Frequently Asked Questions - Grants and Grant Types

Program Development Grants have the following specifications:

• Maximum grant period: two years.
• Maximum grant amount: not to exceed the JD equivalent of US$200,000
• Allowable purpose: beneficiary activities which are consistent with both beneficiary and Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program objectives, particularly with respect to organizational and program development, policy analysis and advocacy, and membership services development for sustainability. Beneficiary activities must be an integral part of a Beneficiary’s long range Strategic Plan.
• Other specifications: the proposed program must become sustainable over the life of the funding registered in the Application. A Program Development Grant award will not necessarily preclude the beneficiary from also receiving other grant types.
• Allowable costs: these include, but are not limited to:
  
  • Seminars, workshops, conferences and other events put on by the Beneficiary;
  • Technical assistance services;
  • Training courses, including trainers, course materials, site costs, etc.;
  • Publications such as layout, printing, distribution, etc.;
  • Commodities such as computer equipment, software, audiovisual equipment, etc.;
  • Indirect costs of the beneficiary; and
  • international travel and related expenses
• Costs that are not allowable: the following costs are not allowable, reimbursable costs under Program Development Grants:
  
  • Any Beneficiary expenses that are not directly linked to, or integral to achievement of, the Beneficiaries proposed long-range Strategic Plan (overall long-range plan for beneficiary’s organization).
• Approval Required: Approval by USAID CTO and RCO
• Application type: Full application as described in Annex A-3
• Payment type: Fixed payments based on deliverables or funds advance/ Liquidation funds advanced and subsequently liquidated against allowable expenses supported by bona fide receipts from beneficiary

Grants	Type	USAID Approvals	Maximum Duration	Maximum Amount	Documentation Required	Payment Type
	Mini	CTO Approval	90 Days	Up to $25,000	Final Report	Expense Report/ Reimbursement
	Small	CTO (and RCO if equipment or International Travel)	Up to 1 Year	up to $100,000	Final Report	Expense Report/ Reimbursement
	Fixed Obligation	CTO Approval	Up to 1 Year	up to $200,000	Deliverables	Fixed Payments based on Deliverables
	Program Development	CTO and RCO Approval	Up to 2 Years	up to $200,000	Quarterly and Final Report	Fixed Payments based on Deliverables or Advance/ Liquidation

A Mini-Grant is a special category of small grant which has the following specifications:

• Maximum grant period: 90 days
• Maximum grant amount: not to exceed the JD equivalent of US$25,000
• Allowable purpose: Beneficiary activities which are consistent with both beneficiary and Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program objectives but which are not necessarily part of a Strategic Plan (overall long-range plan for beneficiary’s organization). These activities will tend to be one-off, stand alone activities
• Other specifications: The award of Mini-Grants will not necessarily preclude the Beneficiary from also receiving other grant types
• Allowable costs: Allowable costs include, but are not limited to:
  
  • Seminars, workshops, conferences and other events;
  • Technical assistance services;
  • Training courses, including the cost of trainers, course materials, site costs, etc.;
  • Publications and publication related costs such as layout, printing, distribution, etc.
• Costs that are not allowable: these costs include the following:
  
  • international travel,
  • commodities having a life of greater than one year and a cost of greater than $5,000
  • indirect beneficiary costs
  • Special costs such as international travel and commodities with a life of more than one year and value greater than $5000 are allowable with the agreement officer’s approval
• Approval required: approval by USAID CTO 
• Application type: short form application described in Annex A-2
• Payment type: reimbursement of allowable expenses supported by bona fide receipts from beneficiary

Fixed Obligation Grants, also known as FOG Grants, have the following specifications:

• Maximum grant period: 360 days
• Maximum grant amount: not to exceed the JD equivalent of US$200,000
• Allowable purpose: beneficiary activities which are consistent with both beneficiary and Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program objectives.
• Other specifications: a Fixed Obligation Grant schedule of disbursements must be associated with one or more very specific program benchmarks where there is a certainty about the cost of achieving the each benchmarks cost and where accomplishment each benchmarks by the Beneficiary is readily discernible in fact and in time. The schedule of disbursements reflects both the timing and the amount of beneficiary payments for the accomplishment of each benchmark, and it is therefore essential that the Grants Evaluation Committee be satisfied that there is sufficient cost history to negotiate the schedule of disbursements.
• Allowable costs: subject to the generally unallowable costs specified in subsection J.2.. below, there is no requirement for monitoring of types on magnitudes of the costs of the actual costs of achieving the benchmarks.
• Approval Required: approval by USAID Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO) which is dependent upon:
  • The ability to easily identify and quantify programmatic accomplishments or results in establishing grant benchmarks;
  • Limited risk that there will be changes to the program; and
  • Adequate cost (historical or unit pricing) available to determine and negotiate the schedule of disbursements.
• Application type: full application as described in Annex A-2  Payment type: payment made to beneficiary after presentation of accomplishment of milestones.

A Small Grant has the following specifications:

• Maximum grant period: 360 days
• Maximum grant amount: not to exceed the JD equivalent of US$100,000. Note that Mini-Grants, a sub-category of Small Grant discussed below, are limited to the Dinar equivalent of US$25,000.
• Allowable purpose: beneficiary activities which are consistent with both Beneficiary and Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program objectives but which are not necessarily part of a Strategic Plan (overall long-range plan for beneficiary’s organization). These activities will tend to be one-off, stand alone activities.
• Other specifications: The award of a Small Grants will not necessarily preclude the beneficiary from also receiving other grant types.
• Allowable costs: these include, but are not limited to:
  • Seminars, workshops, conferences and other events;
  • Technical assistance services;
  • Training courses, including the cost trainers, course materials, site costs, etc.;
  • Publications and publication related costs such as layout, printing, distribution, etc.
• Costs that are not allowable: indirect beneficiary costs - (Special costs such as international travel and commodities with a life of more than one year and value greater than $5000 are allowable with the agreement officer’s approval.)
• Approval required: approval by USAID CTO
• Application type: short form application described in Annex A-2
• Payment type: reimbursement of allowable expenses supported by bona fide receipts from beneficiary

There are four basic types of grants available from the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program. All require approval from the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program and USAID’s CTO. They differ from each other by purpose, size, duration, payment method, and other aspects. The four types of grants that may be awarded under the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program include:

• Mini-Grants
• Small Grants
• Fixed Obligation Grants
• Program Development Grants

A grants program will allow the contractor to provide funds to various organizations for internal strengthening/institution building as well as to support activities of potentially viable organizations. Each of the components will have a public outreach element whereby the local community will be provided information on how the various programs affect and improve their lives. A strong monitoring and evaluation and impact assessment unit will be created under the project that will establish baselines, targets and measure results for the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program, while also strengthening the capacity of ASEZA and ADC to measure results.

The Grants Program is one of the mechanisms that will be used to achieve ACED’s objectives. These funds are to be used for grants to entities that provide support to non-governmental organizations, business associations, professional organizations, and universities, training institutions, and consulting firms that implement programs contributing to ACED’s goals and results. The Grants Program is to become an important resource for stimulating innovation, sector growth and strengthening institutions.

A grant is a funding mechanism whereby funds are provided to eligible organizations to carry out activities that are consistent with the objectives of the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program and of its components. Grant funds do not have to be paid back to the Aqaba Community and Economic Development Program if the funds are properly used to implement the program for which the funds were provided in a manner fully consistent with this Handbook.