BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT: HARNESSING LOCAL INNOVATIONS, EXPERTISE, AND PARTNERSHIPS TO SOLVE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN ASIA | BAA OAA RM 2017

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this USAID funding opportunity?

This is a USAID Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) titled "Harnessing Local Innovations, Expertise, and Partnerships to Solve Development Challenges in Asia." It is a flexible, partnership-focused opportunity intended to surface and support new ideas that improve development outcomes across the Asia region.

2) What makes a BAA different from a more traditional grant competition?

Based on the description provided, this BAA is not built around a single prescribed project or a narrow list of required activities. Instead, USAID is seeking a wide range of concepts and collaborators and intends to work with partners to jointly shape solutions through collaboration and co-creation.

3) What is the main goal or theme of the announcement?

The central theme is collaboration. USAID is explicitly looking to co-create, co-design, co-invest, and collaborate with qualified organizations to develop solutions that can move from early research and development to piloting and testing, and ultimately toward scaling effective approaches.

4) What kinds of ideas is USAID trying to attract under this BAA?

The scope is intentionally broad and is meant to attract new technologies as well as creative program models, implementation approaches, and cross-sector strategies that address persistent development challenges in Asia.

5) Is the BAA limited to technology projects?

No. While USAID signals strong interest in "leapfrog" technologies and other novel approaches, the scope also includes non-technology innovations such as program models, implementation methods, and cross-sector approaches.

6) What does USAID mean by "leapfrog" technologies in this context?

"Leapfrog" technologies are described here as solutions that help communities, institutions, or markets bypass slower, traditional development pathways and adopt more advanced and efficient methods directly.

7) What stages of work can this BAA support?

The BAA is designed to support efforts across a continuum: early research and development, piloting and testing, and moving toward scaling approaches that prove effective.

8) What does USAID mean by co-create, co-design, and co-invest?

As described, USAID intends to work with partners to jointly shape solutions. This can include collaboratively designing the approach (co-design), developing and refining it together (co-create), and potentially sharing resources or investment to advance the work (co-invest).

9) Is USAID encouraging partnerships, and what kinds?

Yes. Collaboration is a central feature of the BAA, and USAID is open to "unorthodox partnerships." This suggests USAID is interested in collaborations that combine different capabilities, such as technical expertise, local knowledge, private-sector delivery capacity, and research or policy experience.

10) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad. It is open to public and private entities, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, universities and other institutions of higher education, non-governmental organizations, public international organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. governmental organizations, and multilateral and international donor organizations.

11) Can non-U.S. organizations apply?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes non-U.S. governmental organizations, and the announcement is described as aiming to tap local and regional expertise in Asia while also enabling global organizations with relevant capabilities to participate.

12) Are for-profit organizations allowed to participate?

Yes. The eligibility description includes for-profit organizations.

13) Are universities and higher education institutions eligible?

Yes. Universities and other institutions of higher education are explicitly included in the eligibility list.

14) Does eligibility guarantee funding?

No. While eligibility is broad, organizations must ultimately be deemed responsible to perform or participate in an award. That typically means demonstrating adequate operational, financial, and managerial capacity and meeting applicable U.S. government requirements.

15) What does it mean to be "deemed responsible" for an award?

In the description provided, being deemed responsible generally means showing adequate operational, financial, and managerial capacity and meeting applicable U.S. government requirements for federal assistance or related instruments.

16) What region does this BAA focus on?

The focus is the Asia region, with the goal of improving development outcomes across Asia.

17) Does the announcement specify a single development sector or problem area?

No. The scope is described as intentionally broad, aimed at addressing persistent development problems in Asia through a variety of innovations and approaches.

18) What qualities does USAID prefer in proposed innovations?

USAID emphasizes innovation that is practical and cost-effective, with a clear preference for interventions that can deliver sustainable results over time. The BAA is also especially suited to ideas that demonstrate a pathway from testing to scale and leverage partnerships or co-investment arrangements that can sustain impact beyond the initial award period.

19) Is sustainability an explicit priority?

Yes. The announcement expresses a preference for interventions that deliver sustainable results over time and that can sustain impact beyond the initial award period.

20) Is scaling required or encouraged?

Scaling is strongly encouraged. The BAA highlights a progression from piloting and testing toward scaling approaches that prove effective, and it notes that it is especially suited to proposals with a pathway from testing to scale.

21) Does this opportunity mention co-investment or leveraging other resources?

Yes. USAID explicitly references co-investing and notes interest in leveraging partnerships or co-investment arrangements that can sustain impact beyond the initial award period.

22) Which agency is administering this opportunity?

The opportunity is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

23) Is this a discretionary program?

Yes. It is listed as a discretionary program administered by USAID.

24) What is the funding opportunity number and CFDA listing?

The funding opportunity number is BAA OAA RM 2017, and it is associated with CFDA 98.001.

25) When was this opportunity created, and what is the closing date shown?

The listing states it was created on February 8, 2017. The original closing date shown is March 3, 2019.

26) Does the listing state an award ceiling or expected number of awards?

No. The listing shows an award ceiling as 0 and does not specify an expected number of awards. This typically signals flexibility in award size and structure, depending on the quality of concepts, available funding, and alignment with regional priorities.

27) What is the funding instrument type?

The funding instrument type is labeled as "Other." The description notes that this commonly aligns with BAAs where USAID may use different award mechanisms depending on the collaboration and the maturity of the solution.

28) What kinds of partnerships does USAID want to see?

Partnerships that combine complementary strengths are emphasized, including mixes of technical expertise, local knowledge, private-sector delivery capacity, and research or policy experience. The BAA also explicitly encourages "unorthodox partnerships."

29) What kind of proposal is this BAA best suited for?

It is especially suited to proposals that combine strong technical or program innovation with real-world feasibility, include a pathway from testing to scale, and leverage partnerships or co-investment to sustain impact beyond the initial award period.

30) Does USAID intend to dictate the exact activities to be implemented?

No. The BAA is described as not prescribing a single project or narrow set of activities. It is meant to attract diverse concepts so USAID can work with partners to jointly shape the solution.