision of technical assistance to the National Electoral Independent Commission (CENI) to ensure implementation of free and fair and transparent municipal and legislative elections. Provide technical assistance to the CENI to ensure free and fair and transparent elections, to deliver needed training, capacity-building, supplies and equipment to ensure smooth implementation of municipal and legislative elections. A.5 Performance Indicators All projects should aim to have impact that leads to improving human rights, fundamental freedoms, and good governance. (At least one of the following required performance indicators must be included in this section and in the Statement of Work (SOW).) Number of election officials trained with U.S. Government (USG) assistance Number of individuals receiving voter education through USG-assisted programs Number of USG-assisted civil society organizations (CSOs) that participate in legislative proceedings and/or engage in advocacy with national legislature and its committees Number of USG supported national human rights commissions and other independent state institutions charged by law with protecting and promoting human rights that actively pursued allegations of human rights abuses during the year.

A.1. Background: U.S. Embassy Nouakchott’s Program and Grants Office (PGO) announces a request for full proposals from organizations interested in applying for funding for program proposals that promote socioeconomic activities under its Ambassador’s Special Self Help program (SSH). PGO invites organizations interested in potential funding to submit their proposals that reflect the below goals - pending funding availability. Please carefully follow all instructions below. A.2. The Special Self-Help Program Objectives: Programming supported with SSH resources should address the following program objective: The purpose of the Special Self-Help program is to fund grants for small development activities that generate public awareness of U.S. foreign assistance efforts but that fall outside the structure of other established U.S. assistance projects. The program is intended to be flexible and allow the Ambassador to respond directly to requests from local communities for assistance with small community projects that have immediate impact, and further mission policies and objectives. Equally important, the Special Self-Help program is structured to encourage communities to be self-reliant and undertake similar activities on their own in the future. All Special Self-Help projects are community-based, initiated locally, administered at the local level, and include significant community contributions in cash, labor or materials. The implementation period for individual self-help projects is short - less than one year, and projects are small – ranging in cost from $3,000 to $10,000. Projects proposed should not exceed $10,000 (about 3.7 million MRU)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE U.S. EMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION Notice of Funding Opportunity: State of Interest Funding Opportunity Title: U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Affairs Section: Request for Statements of Interest Funding Opportunity Number: PAS-Nouakchott-RSOI-FY-2022 Deadline for Applications: May 20, 2022, at 12:00 noon UTC/GMT. Applications for programs are accepted on a rolling basis. CFDA Number: 19.040 – Public Diplomacy Programs Estimated Total Amount Available: $300,000 Maximum for Each Award: $100,000 Requests for funding above this amount will not be considered. Minimum for Each Award: $30,000 A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Department of State announces a request for Statements of Interest from organizations interested in applying for funding for program proposals that strengthen cultural ties between the U.S. and Mauritania through cultural and exchange programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. PAS invites organizations interested in potential funding to submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) application outlining program concepts that reflect this goal. Please carefully follow all instructions below. SOI submission is the first step in a two-part process. Applicants must first submit an SOI, which is a concise, 3–5-page concept note designed to clearly communicate a program idea and its objectives before the development of a full proposal application. The purpose of the SOI process is to allow applicants the opportunity to submit program ideas for PAS to evaluate prior to requiring the development of full proposal applications. Upon review of eligible SOIs, PAS will invite selected applicants to expand their ideas into full proposal applications. Purpose: PAS Nouakchott invites SOIs for programs that strengthen education, entrepreneurship, and cultural and environmental ties between the U.S. and Mauritania through programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. All programs must include an American cultural element, or connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Examples of PAS-funded programs include, but are not limited to: · U.S. experts conducting lectures, seminars, or speaking tours · Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances, and exhibitions · Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs · Professional and academic exchanges and programs · Libraries, community centers, or other institutions that are interested in becoming an American Space · Programs developed by an alumnus/a of a U.S. sponsored or supported educational or professional exchange program · Projects to promote English language teaching skills or widen access to books and other sources of information about the United States This notice is subject to availability of funding. Priority Program Areas: Proposals should be related to one or more of the following U.S. Embassy priority program areas: Strengthened Security for Americans and Mauritanians