Higher Education Partnerships Activities | RFI 612 HE 20 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFI 612 HE 20 002

USAID Malawi issued a Request for Information (RFI) titled "Higher Education Partnerships Activities" (Opportunity No. RFI 612 HE 20 002) to gather practical feedback from U.S. and Malawian universities, private sector partners, and other stakeholders. This is not a standard call for full proposals; it is an information-gathering step meant to shape the design of two possible future USAID-supported activities built around partnerships between U.S. higher education institutions and Malawian higher education institutions (HEIs). The two concepts USAID highlights are expanding degree opportunities available within Malawi and strengthening STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) across the higher education system.

The RFI is organized around three main themes where USAID is seeking ideas, lessons learned, and concrete suggestions. The first theme focuses on transforming and strengthening Malawian HEIs through systemic reform. USAID is asking respondents to describe the main barriers that prevent Malawian institutions from achieving their own strategic visions, and to recommend reforms that would improve governance, management, planning, and overall organizational effectiveness so universities can contribute more directly to Malawi's socio-economic development. USAID also asks how institutions could be supported to implement reforms in a way that lasts, rather than creating short-term improvements that fade when funding ends. As part of the partnership angle, USAID specifically invites perspectives on what immediate benefits Malawian HEIs would gain from partnering with U.S. universities and, importantly, what incentives and benefits U.S. universities would receive from building long-term collaborations with Malawian institutions.

The second theme is aligning higher education with labor market and public sector needs to support sustainable economic growth. Here, USAID wants input on which academic disciplines, degree programs, and shorter professional courses are most critical for Malawi's development and service delivery, but are currently under-supplied or not offered at the scale or quality needed. A major component of this theme is STEM capacity: USAID is looking for practical approaches to help Malawian universities design and deliver modern, high-quality STEM programs, including the faculty development, lab infrastructure, curriculum modernization, and quality assurance steps that would be required. USAID also emphasizes inclusion, asking how STEM programming can be designed so that more women and other disadvantaged groups not only enter STEM fields but also persist and succeed. In addition, the RFI asks for ideas on strengthening HEI-industry collaboration, including opportunities for partnerships with both public and private sector entities that could improve graduate readiness through internships, applied research, co-designed curricula, guest instruction, mentorship, and real-world problem solving.

The third theme addresses access and equity in higher education. USAID is soliciting recommendations on business models that could reduce the cost of obtaining a university qualification while maintaining quality, especially for students coming from Community Day Secondary Schools who often face structural disadvantages in preparation, affordability, and opportunity. The RFI also asks for innovative strategies to tackle unequal access driven by gender, income, geography, limited campus capacity, weak technology connectivity, and inconsistent utilities. USAID is interested in ideas that address both demand-side barriers (such as affordability, awareness, social norms, and preparation) and supply-side barriers (such as limited seats, insufficient housing, inadequate infrastructure, and limited digital learning capacity).

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under the education sector (Funding Activity Category: Education) with CFDA 98.001 and is managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID Mission in Lilongwe, Malawi. The notice was created on November 7, 2019, with an original closing date of December 4, 2019. The listing references an expected two awards and shows an award ceiling of $10,000, though the central purpose of the posting is to solicit input to inform the design of future programming rather than to fund a traditional set of grants through this RFI itself. Eligible respondents are broadly described as "Others" with additional eligibility details implied to be in the full notice, reflecting USAID's intent to hear from a wide mix of higher education, industry, and stakeholder organizations in both Malawi and the United States.

• The Agency for International Development, Malawi USAID-Lilongwe in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Higher Education Partnerships Activities" 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 Nov 07, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 04, 2019. (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 $10,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RFI 612 HE 20 002

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