The USAID Rule of Law Program in Georgia is a five-year, $25 million activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI). The goal of the USAID Rule of Law Program is to strengthen the rule of law in Georgia by building the independence and effectiveness of justice sector institutions, enhancing access to justice for all segments of society, and increasing citizen and institutional oversight of justice sector institutions.

One of the main focuses of the Rule of Law Program is improving quality of legal education in Georgia by supporting academic institutions strengthen teaching and curricula at university level. 

Background

One way to help strengthen the rule of law in Georgia is to assist the country’s legal education system to produce high quality legal professionals who are better equipped to promote justice. Most universities are concentrated in Tbilisi, with a variety of extracurricular activities and opportunities for professional growth offered to students and law professors. Meanwhile, disparities are observed at regional university law schools. Only a handful of opportunities are available in regions to enhance the knowledge of students and local law professors in human rights and improve their practical skills. 

The USAID Rule of Law Program seeks to provide grants to enhance the capacity of regional universities in Georgia. The applicants are expected to work towards: a) developing or updating practical skills-related training (e.g., legal writing, advocacy, etc.) and human rights educational courses (in such areas as environmental law and justice, child rights, etc.) using innovative approaches or computer-mediated legal education programs; b) enhancing teaching methodologies and facilitating professor exchanges, peer-to-peer experience sharing and co-teaching opportunities among leading Tbilisi-based and regional universities and/or different regional universities.

The above lists of activities are illustrative. Applicants are encouraged to propose innovative activities they think will support the goal of enhancing capacities of regional universities by peer-to-peer experience sharing, as well as forging partnerships between academia and various legal actors, including the Bar and judiciary.

Eligibility

Any state or private Georgian university having a law faculty may apply. Regional universities may apply independently, while for Tbilisi-based universities collaboration with at least one regional university law school in carrying out the above project is obligatory. Priority will be given to those applications that do not have current funding from the Program. For the list of Program’s supported grant activities please visit the link.

Grant Funds

The USAID Rule of Law Program will consider grant funding requests of up to $35,000 for a 12 to 15-month project.

The following program activities cannot be supported by the USAID Rule of Law Program:

1. Support for or lobbying on behalf of a particular political party;

2. Religious activities;

3. Capital construction projects;

4. Translation of textbooks or any legal materials;

5. Subscription fees for online platforms;

6.Theoretical research;

7. Individual or group travel grants.

Selection criteria

The following general criteria will be used to assess the projects:

1. Degree of compliance with the Program objectives (20%)

2. Scope and relevance of the project’s impact (20%)

3. Effectiveness of project methodology, use of innovative approaches (20%)

4. Cost-effectiveness of the project (10%) 

5. Sustainability of the project (please note that sustainability can refer to activities, structures, knowledge, and outcomes that result from the project implementation) (20%) and

6. Capacity to implement the project (10%)

Selection Process

Interested universities should submit a completed USAID Rule of Law Program: a) Grant Concept Form, and b) Budget form, itemizing the costs to be covered by the grant and cost share provided by the applicant. All documents must be submitted in English or Georgian languages. The Rule of Law Program may require additional information from applicants.

Shortlisted applications will be contacted to submit the full application for the next stage of the selection process.

The Rule of Law Program reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.

Competition Timeline

Competition Announcement: October 30, 2023

Submission of Questions regarding the above RFA: November 6, 2023

Answers to submitted questions: November 10, 2023

(answers will be provided on the USAID Rule of Law Program Facebook

Deadline for Proposal Submission: November 30, 2023

Proposals and written questions should be submitted to the following email address: info.rolp@ewmi.org 

Subject line should indicate: RFA: Legal Education.