Notice Of Intent - Bridge to Middle School Activity, Morocco | 72060821NOI00001

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72060821NOI00001

USAID/Morocco issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing that it is considering a future funding opportunity for an education program tentatively titled "Bridge to Middle School." This NOI is strictly an advance heads-up to potential applicants and is not itself a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). USAID also anticipates releasing a Request for Information (RFI) for the same effort, and interested organizations are advised to keep monitoring grants.gov for any formal NOFO announcement. Importantly, the notice makes clear that USAID is not obligated to release an RFI or NOFO, reimburse any proposal or preparation costs, or make an award based on this NOI.

The planned activity is designed to support USAID Morocco's Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), specifically Intermediate Result 4 focused on sustainably improving learning outcomes and skills. The concept builds on the progress of the USAID-supported National Reading Program, which has already driven significant changes in how early-grade Arabic reading is taught. The "Bridge" program is meant to extend and deepen those gains by addressing the transition from upper primary into middle school, where learning gaps often widen and where instruction in literacy and other core subjects becomes more demanding.

Programmatically, the activity would operate in a targeted set of pilot schools, estimated at roughly 50 to 110 schools across 3 to 4 selected regions in Morocco. Working in partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Education, the program would have two main thrusts. First, it would help analyze and remediate key learning and instructional challenges in the upper primary grades, with Arabic literacy explicitly included and with the possibility of also addressing mathematics and science. Second, it would support reforms in middle school instruction, strengthening literacy in both Arabic and English and, to the extent feasible, improving teaching and learning in STEM-related areas such as math, sciences, and technology. A core expectation is that the evidence and lessons generated through these pilots would feed into national-level policy dialogue and help enable future scale-up of reforms beyond the pilot sites.

From a funding and award structure perspective, the opportunity is described as a discretionary assistance award, expected to be implemented through a Cooperative Agreement, with an estimated total budget range of $20 million to $25 million over five years. The listing indicates an award ceiling of $25,000,000 and anticipates a single award. The anticipated start date cited in the NOI is the second quarter of U.S. Government fiscal year 2022. A notable budgeting detail is that approximately $5 million to $6 million is provisionally set aside specifically for middle school English language programming, signaling that English instruction at the lower secondary level is a major priority area within the overall activity design.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is broadly open to many types of entities (subject to any further details that would later appear in a formal NOFO). At the same time, USAID/Morocco explicitly encourages applicants to incorporate Moroccan expertise and to build partnerships with local institutions for implementation whenever possible, suggesting a strong preference for approaches that are locally grounded and that strengthen Moroccan capacity and ownership.

For communication, the notice provides points of contact for questions or comments: Zachary Clarke (zclarke@usaid.gov) and Salya Yacoubi (syacoubi@usaid.gov). The NOI also requests that organizations acknowledge receipt of the letter by signing and returning a copy to Zachary Clarke, with a copy to usaidmoroccocontracts@usaid.gov. The opportunity is listed under CFDA/Assistance Listing 98.001, with the original posting dated May 18, 2021 and an original closing date of June 29, 2021 for purposes of the notice.

• The Agency for International Development, Morocco USAID-Rabat in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice Of Intent - Bridge to Middle School Activity, Morocco" 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 May 18, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 29, 2021. (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 $25,000,000.00 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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