Example projects under this program area could focus on: Crime and safety awareness Countering Violent Extremism Increased Opportunity and Reduced Poverty Example projects under this program area could focus on: Entrepreneurship Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) Environmental protection Promoting an Inclusive Society Example projects under this program area could focus on: Promoting social inclusion Reducing discrimination in all its forms Advocacy for inclusive national identity Cross-Cultural dialogue and understanding Human rights Cultural and ethnic diversity Participants and Audiences: The target audiences should be youth, women, culturally/ethnically diverse communities, and/or marginalized groups. The following types of programs are among those not eligible for funding: Programs relating to partisan political activity. Charitable or development activities. Construction programs. Programs that support specific religious activities. Fund-raising campaigns. Lobbying for specific legislation or programs. Scientific research. Programs intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization. Programs that are not Mauritania-specific. Programs submitted on behalf of individuals. Programs that duplicate existing programs. Authorizing legislation, type, and year of funding: The Statutory Authority for this program is the Smith-Mundt Act. The source of funding is FY2022 Public Diplomacy Funding. B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION: Length of performance period: 1 to 12 months Number of awards anticipated: 5-10 awards (dependent on amounts) Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $30,000 to a maximum of $100,000 Total estimated available funding: $300,000 Type of Funding: Fiscal Year 2022 Public Diplomacy Funding Anticipated programs start date: During Fiscal Year 2022 This notice is subject to availability of funding. C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION Eligible Applicants The Public Affairs Section encourages applications from the United States and Mauritania, including from: Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience Educational institutions Non-profit or governmental educational institutions For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required. When cost sharing is offered, it is understood and agreed that the applicant must provide the amount of cost sharing as stipulated in its proposal. Other Eligibility Requirements Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding. D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1. Application Package The U.S. Embassy Nouakchott Public Affairs Section will accept proposals until May 20, 2022, at 12:00 noon UTC/GMT. A grant committee including U.S. Embassy employees will review eligible applications. The review and selection process may take up to about six weeks from the deadline of the proposal submission. All application materials must be submitted by email to PASNouakchott@state.gov. All SOIs should ensure that the following requirements are met. Please follow all instructions below carefully. SOIs that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Please ensure: The SOI clearly addresses a brief project description summarizing goals, objectives outcomes, performance indicators, beneficiaries, and proposed timeline. A clear statement of the applicant’s organizational capacity to carry out the proposed activity and manage U.S. Government funds. All documents are in English All budgets are in U.S. dollars All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins. 3. Program Statement (not to exceed 3-5 pages in Microsoft Word) that includes: Name of the organization. The target country/countries. The total amount of funding requested from PAS, total amount of cost-share (if any), and total program amount (PAS funds + cost-share), and program length. A synopsis of the program, including a brief statement on how the program will have a demonstrated impact and engage relevant stakeholders. A concise breakdown explicitly identifying the program’s objectives, activities and expected results that contribute to each objective. A brief description of the applicant(s) that demonstrates the applicant’s expertise and capacity to implement the program and manage a U.S. government award. E. APPLICATION REVIEW CRITERIA 1. Criteria Each SOI will be evaluated and rated based on the evaluation criteria outlined below. Quality of Program Idea – 50 points: The SOI is responsive to program framework. The idea is communicated well and is feasible. SOI’s that promote creative approaches to address program objectives are highly encouraged. The proposed timeline is reasonable. Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants –35 points: The SOI should demonstrate the organization’s expertise and previous experience in administering programs. If a local partner is identified SOI should briefly describe the partner’s role and experience. Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives – 15 points: The SOI should clearly articulate proposed program activities and expected results towards achieving program objectives and goal(s). This notice is subject to availability of funding. Organizations are not required to have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number –formally referred to as DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number- nor active SAM.gov registration to apply at this stage of the solicitation. However, if a SOI is accepted for a full proposal application, the organization must obtain a UEI and have an active SAM.gov registration before submitting its full proposal application. Therefore, we recommend starting the process of obtaining a SAM.gov registration as soon as possible. The process can take several weeks. Please note there is no cost associated with UEI or SAM.gov registration. Note: As of April 2022, a DUNS number is no longer required. This notice is subject to availability of funding.