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Friday, January 25, 2002 US Contact: Nancy Coan, Senior Program Officer [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> Russia contact: Gennady Podolnyi, Program Manager [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> IREX LAUNCHES NEW PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM IN RUSSIA Washington, DC-IREX announces a new, three-year, $3-million dollar partnerships program designed to support social and economic development in the Volga Federal District of the Russian Federation. The Partnerships, Networking, Empowering, and Rollout (PartNER) program, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is the newest stage in the development of Russian-American partnership projects. The PartNER program supports a variety of partnership initiatives to strengthen democratic society and broaden opportunities for cooperation. The PartNER program focuses on three strategic sectors: * Social reform; * Local governance and economic development; and * Rule of law. The project will support three types of partnerships: existing partnerships between US and Russian organizations; new partnerships between US and Russian organizations; and rollout partnerships between Russian organizations. The rollout partnerships are designed to replicate best practices and innovative models resulting from previous partnership experiences. During the course of the PartNER program, IREX will conduct four rounds of targeted grants competitions. A Request for Application (RFA) will be released at the end of January to launch the first of these competitions. This round is intended solely for currently existing partnerships between US and Russian organizations. Under Round 1, IREX plans to award a total of nine grants of up to a maximum of $100,000 each. All PartNER projects will be implemented within the Volga Federal District. IREX is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. Central to its mission is the empowering of individuals and institutions to participate meaningfully in civil society. IREX administers programs between the United States and the countries of Eastern Europe, the New Independent States, Asia, and the Near East. For more information on the PartNER program, visit www.irex.org/volgapartner <http://www.irex.org/volgapartner> .