U.S. Department of State, Bureau of NEA announces Tomorrow’s Leaders College-to-Work Pipeline Pilot Program

Deadline: 19 July 2019

The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs’ Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to enhance and expand leadership training opportunities for students from MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

The Tomorrow’s Leaders program (TL) is an existing leadership training program that provides scholarships for capable and highly motivated high school seniors in the Middle East and North Africa who are from underserved backgrounds, to attend college at an American-accredited university in the Middle East.

The Tomorrow’s Leadership College-to-Work Program Pilot will provide a pipeline for Tomorrow’s Leaders students to find meaningful employment upon graduation.

Objectives

The overall goals of the Tomorrow’s Leaders Pipeline program are as follows:

Building partnerships with private, public, and non-governmental sector organizations across the MENA region to match TL students with employment opportunities related to their field of study.
Incentivizing employers to increase opportunities and preparedness for youth leadership in the MENA region.

Project Design

NEA/AC seeks projects that will pilot a pipeline to employment for TL students in their fields of study. Successful proposals will identify partners in the private sector, public sector, and nonprofit/NGO sector based in the MENA region that share the common purpose of preparing future leaders beyond the academic component of the TL program. Similar models of leadership development programs include the Boren Fellowship or the Presidential Management Fellowship program, which focus on training emerging leaders in public service. Funds are available to support a project that would:

Identify MENA-based partnering organizations in private, public, and non-governmental sectors connecting to the goals of TL students in various fields of study.
Work with TL universities in selecting, screening, and guiding students to participate in fellowship opportunities that build their career path after graduation.
Develop opportunities with collaborating organizations to produce a shift in the workplace environment that will create space for youth leadership and incorporate their innovative contributions.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000
Estimated Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Estimated Award Floor: $800,000
Estimated Length of Project Period: 18 months

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include:
- U.S. or foreign
  - Non-profit organizations;
  - For-profit organizations;
  - Private institutions of higher education;
  - Public or state institutions of higher education;
  - Public international organizations;
NEA/AC strongly encourages applications from organizations headquartered in the Middle East and North Africa region. International non-governmental organizations with principal bases of operations outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply, but the percentage of total budget actually spent in the region will be among the elements of evaluation for this competition.
NEA/AC is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. NEA/AC welcomes applications irrespective of an applicants’ race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. We encourage applications from organizations working with underserved communities, including women, people with disabilities, and youth.