USAID’s Higher Secondary Education Activity (HSEA) Activity | 7203882300005

Opportunity Information: Apply for 7203882300005

USAID's Higher Secondary Education Activity (HSEA) Activity is a competitive funding opportunity issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Bangladesh through the USAID-Dhaka office. The activity is centered on strengthening teaching quality in Bangladesh's higher secondary colleges, with the larger goal of improving student learning outcomes and helping more students successfully transition into university. The mechanism for this award is a Cooperative Agreement, which typically means the recipient would implement the program while working closely with USAID, including regular coordination, oversight, and collaboration on key decisions and performance monitoring.

The core purpose of HSEA is to improve the quality of classroom instruction for higher secondary students by investing in the people and systems that shape teaching and school leadership. A major emphasis is on enhancing teachers' professional skills and capabilities, which can include practical pedagogy, subject-matter teaching approaches, classroom management, formative assessment, and student-centered methods that support stronger comprehension rather than rote learning. Alongside teacher development, the activity also prioritizes the development and improvement of teacher training materials, indicating that USAID expects not just one-off trainings but structured content and resources that can be used consistently, adapted over time, and potentially scaled across institutions.

Another central pillar of the activity is strengthening leadership and supervision within the higher secondary education system. This includes building the capacity of principals and vice principals, as well as education officials, to provide stronger instructional leadership and more effective oversight. In practice, this could involve improving how school leaders mentor and evaluate teachers, how they use data to identify learning gaps, how they organize professional development, and how supervisory structures support consistent teaching standards across colleges. The intent is to improve not only individual teaching practices but also the institutional environment that enables better instruction to take root and last.

For students, the expected benefits are framed in terms of improved teaching and learning in higher secondary colleges, better academic preparation, and stronger readiness for university entrance and admission. The opportunity explicitly links improved instructional quality to downstream student success, suggesting that USAID views higher secondary education as a critical bridge between secondary schooling and higher education, and that improvements at this level can meaningfully affect students' ability to compete for and succeed in university placements.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is identified by Funding Opportunity Number 7203882300005 and falls under the Education activity category with CFDA number 98.001. The award ceiling is up to USD 40,000,000, and USAID anticipated making one award, meaning this is intended as a single large implementation effort rather than multiple smaller grants. The opportunity was posted on January 5, 2023, with an original closing date of February 19, 2023, indicating the application window was time-limited and aligned with USAID's standard competitive procurement and assistance timelines.

Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, other than institutions of higher education. In other words, the eligible applicant pool is defined in a specific way that can include certain non-U.S. nonprofits and organizations that are not recognized as 501(c)(3) charities, while carving out an exception related to institutions of higher education. Overall, HSEA is designed as a high-value, system-strengthening education investment focused on teacher quality, training materials, and leadership capacity, with a clear student-facing aim of improved learning outcomes and more successful pathways into university.

• The Agency for International Development, Bangladesh USAID-Dhaka in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "USAID’s Higher Secondary Education Activity (HSEA) Activity" 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 Jan 05, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 19, 2023. (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 $40,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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