The United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam (USAID/Vietnam) is seeking applications from qualified entities to implement the "USAID Reducing Pollution" activity. The overall objective of this activity is to reduce environmental pollution in targeted areas through a collective impact approach. The USAID Reducing Pollution project supports Vietnam’s efforts to address environmental pollution challenges
in targeted areas through a collective impact approach. Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment’s Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), the project will demonstrate clear
connections between environmental benefits and other social benefits, including public health, employment, and
sustainable economic growth.
COLLECTIVE IMPACT APPROACH
A collective impact approach addresses complex challenges by mobilizing diverse actors to collaborate, identify
ways to solve a shared problem, and take action based on their roles and comparative advantages. The USAID
Reducing Pollution project will follow the collective impact framework to strengthen networks of local
organizations, government, private sector, and academic institutions working together to prevent, mitigate, and
reduce environmental pollution.
SUPPORTING A PORTFOLIO OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT INITIATIVES
The project will facilitate a broad consultative process with local government officials, community leaders, local
organizations, and motivated businesses to identify 5-7 priority collective impact initiatives that reflect strong
political will, community leadership, and engagement from private sector partners to address environmental
pollution challenges. Preliminary consultations have identified air pollution and ocean plastics as areas of focus.
GRANT-MAKING TO VIETNAMESE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
To foster Vietnamese leadership in addressing environmental pollution, the project will make grants to a local
organization to serve as the “backbone” for each collective impact initiative. These backbone organizations will
serve as the local leaders for each initiative by building public support, advancing policy, leveraging additional
funding, and designing and implementing targeted awareness and behavior change campaigns. Additional small
grants to local research institutions and community-based organizations will provide targeted support for
complementary research and advocacy efforts.
EXPECTED RESULTS
Through the Reducing Pollution project, USAID expects to attain the following results:
1) 5-7 collective impact initiatives launched, including air pollution and ocean plastics;
2) Grants awarded to one backbone organization to lead each initiative;
3) Capacity of backbone organizations and local actors strengthened to advance collective impact initiatives;
4) Sustainable funding mechanisms identified to strengthen long-term effectiveness of collective impact
initiatives; and
5) New policies and guidance developed to support the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection and create a
stronger enabling environment for addressing environmental pollution challenges.