Integrated Youth Development Activity

The United States Agency for International Development’s Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (USAID/DRC) is seeking applications from qualified and eligible organizations for a three-year, approximately $22.15 million activity that will increase youth resilience to conflict and violence in eastern DRC. This activity will include approximately $17 million in Basic Education funding, $2.8 million in Higher Education funding, $1 million in Economic Growth funding, $600,000 in Family Planning funding, and $750,000 in Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) funding for civic education, citizen participation and public accountability. In addition, USAID/DRC is currently negotiating a Global Development Alliance (GDA) with a third party entity to provide a household cash transfer component to this activity, as illustrated in the Results Framework and described in Section 3.3 below. If this partnership is realized, USAID will require the Applicant to collaborate with USAID and the third party entity on beneficiary selection, as well as an external evaluation of the Integrated Youth Development Activity.

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), USAID intends to fund the successful Applicant whose activity provides youth in eastern DRC with access to basic education combined with opportunities to develop and exercise skills that allow them to positively engage in economic, social and political life in their communities. The Integrated Youth Development Activity has been developed in accordance with the USAID/DRC Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) that articulates a five-year goal for transformational change in the DRC, which includes “the foundation for durable peace strengthened in eastern DRC” as the purpose of Transition Objective 3 (TO3). This activity offers practical solutions and promising interventions that dovetail with other activities being implemented under TO3 to help achieve that objective.

The Integrated Youth Development Activity also takes into consideration a number of other frameworks including the USAID Education Strategy Goal 2, “improved relevance of workforce development programs,” and Goal 3, “increased equitable access to education in environments affected by crisis and conflict.” It supports the USAID Youth in Development Policy, which focuses on mainstreaming youth in development and elevates youth participation in programming. Further, it supports the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (I4S) that encourages donors in the DRC to focus on drivers of conflict identified at the community level. This activity should be aligned with the I4S to help the Government of the DRC (GDRC) implement its strategies, the Stabilisation et Reconstruction des zones sortant des conflits armés (STAREC) program, and other international interventions supporting the GDRC. Finally, this activity supports the USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy which aims to advance equality between females and males, empowering women and girls to participate fully in and benefit from the development of their societies.