Bringing Research to Impact for Development, Global Engagement, and Utilization (BRIDGE-U) | 7200AA20APS00005 ADDENDUM

Opportunity Information: Apply for 7200AA20APS00005 ADDENDUM

Bringing Research to Impact for Development, Global Engagement, and Utilization (BRIDGE-U) is a USAID Global Development Lab funding opportunity issued as an addendum to the agency's FY2018-FY2019 Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnership (STIP) Annual Program Statement (APS) No. 7200AA18APS00003. The core purpose is to work with local higher education institutions in USAID partner countries to move existing research beyond publication and into real-world use, while also generating practical learning about how research utilization actually happens and what makes it effective.

The opportunity is built around the idea that many valuable research outputs already exist, but they often do not translate into policy change, program improvements, or scaled solutions. BRIDGE-U is meant to strengthen the pathways that connect research producers to the people and institutions that can apply evidence in practice, such as government agencies, service providers, civil society groups, and the private sector. At the same time, the program aims to expand the evidence base on research-to-use processes by documenting, testing, and sharing approaches that help research outputs get adopted, adapted, and sustained in development contexts.

USAID is offering this opportunity as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the agency expects to have substantial involvement during implementation, such as collaborative planning, active technical engagement, and joint learning. The funding activity category is education, reflecting the focus on higher education institutions and the systems that support knowledge generation and use. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 98.001 and is categorized as "Other" rather than a standard grant competition format, since it is an addendum under an existing APS mechanism.

In terms of scale, the award ceiling is $15,000,000 total, with an anticipated two awards. That structure suggests USAID expected to fund a small number of relatively large, multi-country or multi-institution efforts, or a couple of substantial initiatives with enough resources to build institutional capacity, develop partnerships, and generate transferable learning products. The posting indicates an original closing date of January 31, 2020, and a creation date of December 12, 2019.

Eligibility is noted as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full text of the addendum. However, the description makes clear that the intended primary partners are local higher education institutions located in USAID partner countries. In practice, this commonly implies that local universities and research institutions would be central implementers or co-leads, potentially working with additional partners to strengthen uptake channels, engage end users, and capture lessons about what works to turn research into impact.

Overall, BRIDGE-U can be understood as a research utilization and institutional strengthening effort: it is not primarily about funding new research, but about unlocking the value of research that already exists by improving how it is communicated, translated into usable forms, matched to decision-maker needs, and embedded into policies and programs. At the same time, it emphasizes learning-by-doing to better understand the utilization process itself, so that successful methods can be replicated and improved across development settings.

• The Agency for International Development in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bringing Research to Impact for Development, Global Engagement, and Utilization (BRIDGE-U)" 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 Dec 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 31, 2020. (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 $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 7200AA20APS00005 ADDENDUM

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