Early Warning and Response in Nigeria

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is accepting applications for the Early Warning and Response in Nigeria funding opportunity, opportunity number DFOP0019570. The program is an open solicitation with total available funding of $1,973,359 and one anticipated cooperative agreement award of $1,973,359. The priority region is Africa, with program activities focused on Nigeria's Middle Belt. The Department describes targeted anti-Christian violence in the region as a severe protection and accountability problem involving attacks by Fulani militants, ISIS-West Africa, Boko Haram, and other extremist groups. The program is intended to address this problem through coordinated civil society early warning networks and strengthened Nigerian government rapid response capacity. The program's overall goal is for civil society and the Nigerian government to work together to prevent and mitigate anti-Christian violence across the Middle Belt through integrated early warning systems and stronger response mechanisms, resulting in reduced casualties and diminished attack severity. The first objective is for civil society to operationalize early warning and response networks that detect and report imminent threats and enable rapid protection measures. Illustrative activities include deploying community-based monitors and liaison officers, establishing secure communication channels, developing standardized threat assessment and alert protocols, training community and religious leaders, creating rapid notification systems, and leading early response initiatives. Expected results include operational networks in at least 30 at-risk Christian communities, faster threat detection and notification, greater participation by religious and community leaders, improved evacuations and protective measures, and reduced casualties. The second objective is to improve the Nigerian government's response to early warning indicators so that security forces and emergency response teams deploy faster and attack severity is reduced. Illustrative activities include establishing or strengthening joint coordination centers connecting federal, state, and local response teams to early warning data, training and equipping emergency response teams, developing accountability mechanisms, creating mobile response teams, and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems. The recipient must also comply with program-specific requirements, including submitting an annual workplan, a Monitoring and Evaluation Narrative, CVs for proposed Key Personnel, and evaluation, research, or survey methodologies to DRL for approval. The recipient may be subject to annual site visits and must provide required notifications concerning international travel. Because the award is a cooperative agreement, DRL will be substantially involved in program planning and implementation. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society or nongovernmental organizations; public and private educational institutions; individuals; Public International Organizations; and governmental institutions. Organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier issued through SAM.gov and an active SAM.gov registration, although individuals are exempt from those registration requirements. An organization may submit only one proposal; if an organization submits more than one proposal, all proposals from that organization will be considered ineligible. Cost sharing, matching, or cost participation is not required and does not improve an applicant's competitive ranking. Award funds may not be used for alcoholic beverages or to provide payments, transfers, subawards, or direct financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Other federal award restrictions and certifications described in the notice also apply. Applications must include the applicable SF-424 or SF-424-I, SF-424A, and SF-424B forms. An optional summary page may also be submitted. The proposal is limited to 15 pages and must include a proposal summary, applicant introduction and organizational experience, problem statement, project goals and objectives, project activities, project methods and design, proposed schedule and timeline, project partners, monitoring and evaluation plan, and sustainability or future funding plan. Applicants must also provide a separate budget justification narrative and attachments consisting of a line-item budget, key personnel position descriptions or selection criteria, letters of support from program partners, the latest NICRA when applicable, and official permission letters when required. Application materials must be in English, budgets must be in U.S. dollars, pages must be numbered, and documents must comply with the stated formatting requirements. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov or MyGrants. Applications will be evaluated on quality and feasibility of the program idea, organizational capacity and record on previous grants, program planning and ability to achieve objectives, budget, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainability. A review committee will evaluate eligible applications, and the Department will also conduct the required risk review covering financial stability, management systems and standards, history of performance, audit reports and findings, and ability to implement award requirements. If applications receive equivalent scores, the applicant with the lower indirect cost rate will receive preference as a tie-breaking mechanism. Applications are due Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. Unsuccessful applicants are expected to be notified by September 30, 2026. The anticipated project start date is September 30, 2026, and the stated performance period is 18 to 24 months, with a minimum period of 18 months. Non-competitive continuation funding may be considered subject to funding availability, satisfactory progress, and the Department's determination that continued funding is in its best interest. Questions about the application process may be directed to DRL-PRU-Solicitation@state.gov.

Develop a detailed and feasible program design with a reasonable implementation timeline; clearly connect activities to measurable objectives and anticipated results; demonstrate relevant expertise, internal controls, financial management capacity, and subaward management experience if applicable; provide a detailed and realistic budget justification; include measurable output and outcome indicators with milestones; explain how positive impacts will continue after the award; ensure proposed activities comply with applicable Executive Orders; note that a lower indirect cost rate is used only as a tie-breaker for equivalently scored applications.