Research Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) Partner Pool Application

Research Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) Partner Pool Application

Tab 1: Eligibility Criteria

RTAC Partner Pool Members are required to be affiliated with a higher education institution. Affiliation with a higher education institution can include any form of employment or enrollment at a college or university. Affiliation can also include employment at a university-based research consortia or other organization that is affiliated with a higher education institution.

1. I am currently affiliated* with a higher education institution.

• Yes

• No

Tab 2: Personal and Contact Information

1. Name

• Prefix: ______________

• First Name: ___________

• Middle Name: ___________

• Family/Last Name: ___________

2. Gender

• Female

• Male

• Non-Binary/Third gender

• Rather not identify

3. Contact information

Please list the contact information for where you currently live.

1. City: ___________

2. Country: ___________

3. Primary Phone #: ___________

4. Secondary Phone #: ___________

5. Institutional email address: ___________

6. Alternative email address: ___________

Tab 3: Institutional Affiliation

Please fill out information below about the higher education institution you are affiliated with.

1. Name of Institution: ___________________________

2. Faculty/Department Name: ______________________

3. Location of Institution

• City: _________________

• State/Province: _______________

• Country: ____________________

4. Position

• Graduate Student

• Post-Doctoral Fellow

• Adjunct Professor

• Assistant Professor

• Associate Professor

• Professor

• Research Staff

• Scientist

• Scientist Staff

• Research Coordinator

• Researcher

• Technical Advisor

• Other: ____________

5. U.S. Minority Serving Institutions

U.S. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are a category of educational establishments (federally recognized Title IV colleges and universities) that meet certain enrollment criteria. MSIs include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). Please see the definitions of MSIs here.

• HBCU – Institutions founded prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that were created primarily to educate African-American students.

• Black-serving non-HBCU – Institutions that do not meet the legal definition of HBCU, but where African-American students constitute at least 25% of the total undergraduate enrollment.

• HSI - Institutions in which Hispanic students constitute at least 25% of the total undergraduate enrollment.

• AANAPISI – Institutions in which Asian American and Pacific Islander students constitute at least 25% of the total undergraduate enrollment.

• TCU – Institutions that qualify for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C. 640a note), or is cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note).

• Other MSI – Institutions that do not meet the criteria for any of the above categories, but where minority students constitute at least 50% of the total undergraduate enrollment.

Is the higher education institution with which you are affiliated a U.S. Minority Serving Institution (MSI)?

• Yes

• No

• Don’t know

Tab 4: Educational Background

Please list the highest degree you’ve earned. If you’ve earned multiple degrees at the same level, please include up to three degrees of an equivalent level.

• Degree Type

  • PhD

  • EdD

  • ABD

  • LLM

  • JD

  • Master’s Degree

  • Bachelor’s Degree

  • Other: _________

• Institution Name: ___________

• Country: ___________

• Field of Study: ___________

• Graduation date/expected graduation date: ___________

Tab 5: Language Fluency

Please indicate your language proficiency using the following numeric Interagency Language Roundtable levels (Foreign Service Institute Levels). Please indicate fluency for up to five languages. The following provides brief descriptions of proficiency levels 0-5. For more in-depth description of the levels refer to USAID ADS 438.

0 = No proficiency

• Speaking: Unable to function in the spoken language. Oral production is limited to occasional isolated words.

• Reading: No practical ability to read the language. Consistently misunderstands or cannot comprehend at all.

1 = Elementary proficiency

• Speaking: Able to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements and maintain very simple face-to-face conversations on familiar topics.

• Reading: Sufficient comprehension to read very simple connected written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript.

2 = Limited working proficiency

• Speaking: Able to satisfy routine special demands and limited work requirements.

• Reading: Sufficient comprehension to read simple, authentic written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript on familiar subjects within familiar contexts.

3= General professional proficiency

• Speaking: Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics.

• Reading: Able to read within a normal range of speed and with almost complete comprehension of a variety of authentic prose material on unfamiliar subjects.

4= Advanced professional proficiency

• Speaking: Able to use the language fluently and accurately on all levels normally pertinent to professional needs.

• Reading: Able to read fluently and accurately all styles and forms of the language pertinent to professional needs.

5= Functionally native proficiency

• Speaking: Speaking proficiency is functionally equivalent to that of a highly articulate well-educated native speaker and reflects the cultural standards of a country where the language is natively spoken.

• Reading: Reading proficiency is functionally equivalent to that of the well-educated native reader.

1. Language 1

• Language: ____________________________

• Speaking

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

• Reading

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

Tab 6: Technical Sector and Geographic Expertise and Research Experience

1. Technical sector expertise

RTAC pool members must be proficient in one or more of the technical sectors in which USAID works. More information about the technical sectors can be found here: https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do. Please choose all options that apply. Under each category you will be asked to indicate your years of experience conducting research in that sector.

