The National Democratic Institute (NDI) invites proposals from Nigerian non-governmental, nonpartisan organizations to prepare to observe voter registration and the 2019 general elections and select off-cycle gubernatorial elections, subject to availability of funds.

NDI Program Goal:

Develop the capacity of Nigerian civil society organizations (CSOs) to participate in the electoral process, in particular through evidence-based observation using statistical principles and information and communication technologies.

Project Description:

NDI, Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Center for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana) and World Learning (WL) are implementing the Electoral Empowerment of Civil Society Project (EECSP). Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), EECSP aims to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to become integral part of election activities in Nigeria.

Subject to availability of funds, NDI will provide a subgrant and technical assistance to a Nigerian CSO to prepare to observe elections and voter registration using statistical principles and information and communication technologies. NDI anticipates the partner organization will have the ability to mobilize citizen observers in all states and 774 local government areas (LGAs) simultaneously.

In addition to a subgrant, NDI will provide technical assistance to its partner to: observe using the parallel vote tabulation methodology; draw representative sample of polling units for purposes of observer deployment; develop a detailed training plan; establish suitable recruitment criteria and a recruitment strategy for observers; develop a communication and reporting system; conduct trainings and produce observer forms and manuals; collect and manage observer data; and develop a strategy for external communication.

Applicant Eligibility Criteria:

All applicants should be non-governmental organizations that are registered with the National Planning Commission or the Ministry of Development at the national or state level. Applicants should be nonpartisan and free of any conflicts of interest pertaining to elections in Nigeria. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in democratic development, transparency, government accountability, human rights, rule of law, and/or the political participation of marginalized groups, such as women, youth or people with disabilities. Applicants must demonstrate established financial management, systems for project monitoring and evaluation, and other policies and procedures that show compliance with standards for managing U.S. government funds. Applicant must demonstrate ability and experience to conduct activities in every state and LGA.

Application Process:

Interested applicants should develop a proposal based on the following structure:

Executive Summary (5 points)

This should be a maximum of one (1) page, and effectively summarize the full application.

Problem Statement/Background (5 points)

This should be a maximum of one (1) page. It will be evaluated on the degree to which the applicant is able to present a clear description of how evidence-based election observation can address Nigerian electoral issues.

Project Activities/Description (25 points)

This subsection will be evaluated based on the degree to which the applicant demonstrates how it intends to: set up a management team and project structure; mobilize citizen

observers in all states (including the Federal Capital Territory) and all 774 LGAs; share information within the project structure; communicate with external stakeholders; and manage finances across all states and LGAs. The applicant must demonstrate its presence or connections in all states, for instance, through a list of member organizations, examples of subnational programming, a list of interested potential state or subnational partners, and/or a detailed process to identify programmatic points of contact with full geographic coverage. 

Organizational Capacity (25 points)

This subsection will be evaluated based on the degree to which the applicant can provide evidence that its staff possess the managerial, leadership and democracy programs experience necessary to successfully implement the proposed activities. The applicant will provide evidence of ability to organize large-scale programs within deadlines, ability to operate in politically sensitive contexts, and experience or interest in democracy strengthening programming. The applicant will also demonstrate its experience and competencies with external communication, from strategies for thoughtful engagement with key stakeholders to strategic engagement with publics on traditional and social media. The applicant will present its staffing structure and a proposed project staffing scenario, all of which should define the roles and responsibilities, and present a practical, functioning organizational structure that is consistent with the project approach.

Financial Capacity (40 points)

An applicant will be evaluated on the extent to which it has installed or is measurably installing financial controls and systems that accurately reflect the organization’s functioning, ensure transparency and controls in procurement process, and create an audit trail by which all receipts and expenditures can the traced, allocated and justified. This may also include evidence of organizational policies and procedures, such as a staff code of conduct or ethics, bank and cash management, segregation of staff duties, job descriptions, travel guidelines, competitive staff recruitment, procurement guidelines, and/or payroll systems. The applicant will also demonstrate that it is compliant with tax and labor laws. The applicant will provide evidence of having mobilized resources for similar projects, in scope financially, programmatically and/or geographically.

Clarification questions regarding evaluation criteria and the program’s goals should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line [NDI Election Observation Grant Request for Information] by January 16, 2017.

All proposal and attachments must be submitted in PDF format to [email protected] by January 22, 2017, with the subject line [NDI Election Observation Grant 2017].

All applications must be submitted with the following attachments:

• Federal Republic of Nigeria Registration Certificate;
• Proof of registration with Federal Inland Revenue Service;
• Recent project audit report;
• Recent annual activity reports;
• Board composition, organogram and curriculum of key staff and;
• Relevant organizational policies and procedures.