Deliver the quality and magnitude of support necessary for CDOs to attract the financial, human, institutional and financial resources necessary to significantly enhance their impact on cooperative development worldwide, contributing to self-reliant cooperative enterprises that meet the evolving needs

credit: Preservation Directory

of their members and contribute to the quality of member lives, their communities and nation.

In fiscal year 2002, 8 grants were extended through FY 2004.

Uses and Use Restrictions

Grant funds may be used, among other things, for basic feasibility studies and providing technical assistance or advisory services to cooperatives, private voluntary and other non-governmental organizations, governments and groups of individuals that wish to develop new cooperatives or improve existing cooperatives.

Emphasis is given to developing, testing and implementing solutions to major issues facing international cooperative development including, but not limited to, governance, modern management, cooperative legislation and regulation, achieving scale and salience.

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Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Applicants eligible are U.S.

cooperatives and recognized cooperative development organizations (CDOs) that are organically-linked to cooperatives and groups of cooperatives and whose demonstrated capabilities are broadly consistent with USAID's strategic objectives.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Cooperatives and their members in USAID eligible countries.

Credentials/Documentation

Evidence of legal capacity, economic feasibility, and financial responsibility relative to the activity for which assistance is requested.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

As may be specified in a published Request for Applications (RFA).

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

As may be specified in a published Request for Applications. This would normally include, but would not necessarily be limited to Forms SF-424 and 424A, as well as the applicant organization's name, address, contact person and information; project objectives; funding and budget; proposed partners; executive summary, organizational overview, program description, program management and structure; monitoring and impact assessment; cost proposal with budget narrative; planning matrix; staffing plans with resumes of key personnel; letters from proposed partners evidencing knowledge of the program and agreement to participate; evidence of concurrence from USAID missions in countries of proposed implementation; and a summary of USAID-financed activities conducted over the three years preceding the application.

Award Procedures

Applications are submitted to the Cooperatives Coordinator, Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation, Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau. All applications are reviewed by committees that include a technical reviewer with knowledge of the specific area of cooperation concerned as well as knowledgeable USAID officials drawn from different Bureaus. Each application is scored by all participating USAID officials using criteria incorporated in the Request for Applications. Awards are given based on relative scores.

Deadlines

Specified in the published Request for Applications which appear on the DCHA/PVC web site and in the Federal Register.

Authorization

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended, Public Law 87-195, Sections 111, 123 and 311.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Approximately three to four months from the receipt of applications.

Appeals

If an application is rejected, the reasons for rejection are fully stated.

Renewals

Not applicable.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

There is not formula for matching requirements. Applicants may be encouraged to achieve a target match which would be incorporated in the Request for Applications.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Cooperative Development Program cooperative agreements are generally for a period of three to five years and may be extended for a total period not to exceed ten years.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Each award recipient is required to provide Annual Work Plans, Semi-Annual Progress Reports and Quarterly financial statements (Form 269A).

Additional reporting may be required to support Congressional requests for information.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," non federal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records

The grantee shall maintain adequate records and accounts to assure that grant funds are used for authorized purposes.

Financial Information

Account Identification

72-1021-0-1-151.

Obigations

FY 07 $5,500,000; FY 08 est not available; and FY 09 est not reported.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

From $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 over five years.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Code of Federal Regulations Title 22, 228 Volume 1, Parts 1 to 299 (Revised as of April 1, 1999); USAID Automated Directive System, specifically Series 300 and cross-references.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

Not applicable.

Headquarters Office

Cooperative Coordinator, Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC 20523. Telephone: (202) 712-5226.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Preference is given to applicants that have demonstrated significant contributions to international cooperative development, that propose activities that promise a substantial addition to the theory and practice of cooperative development, that demonstrate the commitment to integrate lessons learned into their own programs as well as disseminate these to the broader cooperative development community, and whose staff possess the range of skills necessary to achieve these results.