Opportunity Information: Apply for 72061222RFA00001
The Governance for Solutions (GfS) Activity is a USAID/Malawi funding opportunity designed to improve public service delivery in Malawi by strengthening how the public sector performs, especially in terms of accountability and effectiveness. The central idea is to make government services more responsive to local needs by identifying and removing the practical bottlenecks that prevent services from working well on the ground. At the same time, the activity is meant to generate broader learning about what governance approaches actually work in Malawi, so future reforms and programs can be based on real evidence rather than assumptions.
A defining feature of the opportunity is its emphasis on locally driven problem-solving. Instead of pushing a one-size-fits-all model, GfS promotes local solutions to local problems and encourages experimentation. It specifically references "positive deviance," meaning it aims to find and learn from places or groups that are already achieving better-than-expected results despite having similar constraints as others. Those successful practices can then be tested, adapted, and scaled through evidence-driven feedback loops, allowing interventions to evolve as lessons emerge rather than staying fixed.
The program also functions as a learning and collaboration platform across multiple service delivery sectors. USAID highlights Natural Resources, Agriculture, Education, and Health as priority areas, indicating the activity is expected to engage with governance challenges that cut across these sectors, such as transparency, local accountability, coordination, and citizen responsiveness. By supporting learning across sectors, the activity is positioned to identify governance practices that can be transferred or adapted from one sector to another, strengthening overall service delivery systems.
A key implementation approach is coalition-building at the local level. USAID/Malawi proposes an integrated governance activity that mobilizes and connects local stakeholders into coalitions committed to solving specific problems in their own localities. These coalitions would likely include a mix of actors such as local government structures, community leaders, civil society groups, and potentially service providers and private sector partners, depending on the local issue being addressed. The intent is to create sustained collaboration and shared ownership around problem identification, testing solutions, and tracking results.
From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary opportunity funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), specifically the Malawi Mission based in Lilongwe. The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement, which typically means USAID expects to have substantial involvement during implementation, such as collaborating on work planning, learning agendas, and adaptive management decisions. The opportunity number is 72061222RFA00001 under CFDA 98.001. The award ceiling is $15,827,864, with USAID anticipating a single award. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning any type of entity can apply as long as it meets any additional requirements described in the full solicitation. The opportunity was posted January 14, 2022, with an original closing date of February 28, 2022.Apply for 72061222RFA00001
- The Agency for International Development, Malawi USAID-Lilongwe in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Governance for Solutions (GfS) Activity" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 14, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 28, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,827,864.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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