Elections Integrity Activity in Serbia | 72016923RFA00002

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72016923RFA00002

The Elections Integrity Activity in Serbia is a USAID/Serbia funding opportunity designed to strengthen the integrity of elections and encourage substantive improvements to the country s electoral framework. Issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Serbia (USAID Belgrade), the opportunity seeks to fund one local organization or a coalition of local organizations to carry out domestic election observation for both national and local elections, while also advancing efforts that lead to meaningful electoral reform. The overall approach combines hands on monitoring of the election process with targeted reform work, and it explicitly leaves room for innovative methods that can help achieve real change in how elections are administered and trusted.

The activity is built around two core objectives. First, it aims to increase election integrity by supporting domestic monitoring across the entire electoral cycle, not just on election day. That typically implies observation and reporting before, during, and after elections, which can include tracking the pre election environment, candidate and campaign conditions, media and information dynamics, the conduct of election administration, polling and counting procedures, and the resolution of complaints or disputes. By emphasizing monitoring throughout the cycle, the opportunity signals that credibility and integrity are shaped by many interconnected stages and that observation should capture patterns, not isolated incidents.

Second, the activity seeks to promote meaningful electoral reform. In practice, that can include generating evidence based recommendations drawn from observation findings, engaging stakeholders on reforms, and encouraging changes that address weaknesses revealed by monitoring. The mention of innovative ways to achieve reform suggests USAID is interested not only in traditional advocacy and policy dialogue, but also in creative strategies that can broaden public understanding, improve accountability, or support reform coalitions in ways that produce tangible outcomes. The core idea is to link credible, systematic observation to practical reform efforts rather than treating observation and reform as separate tracks.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which generally means USAID expects a higher level of engagement with the recipient during implementation than with a standard grant. The funding opportunity number is 72016923RFA00002. It falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category and is associated with CFDA number 98.001. The opportunity was created on January 27, 2023, with an original closing date of March 17, 2023. USAID anticipated making one award, with an award ceiling of up to 2,000,000 dollars.

Eligibility is listed broadly as Others, with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice. However, the description makes clear that USAID is looking specifically for a local Serbian organization or a coalition of local organizations, signaling a preference for domestic capacity and locally led implementation. Overall, the opportunity funds a single implementation structure to conduct credible domestic election monitoring at national and local levels and to translate monitoring results into reform oriented work intended to improve election integrity in Serbia.

• The Agency for International Development, Serbia USAID-Belgrade in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Elections Integrity Activity in Serbia" 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 Jan 27, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 17, 2023. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 72016923RFA00002

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