On Wednesday, April 23, approximately 100 people from civil society organizations throughout Serbia attended USAID’s post-solicitation conference for its newly announced Annual Program Statement, Serbian Civil Society Partners.  Through this APS - which is essentially a standing, year-long call for proposals -  USAID Serbia is soliciting applications from local NGOs to support democratic and economic development , with a funding range between $200-500,000.  The conference enabled potential applicants to learn about this mechanism and ask questions about USAID's grant making process, expanding understanding of how USAID does business and improving the chances of receiving quality proposals.  The Serbian Civil Society Partners APS is a key component of USAID Serbia's strategic shift to deliver all civil society assistance directly through local partners by  the end of 2014. The APS is publicly available here: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=APS-169-14-000001