2005 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN GRANT MANAGEMENT

UNCLAS AMMAN 004252 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/PPD; IMEYEROFF A/OPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASUP AMGT APER SUBJECT: 2005 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN GRANT MANAGEMENT REF: STATE 32354 ¶1. Post nominates Thair Shraideh, Program Management Specialist, for the Federal Assistance Excellence Award for Foreign Service Nationals. ¶2. Justification: In the last three fiscal years (FY02 - FY04),Thair drafted and administered over $2 million dollars in grants, many of them generated by the Middle East Partnership (MEPI) or PASA funds granted by USAID to the Public Affairs Section. These grants supported high-profile programs, which advanced our reform and public diplomacy goals in Jordan and the region. A good example was the Media and Good Governance Conference undertaken by the Center for the Defense of the Freedom of Journalists under the patronage of King Abdullah. There is no let-up in sight. Grants for this fiscal year are expected to be close to one million dollars. The number of executed grants, most of which went to NGOs and other civic organizations, totaled 138 grants in the amount of $600 - $200,000 each. These grants supported conferences, workshops and multi-phase exchange programs that strengthened civil society, press freedom, women's empowerment and other goals defined by President Bush under the Arab Reform agenda. ¶3. Justification continued: In addition, during the last year, Thair also drafted and managed travel grants for hundreds of individual Iraqi International Visitors and other USG-funded Iraqi travelers amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. These programs were a key component of our efforts to rebuild Iraq. Thair's work went far beyond clerical duties or bookkeeping. After evaluating the proposal concept in coordination with American officers from the Mission's MEPI committee, he helped negotiate the budget and counseled the successful grantees on their reporting and follow-up obligations. Through shrewd bargaining and extensive knowledge of local cost structures, he saved the USG thousands of dollars. In addition to the grants managed by the Public Affairs Section, Thair drafts and clears most of the grants issued by other Mission offices, for example the Political Section, and guides them on government regulations. Thair handles the grants workload in addition to a wide range of other responsibilities, from overseeing the administration of our American Language Center to managing the 2 million dollar Public Affairs budget. HALE