OpportunityTitle: Expanding Citizen-Government Dialogue
CategoryExplanation: none
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible applicants include registered U.S. or foreign non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations; private institutions of higher education, public or state institutions of higher education; and public international organizations.  Organizations that have participated in the G-8 BMENA Initiative in the past are encouraged to apply. All applicants must be legally registered organizations prior to applying to this announcement.
Description: The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) requests applications that support civil society and private sector reform initiatives consistent with the principles and goals of the G-8 Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) Initiative and the Forum for the Future process. Specifically, MEPI requests applications to create or expand sustainable mechanisms for civil society and the private sector to effectively engage with governments on political, economic, or social reform in one or more of the following areas, corresponding to the BMENA themes for 2012: Economic Governance and Entrepreneurship, Women?s Empowerment, and Freedom of Expression and Association.Projects should focus on creating and expanding mechanisms for civil society and the private sector to cooperate and engage productively with their country?s government on these issues. To ensure maximum impact and sustainability, MEPI envisions organizations working in partnership with each other to fulfill these goals. Local and regional/foreign organizations, headquartered in one of the eligible countries, can apply with a partner organization(s) in their country or another eligible country on a project. International organizations headquartered inside or outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply in partnership with an organization(s) in an eligible country(ies).
GrantorContactEmailDescription: MEPI Customer Support
GrantorContactText: Ms. Jessica Baker &lt;br/&gt;Phone Number: 202-776-8524 &lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;Hours of operation are 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, 7 days a week. The contact center is closed on federal holidays. &lt;br/&gt;nea-grants@state.gov &lt;br/&gt;
CloseDateExplanation: All applications must be time stamped before 23:59:59 eastern time (ET) on March 21, 2013.  There will be no grace period, and any application not received by the application deadline will not advance to the Technical Review stage.