PVO co-financing II

and indigenous PVOs working in Nepal in support of Government of Nepal (GON) development objectives and USAID/N"s country development strategy. The project will consist of two components: (1) funding of PVO subprojects (SPs); and (2) institutional strengthening of indigenous PVOs (IPVOs) and the Social Services National Coordination Council (SSNCC). The project will fund 8-10 SPs designed and implemented by PVOs in collaboration with local client groups. SPs will usually last 3-5 years and will focus on the areas of agriculture and rural development, natural resource management and conservation, health and family planning, and literacy. It will be required that SP proposals: (1) address questions of technical, economic, social (including women in development), and environmental feasibility; and (2) include an endorsement from the SSNCC or another appropriate GON entity. It will also be required that non-A.I.D. sources finance at least 25% of any SP -- although exceptions may be made for the few SPs that may be budgeted for under $100,000. Efforts will be made to maximize local contributions and enhance the sustainability of local initiatives. A major project objective is to help make the IPVO system self-sustaining and in particular to help the SSNCC, a quasi-governmental organ which coordinates IPVOs, to move beyond a merely regulatory role. To this end, the project, through a U.S. PVO will: (1) provide training to build SSNCC"s institutional capacity to design and appraise SP proposals, train member IPVOs, and monitor and evaluate SPs; (2) encourage collaboration among IPVOs through a program which will cluster IPVOs according to their interests and experience; and (3) set up a Development Fund to help SSNCC establish grant appraisal, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms and to help IPVOs finance the SPs they have developed with TA from SSNCC and the U.S. PVO. The SSNCC will also promote PVO-IPVO collaboration and development of complementary strategies, as well as facilitate the exchange of information and lessons learned among all PVOs operating in the country. Amendment of 3/29/93 increases funding and revises SP selection criteria. All new grants will work toward one or more of USAID/N"s strategic objectives: increasing the private sector"s contribution to income growth; improving child survival, family planning, and malaria control; and increasing pluralism and democratic values and processes. However, the environment is seen as a crosscutting issue and will not be excluded. All SPs must have a broad national or regional impact, and must reach a large number of beneficiaries and/or be replicable. It is estimated that 3 or 4 major grants ($800,000-$1,000,000) and 8 small ones (c. $60,000) will be made under the amendment. (PD-ABG-076)