For Applicants | Focus Areas | Multiple Countries / Family Planning and Reproductive Health Applicant Resources Apply Application Process Eligibility Focus Areas Find a USG-Supported Partner Frequently Asked Questions PDF version of RFA (Request for Applications) Eligible Countries: ASIA Afghanistan Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Philippines SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Benin Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Liberia Madagascar Malawi Mali Mozambique Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Tanzania Uganda Zambia  LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Haiti Additional Criteria for Applicants: Please see Section V of the Solicitation for General Eligibility requirements.For this focus area, applicants must be based at or have an affiliation with an institution of higher education (university), non-profit organization (NGO), or government-managed research laboratory, center, or institute in one of the PEER-eligible countries listed above. PEER does not support clinical trials research. All projects that involve interaction with patients, human subjects’ data, or other personally identifiable information will require a protocol review coordinated by the National Academies. They will also be required to have and maintain a Federal Wide Assurance (FWA), which is a number issued to institutions by the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), whereby an institution commits to DHHS that it will comply with certain standards for research involving human subjects. Further details are available through the following link. In addition, such projects must also have Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval of their proposed activities to confirm that they comply with the legal and ethical standards for human subjects’ research in the country where the project is being carried out. Because the process of obtaining the FWA and IRB approval can be lengthy, applicants must already have these approvals at the time they submit their pre-proposals. U.S. Partner Eligibility  In addition to the standard eligibility requirements for U.S. Government-Supported Partners described in Section V of the Solicitation for General Eligibility requirements, applicants under this focus area are also encouraged to partner with U.S. university recipients (including prime awardees and sub-awardees) of USAID family planning and reproductive health funding. More information about current USAID funded programs and partners can be found in the latest User's Guide to USAID/Washington Health Programs. Objectives: As the world's largest family planning bilateral donor, USAID is committed to supporting countries to enhance their capacity and commitment to ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being of their populations at all ages (Sustainable Development Goal 3). More specifically, USAID supports countries to make progress towards the goal of ensuring universal access to reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning services, and the integration of reproductive health in national strategies and programs. This is achieved through supporting programs that enable women of reproductive age (15-49 years) to have their need for family planning satisfied with modern family planning methods and allow adolescents to delay onset of sexual activity and child bearing through the use of age and culturally appropriate information and services. USAID has been a core partner of Family Planning 2020 and has worked with the global community on the goal of reaching an additional 120 million women and girls with family planning information, commodities and services by 2020. Under the PEER Family Planning and Reproductive Health focus area, the PEER program will award funds to a limited number of highly competitive, novel research projects from PIs in PEER-eligible countries (see above) that help increase the demand for, inform decision-making related to, and improve access to high-quality voluntary family planning information, services, and reproductive health care services. More specifically, PEER is seeking to support research that strengthens the evidence base in voluntary family planning and reproductive health that can be used to inform policy-makers, program administrators, and communities. Where applicable, research should include and address the roles of parents and other family members, men and boys, communities, and faith-based institutions in access to and use of family planning services. PIs from a variety of academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applicants should propose the use of appropriate and rigorous methods to respond to a research question of interest to stakeholders in their country or region. PEER will support primary and secondary data analysis and research questions may be explored utilizing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods research design. Applications proposing secondary data analyses may use data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Service Provision Assessments (SPA), or other readily available datasets resulting in publication-quality research papers that can inform and influence policies and programs. Family Planning and Reproductive Health research areas may include, but are not limited to: Voluntary uptake and scale up of proven family planning interventions Activities that foster expansion and institutionalization of family planning interventions and services Methods or innovations that increase access to and use of voluntary family planning services and integrate those services with other health and development activities Interventions that promote integration of family planning with maternal and child health services, HIV/AIDS and STI programs and into routine health care in rural and urban poor communities Innovations in engaging the private sector in the provision of family planning Innovative financing mechanisms to expand access and increase affordability Understanding and addressing social norms that impact uptake and access to and use of family planning services Identifying and addressing barriers that underlie non-use of family planning services and methods among women Better understanding of the conditions that contribute to greater efficiencies for quality family planning programs Tools and approaches that advance understanding of social norms and inform appropriate design and implementation of cost-effective interventions that support self-efficacy and agency for women to access and use contraception More information about USAID’s Family Planning and Reproductive Health programming can be found at: https://www.usaid.gov/global-health/health-areas/family-planning. Consistent with the goals of PEER, applicants should outline how their research findings will lead to development-related policy or programmatic change. All projects must also contribute to USAID higher education objectives by strengthening engagement with junior researchers and undergraduate/graduate students. Proposals that include multidisciplinary research teams, multi-country collaboration, and/or engagement with policy actors and other development stakeholders such as NGOs are desired, but not required. Once selected, awardees will need to submit proof of institutional or country ethics review and approval or exemption. Country specific USAID health objectives are articulated in USAID Regional and Country Development Cooperation Strategies (RCDS and CDCS). Applicants should closely read the appropriate RDCS and/or CDCS, and USAID Mission website in the country or countries where the PEER project will take place before submitting a proposal. Proposed research projects must also adhere to the requirements of the USAID Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy. Duration of Project: Projects should be designed to be implemented in one to three years with budgets of $40,000 to $80,000 (USD) per year for one institution (single institution award) and $100,000 (USD) per year for awards involving support for more than one institution (multiple institution awards). Proposals received for projects greater than three years in length will not be considered for funding. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.