Strengthening Community-Backed Governance to Advance Stability and Peace in Burma

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is offering the Strengthening Community-Backed Governance to Advance Stability and Peace in Burma funding opportunity, number DFOP0019639, under Assistance Listing 19.345. The program is supported with FY25 Democracy Funds and is intended to advance prospects for stability and sustainable peace in Burma. Its central goal is to position Ethnic Resistance Organizations, state-level governance actors, and relevant civil society participants as credible, unified, community-backed participants in potential future peace negotiations. The Department anticipates making one cooperative agreement award of $1,973,359, with total available funding of $1,973,359 and an anticipated project start date of September 30, 2026. Applicants must address both program objectives in an integrated manner. The first objective supports coordination and information flows among Ethnic Resistance Organizations and state-level actors that are fundamental to peace negotiations. Activities may include sustained coordination forums, Track 1.5 dialogue convenings, dialogue on negotiating priorities and unified positioning, technical advice on dialogue and coordination mechanisms, costs for in-person coordination meetings, development of joint external messaging, cross-state coordination protocols, coordination with civil society, documentation of successful coordination, subgrants to independent media organizations, digital security assessments and tools, and secure communications and information-sharing platforms. The objective emphasizes strengthening existing coordination efforts and facilitating dialogue rather than creating new structures or providing general capacity building. The second objective supports Ethnic Resistance Organization governance bodies in providing early warning systems. Funding may support expansion and replication of proven early warning practices, knowledge exchange, technical assistance for adapting existing models, communications equipment and other early warning infrastructure, coordination between warning systems and governance structures, relevant cross-border coordination, small grants for protection infrastructure, and documentation of successful responses. Priority locations discussed in the notice include Rakhine, Sagaing, and Kachin areas. Activities must focus exclusively on civilian governance functions, civilian protection, and humanitarian coordination rather than military or paramilitary support. Applicants must explain how military functions will be distinguished from civilian governance and protection roles, describe vetting procedures, and establish monitoring mechanisms preventing diversion to military or paramilitary purposes. Funds may not be provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and award funds may not be used for alcoholic beverages. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based nonprofit organizations and NGOs with or without 501(c)(3) status, private institutions of higher education, public or state institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations or businesses, and foreign-based nonprofit organizations and NGOs. Applicants must demonstrate established trust and working relationships with relevant Burma Ethnic Resistance Organizations, resistance governance structures, civil society networks, religious community leaders, or affected communities; experience in high-risk, conflict-affected, or authoritarian environments; ability to maintain operational security and protect beneficiary identities; capacity to work across ethnic, political, and geographic divisions; and understanding of Burma's ethnic dynamics, governance structures, and peace process history. Organizations generally must have a Unique Entity Identifier and active SAM.gov registration, subject to stated exemptions. Primary applicants may submit only one application. Cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not required and will not improve an application's competitive ranking. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov or MyGrants no later than August 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST. Required forms are SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B. Applicants must submit a proposal of no more than 15 pages containing a proposal summary, organizational introduction, problem statement, project goals and objectives, project activities, methods and design, project schedule and timeline, key personnel selection criteria, project partners, monitoring and evaluation plan, and sustainability information. A separate budget justification narrative and line-item budget are required. Required attachments also include key personnel position descriptions and letters of support from program partners, along with the latest NICRA when applicable and official permission letters when required. A summary page is optional. Applications and documents must be in English, budgets must be in U.S. dollars, pages must be numbered, and applicable Word documents must follow the specified formatting requirements. Applicants are instructed to save a screenshot of the submission checklist showing all documents submitted. Applications will be evaluated for the quality and feasibility of the program idea, organizational capacity and record on previous grants, program planning and ability to achieve objectives, budget quality and reasonableness, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainability. A review committee will evaluate eligible applications, and the Department will also conduct a risk review covering financial stability, management systems and standards, performance history, audit findings, and ability to implement award requirements. If applications receive equivalent evaluation scores, the applicant with the lower indirect cost rate receives preference as a tie-breaking mechanism. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, the Department expects substantial involvement, including consultation on strategy, geographic priorities, security protocols, major program decisions, subgrantee and contractor selection, and activities involving Ethnic Resistance Organizations or other armed actors. The proposed performance period is 24 months or less, with an anticipated project start date of September 30, 2026. Continuation funding beyond the initial budget period may be considered on a noncompetitive basis subject to funding availability, satisfactory program progress, and a determination that continuation is in the Department's best interest, but future funding is not guaranteed. Unsuccessful applicants are expected to be notified by October 15, 2026 through email or MyGrants. Questions concerning the grant application process may be directed to DRL-PRU-Solicitation@state.gov. Grants.gov technical support is available at support@grants.gov or +1 (800) 518-4726, while MyGrants technical assistance is available through the ILMS help desk at +1 (888) 313-4567. The notice does not establish a recurring application cycle, and no future recurring deadline is stated.

Address both program objectives in an integrated manner and show how activities advance peace prospects; demonstrate established Burma relationships, conflict-environment experience, operational security, and cross-ethnic capacity; focus assistance exclusively on civilian governance, civilian protection, and humanitarian coordination and explain vetting and diversion-prevention controls; provide a detailed and feasible implementation timeline; state clear and measurable goals and objectives; demonstrate internal controls and capacity to manage federal funds and subawards; provide a detailed and realistic budget tied to activities and results; include output and outcome indicators with milestones and measurement methods; demonstrate sustainability beyond the award period; ensure proposed activities are consistent with applicable Executive Orders