Iraq—Rapid Assistance Program (IRAP); Quick Response Fund (IQRF)

Provincial Reconstruction Teams were the civilian-military teams established in 2005 to provide direct assistance to local Iraqi governments and communities. Most teams did not have the capacity to rapidly develop and deliver this assistance. Our management teams enabled grants to be generated with the speed, ease, and flexibility required by reconstruction teams to quickly satisfy Iraqi expectations. Beneficiaries included media, medical and legal organizations, farmers, and others. In April 2010, the follow-up project, IQRF, was launched with funding and oversight by the U.S. Department of State.

Sample Activities

• Facilitate hundreds of grants under nonpermissive, insecure, and austere conditions with accountability through our administration, logistics, procurement, and financial support.
• Monitor grant effectiveness and impact.
• Research potential grantees to determine grant worthiness, and develop and maintain a field grants database.

Select Results

• Led a countrywide voter education project that helped inspire nearly 12 million voters to participate and vote in the March 2010 election.
• Helped farmers modernize neglected water supply systems and improve farmland.
• Increased legal literacy—a key step in promoting the rule of law—through public workshops, individual consultations, and distribution of law handbooks and other resources.
• Established state-of-the-art computer labs at the Mustansriya University College of Law, where more than 1,000 law school students and teachers were trained to use online electronic research and legal resources.
• Informed Iraqi minority men and women about women’s legal rights through media, art, and workshops.
• Created and broadcast short television episodes with commentary by Iraqi lawyers to inform citizens about legal, civil, and human rights, with a focus on such issues as corruption, terrorism, sectarian hatred, and free speech.