• Agriculture and Food Security

  • Agricultural Chemistry

  • Agricultural Economics

  • Agricultural Education

  • Agricultural Engineering

  • Agricultural Markets and Trade

  • Agricultural Policy

  • Agroecology

  • Agronomy

  • Animal Science

  • Apiculture

  • Aquaculture

  • Food Safety

  • Food Science

  • Food Security

  • GMOs

  • Horticulture

  • Hydroponics

  • Irrigation

  • Nutrition

  • Plant Pathology

  • Plant Science

  • Soil Science

  • Sustainable Agriculture

  • Other (please specify): ______________

• Democracy, Human Rights and Governance

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Democracy and Governance

  • Foreign Policy

  • Global Policy

  • Human Development

  • Human Rights

  • International Development

  • International Migration

  • International Organizations

  • Nonproliferation

  • Political Economy

  • Political Philosophy

  • Public Administration

  • Public Policy

  • Rule of Law

  • Security Studies

  • Social Change

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Economic Growth and Trade

  • Behavioral Economics

  • Development Economics

  • Econometrics

  • Economic Diplomacy

  • Economic Policy

  • Emerging Economies

  • Game Theory

  • Import/Export Markets

  • International Economics

  • International Trade

  • Labor Economics

  • Macroeconomics

  • Microeconomics

  • Microfinance

  • Political Economy

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Education

  • Comparative Education

  • Curriculum and Instruction

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Educational Administration

  • Educational Psychology

  • Educational Technology

  • Elementary Education

  • Higher Education

  • International Education

  • Literacy

  • Multicultural Education

  • Secondary Education

  • Special Education

  • STEM Education

  • Vocational Education

  • Workforce Development

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Environment and Global Climate Change

  • Atmospheric Sciences

  • Biodiversity

  • Climatology

  • Climate Change

  • Conservation Biology

  • Ecology

  • Environmental Chemistry

  • Environmental Engineering

  • Forestry

  • Geosciences

  • Human Ecology

  • Meteorology

  • Natural Resource Management

  • Oceanography

  • Renewable Energy

  • Sustainable Land Management

  • Sustainable Tourism

  • Urban Ecology

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

  • Child Marriage

  • Educational Access

  • Empowering Women and Girls

  • Gender-Based Violence

  • Human Trafficking

  • Political Participation

  • Public Policy

  • Women’s Economic Growth

  • Women’s Health

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Global Health

  • Epidemiology

  • Family Planning

  • Global Health Security

  • Health Education

  • Health Financing

  • HIV and AIDS

  • Maternal and Child Health

  • Medical Anthropology

  • Nutrition

  • Pandemics

  • Reproductive Health

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Water and Sanitation

  • Disaster Risk Reduction

  • Hygiene

  • Irrigation

  • Natural Resources Management

  • Rainfed Agriculture

  • Stormwater Management

  • Sustainable Water and Sanitation

  • Urban Sanitation

  • Water Efficiency

  • Water Productivity

  • Watershed Sustainability

  • Other (please specify): _____________

• Working in Crises and Conflict

  • Anti-Terrorism/Anti-Extremism

  • Conflict Mitigation and Prevention

  • Disaster Assistance

  • Disaster Risk Reduction

  • Peacebuilding and Reconciliation

  • Political Transitions

  • Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies

  • Other (please specify): _____________

2. Experience with different research methods.

Please select the research methods, or approaches, that you are most comfortable with. Please select all that apply.

1. Qualitative

2. Quantitative

3. Mixed-methods

3. Do you have any evaluation experience? Check all that apply:

1. Performance Evaluation 

2. Impact Evaluation 

3. Neither 

4. Geographic expertise

RTAC pool members must have expertise in one or more of the countries in which USAID works. More can be found here: https://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work. Please choose all regions and countries that apply.

List of Regions

• In-Country Research

  • Yes

  • No

Tab 7: Knowledge about RTAC

1. Outreach methods

For the purpose of collecting data on our outreach methods, please provide information below on how you heard about the RTAC partner pool. Please choose all options that apply.

• Website (please specify): _______

• Internet search

• Colleague

• Listserv (please specify): __________

• Other (please specify): __________

2. Expectations

Please choose the options below that best describe your expectations for participating in the partner pool. Choose all that apply.

• Participate in USAID-funded research.

• Be connected to a network of researchers and higher education institutions worldwide.

• Exposure on social media for my research projects.

• Access to tools that will enhance my research and grant-writing skills.

• Participation in webinars to help me grow my professional network and increase my knowledge of USAID-funded research opportunities.

• Other: ______________

3. RTAC will promote collaboration and networking among Partner Pool members. Do you want your profile (name, affiliation, areas and geographic regions of expertise, and email) be available to other Partner Pool members?

• Yes

• No

Tab 8: Notifications and Attachments

1. DUNS number and SAM.gov Registration

If you are selected for a research opportunity, you must obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and register on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). A DUNS number is a unique nine-character number used to identify your institution. The U.S. government uses DUNS numbers to track how federal money is allocated. SAM.gov is an official U.S. government website where parties can register to do business with the U.S. government.

Please confirm that you have read this information and that you agree to apply for a DUNS number and register on SAM.gov if you are chosen for a research opportunity. RTAC will provide guidance and assistance for this process if needed.

2. CV or Resume

Please attach your CV or Resume.

Tab 9: Revision and submission

Please review your information and submit your application when finished. By submitting this application you consent to having the information you submitted here shared with the Research Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). General institutional affiliation and sector/regional expertise of the RTAC Partner Pool members will also be made available on the RTAC website.

Thank you!

The RTAC team will review your information and will contact you within 48 hours.

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