Basic Education Quality and Transition to Lower Secondary Activity | RFI 520 21 000001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFI 520 21 000001

The Basic Education Quality and Transition to Lower Secondary Activity is a USAID/Guatemala initiative shared in the form of a Request for Information (RFI), meaning it is not yet a funding competition but an invitation for public input. USAID is circulating a draft Program Description (PD) and asking interested individuals and organizations to review it and provide practical recommendations on how the activity should be implemented. The focus signaled by the title is improving the quality of basic education and strengthening students transitions into lower secondary schooling in Guatemala, with the RFI designed to collect feedback that can shape the final activity design before USAID launches a formal solicitation.

This opportunity is being run by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Guatemala Mission (USAID-Guatemala City), under Funding Opportunity Number RFI 520 21 000001. It falls under the Education funding activity category and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 98.001. The instrument type anticipated for the eventual award is a Cooperative Agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the U.S. Government during implementation (for example, closer collaboration on technical direction, coordination, and learning). The opportunity category is discretionary, and the eligible applicants are listed as unrestricted, meaning both U.S. and non-U.S. organizations may provide comments now and may also be able to compete later, depending on the final eligibility requirements in the forthcoming solicitation.

The key point is that this RFI is strictly a market research and program design step, not a Request for Applications (RFA) or a Request for Proposals (RFP). USAID explicitly states that posting the draft PD and asking for comments does not constitute a request for applications and does not commit the U.S. Government to make an award. It also does not obligate the Government to reimburse any costs that an organization might incur while preparing and submitting comments or questions. In other words, the only action being requested at this stage is thoughtful feedback on the draft design, not a full application package, budget, or technical proposal for funding.

USAID indicates it expects to issue a formal Request for Applications within the next few months, contingent on the availability of funds. The source data lists an award ceiling of 0, which is common in RFIs because no award amount is being competed at this stage and funding details are typically disclosed later in the actual RFA. The posting was created on 2021-03-17, and the original closing date for submitting RFI comments was 2021-04-07, which signals the window during which USAID intended to receive stakeholder input for refining the final program approach.

Overall, the RFI is best understood as an early invitation to help shape a forthcoming USAID education activity in Guatemala. Organizations with relevant expertise in basic education quality, student retention, transitions to lower secondary, teacher support, school leadership, community engagement, equity and inclusion, language of instruction, assessment and learning outcomes, or systems strengthening would typically use this kind of RFI to share implementation ideas, lessons learned, risks to anticipate, and suggestions for measurable results. Those recommendations can influence what USAID eventually asks applicants to propose in the later RFA, including geographic focus, target populations, core interventions, partnership expectations, monitoring and evaluation approaches, and coordination with Guatemalan education stakeholders.

• The Guatemala USAID-Guatemala City in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Basic Education Quality and Transition to Lower Secondary 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 2021-03-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for RFI 520 21 000001

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