Water and Soil Accelerator

The Water and Soil Accelerator, funded by USAID, invites partnerships to apply for delivery grants ranging from $500,000 to $1,500,000 for up to three cropping seasons (starting in February 2025 and ending June 2027). These grants support collaborative interventions to enhance sustainable water and soil management in rainfed agricultural systems in Zambia and Malawi. The theory of change for this Accelerator is that increased infiltration or storage of rainwater through a series of interventions on- (e.g. soil enhancement practices) and off- field (e.g. green infrastructure) will lead to sustainable improvements in climate-resilient agricultural productivity and hydrology, enabling crop diversification, gains in income and nutrition, and enhanced availability of water for multiple uses.  Only partnerships are eligible; no single organization can apply independently. Proposals must demonstrate an integrated approach, addressing at least three thematic focus areas, and focus on rapid delivery, measurable improvements in agricultural and water productivity, water retention, and soil health, benefiting farmers and other value chain actors through integrated farm-to-landscape interventions.

The total funding pool is $10 million, and the Accelerator aims to fund between four and five applications. Funding will be split between the two priority countries with 60% on Zambia and 40% on Malawi, and with up to 3 awards for projects in Zambia and up to 2 awards for Malawi. Priority areas are Feed the Future (FTF) Zones of Influence (ZOIs) in Zambia’s Eastern and Central provinces and Malawi’s Southern and Central regions. However, the number of awards will be determined based on funding available and quality of proposals. The review process will be conducted in two stages:

1. Concept note submission
2. Full proposal submission

Selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals and may be asked to participate in a meeting to present the project proposal and discuss various aspects of the implementation plan. Negotiation with successful applicants and award contracting is expected to begin in December 2024-January 2025. Project implementation is expected to begin in February 2025, with exact timing to be determined based on the completion of negotiation and full execution of delivery grants.

Applicants must integrate at least three (preferably more) of the following thematic areas into their proposals, and proposals must clearly present integrated approaches:

1. Sustainable Water Management: Efficient and equitable water use and management from farm to landscape level.
2. Green Infrastructure: Nature-based solutions to enhance storage, infiltration, manage water flow, reduce erosion, and improve ecosystem health, including the potential for mechanization to support green infrastructure.
3. Enhancing Agronomy, Crop Type, and Coverage: Methods and approaches to improve crop management by incorporating climate-resilient crops and agricultural approaches which enhances soil health and water retention, infiltration or storage alongside productivity gains.
4. Capacity Building and Technical Support: Innovative capacity strengthening, dissemination, knowledge sharing and extension mechanisms for farmers, public and private sector partners in water, soil, and land management practices.
5. Collective Action on Natural Resource Management: Strengthening land, vegetation, and soil and water management through local institutions, private sector and cooperatives.
6. Climate Information Services and Risk Management: Providing farmers with access to climate information and early warning systems as well as enhancing the access to and availability of mitigating choices in production to ensure early action to climate warnings.
7. Enabling Environment, Financing, Investment and Stewardship: Supporting agricultural water stewardship and inclusive innovative financing mechanisms, including climate finance and microfinance, de-risking mechanisms, carbon credits etc.
8. Cross-cutting: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and Land Tenure and Rights: Ensuring equitable resource access, promoting gender equality and social inclusion, and securing customary or formal land tenure. This is a strategic theme that should be integrated into all activities, by ensuring that there are no unintended negative impacts on gender, inclusion and land tenure security for marginalized groups.

Proposals should include a governance and partnership section outlining how projects will work with government institutions, private sector and stakeholders at local and national levels. This includes clear roles and responsibilities for each partner. Applicants may serve as a lead (prime) on one proposal and as a sub-partner on another, enhancing the potential for diverse partnerships.

Grants are performance-based and subject to the submission and approval of annual work-plans. While the overall project duration is up to June 2027, sub-contracted partners can have varied activity durations (e.g., 12 months for specific partners).

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Impact Assessment (MELIA)

Robust data will be collected to report on implementation, results and impacts will be collected by each project. IWMI will coordinate and manage a centralized reporting system, to collect, validate and report on data collected throughout the partnerships. IWMI will also coordinate evaluation and learning components with support of the partnerships.  Learning questions are still TBD.  

Projects must include a robust MELIA framework to track progress on implementation, results and impacts using key indicators that will be collected and reported on annually to IWMI.  At a minimum, priority indicators will be collected for all partnerships and include:

• EG.3.2: Number of individuals participating in USG food security programs;
• EG.3.2-24: Number of individuals in the agricultural system who have applied improved management practices;
• EG.3.2-25: Number of hectares under improved management practices;
• EG.3-10, 11, 12: Yield of targeted agricultural commodities;
• EG 11-5 People supported to adapt to the effects of climate change;
• EG.3.1-15: Value of private sector investment leveraged for food security.
• HL 8.4-1 Finance mobilized for water.
• CUST-1: Number of climate-resilient varieties promoted;
• HL.8.5-2 Number of people benefiting from the adoption and implementation of measures to improve water resources management as a result of USG assistance;
• CUST-2: Number of people benefiting from improved soil/land management practices;
• CUST-3: Number of contacts receiving agricultural advisory messages through mass media;

Refer to the Feed the Future Indicator Handbook and Global Water Strategy Handbook  for more details on indicators. Additionally custom indicators that report on progress and results related to a specific partnership may be included.

Eligible applicants must apply as part of a consortium or partnership of organizations. 

These can include:

• For-profit businesses with legal registration in the target country and experience working in frontier and developing markets.
• Non-profit and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), research institutions, universities, registered farmer cooperatives, consulting firms, and commercial businesses, business/member associations and networks.
• Strategic partners, including government ministries and agencies, can be included as non-contracted partners.
• Applicants with relevant experience and qualifications to implement the proposed scope of work and to efficiently manage project tasks.

The majority of partners must be located and legally authorized to work in the target country.

Gender equality and social inclusion: Proposals should integrate gender and social inclusion (GESI) and assess land tenure risks across all programming interventions. 

• Consortia are encouraged to include a private sector partner.
• Consortia may propose a single lead or a co-lead arrangement.
• Applicants may submit more than one proposal as lead and/or as a consortium partner.
• Applicants may include one or more countries in a single proposal.
• Lead applicants must have a presence, experience and eligibility to operate legally in the region and/or country.
• Applicant businesses should have at least one year of experience and existing commercial viability in proposed technical areas and in the region and/or country.

Proposals should also demonstrate leverage by aligning with other donor activities or contributing cost share. Cost sharing must be measurable and contribute demonstrably to the achievement of desired results (e.g., financial contributions, unrecovered indirect costs, third party contributions, donated services, and contribution of various types of property).

• Pure academic research not directly aimed at improving water and land systems.
• Design of new equipment or machinery.
• Equipment procurement or construction without complementary, scalable interventions.
• Agricultural commodity procurement.
• Restricted commodities and services in accordance with 22CFR228.12.

Grants will range from $500,000 to $1,500,000, depending on the scope and scale of the proposal. Projects should be implemented over a 12 to 28-month period, starting with the October-November 2024 planting season as far as possible.

The evaluation follows a two-step process:

Step 1: Concept Note Submission 

The online portal in VC4A.com will guide you through the process and will tell you what information to submit. Applicants should note the information provided here is to enable applicants to prepare information to complete all components in the concept note application portal to qualify for funding. Applicants must submit a concept note (max 7 pages) covering the following:

1. Applicant Information
2. Technical Proposal
   • Intervention Design: 
   • Geographic Focus: 
   • Partnership Model:
   • Anticipated Impact and Expected Reach:
   • Sustainability and Scalability
   • Governance and Risk Management
3. Budget Summary

Applicants are encouraged to include cost-share and/or leveraged funds in the budget as an indication of the applicant’s commitment to the proposed activity.

Note that the budget for the concept note application is a summary. Applicants who are short-listed to move to the full proposal will be asked to provide a detailed budget with sufficient information to determine the reasonableness, allowability, and allocability of costs.

Concept Note Deadline: October 31, 2024.

Step 2: Full Proposal Submission

Selected concept notes will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals will be evaluated based on relevance, feasibility, and potential for rapid and scalable impact.

Full Proposal Deadline: December 31, 2024.

An evaluation committee (composed of IWMI and USAID representatives and external experts) will review and rate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria described below. The Accelerator reserves the right to prioritize which applicants receive funding or to not fund any of the applicants.

• Implementation Plan Viability: Proposals will be evaluated on the feasibility to implement the project and complete the proposed product(s) or service(s) on time. Reviews will consider if proposals have sufficiently recognized key risks and mitigating measures that may be taken. These risks may include but not be limited to: organizational structures/process, social context, market system, institutional and/or political conditions, economic conditions, business operating context, and maturity of partnerships.
• Integration of Thematic Areas: Proposals must demonstrate integration of at least three thematic focus areas and demonstrate how they link to each other.
• Partnership Strategy: Clear roles and collaboration mechanisms within the consortium. Proposals will be evaluated based on the proposed partnerships and the value of the partnerships for contributing to impacts (e.g., the Accelerator’s objectives, SDGs, GFSS/GWS goals, national or regional goals, and/or others high level aims). A priority is ensuring strong participation and leadership of at least one local partner; applicants should demonstrate an intentional approach to localization or inclusivity with priority given to activities that integrate and/or elevate a local partner(s). An additional priority is participation of a private partner (company, entrepreneur, producer group) that is registered and operating in the targeted region or country.
• Impact Potential: The scale of improvements in agricultural productivity and the number of farmers benefiting. Concept notes will be evaluated based on their ability to reach and benefit farmers and other value chain actors as well as demonstrate hectares under improved management. Attention should be given to how partnerships will deliver impact at scale and meet the targets set under the indicators selected. In addition, applications are expected to complement and support the U.S Government GFSS and GWS.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Efficient allocation of resources among partners to achieve outcomes. Proposed budgets will be evaluated based on best value. Notably, the budget line will be measured as: 1) the application demonstrates that resources will be applied in a way that will enable timely, effective achievement of proposed outputs, 2) the application demonstrates cost realism as the most probable cost of performance for the proposed technical and management approach.
• Gender equality and social inclusion: Proposals should integrate gender and social inclusion (GESI) and assess land tenure risks across all programming interventions. Applicants should also demonstrate an awareness of and response to stated needs of USAID target groups (e.g., poor farmers, bottom of the pyramid market segments, women, marginalized or minoritized groups, youth), and include an explicit strategy or approach to enable benefit for women, youth and/or marginalized or minoritized producers or other value chain actors within the system.