Deadline: 22 May 2020
The U.S. Consulate General, Public Affairs Section in Chennai is soliciting proposals for a grant/cooperative agreement from legally recognized non-profit, non-governmental organizations that meet U.S. and Indian technical and legal requirements to develop and implement public diplomacy programs.
This project aims to educate and inspire Indian law students on the subject of the U.S. and Indian Constitutions, providing the opportunity for comparative review of their respective foundational documents.
This funding opportunity builds on the momentum of the 2019 debate competition in South India with a FY20 “U.S.-India Comparative Constitutional Law 2.0” project that entails a series of workshops featuring U.S. and Indian Constitutional legal scholars. This project will comprise up to eight workshops with 50 students each from National and Government Law Universities in India underscoring shared values and the importance of civil rights and responsibilities.
The program aims to inspire public deliberations culminating in a greater awareness about U.S. and Indian constitutional law. The program hopes to involve the top 16 students who were the awardees of the 2019 debate project and leverage their influence among peers to further discussion and activities. The program will also connect with institutions like the National Constitution Center in the United States to educate, promote, and spread awareness about the U.S. Constitution and serve as a conduit to engage India students via Skype with their peers in the United States. It will provide opportunities for vice-chancellors of relevant Indian universities to collaborate with their counterparts at U.S. law universities to foster exchanges of faculty, students, and resources.
Project Goal: Increase participation of youth leaders and law students on civil rights, civic responsibility, and active citizenship through increased knowledge on the U.S. and Indian Constitutions.
Project Objectives: The increase in knowledge and change in attitudes of the law students can be measured using both qualitative and quantitative pre- and post-survey tools, including questionnaire, focus group discussions, and case studies. By the end of the eight-month project period:
- Increase by 50 percent the knowledge of 400 law students and youth leaders about the U.S. and Indian constitutional laws, as measured by pre- and post-tests.
- Increased civic participation and active citizenship of youth in India as evidenced by social media and press reports.
- Increased engagement of Indian students with peers in the United States to share knowledge, perspectives, and best practices as evidenced by results measured via focus group discussions at the four centers.
- Increased partnerships between Indian and U.S. law universities including increased exchanges of students, faculty, and resources, as evidenced by project reports and the number of exchanges that can be measured at each university during a 12-month period.
- Increased number of Indian law students seeking legal and higher education in the United States, as evidenced by a closeout survey to measure the number of students seeking higher education in the United States law schools, and reports including media analysis.
- Increased number of Indian law students seeking legal and higher education in the United States, as evidenced by a closeout survey to measure the number of students seeking higher education in the United States law schools, and reports including media analysis.
Project Deliverables
- Eight (8) U.S.-India Comparative Constitutional Law workshops involving 50 law students each, for a total of 400 students.
- Eight (8) virtual/video group sessions with American law students.
Project Audience: Law students across India, alongside their professors and university officials.
Funding Information
Maximum Award Amount: $60,000
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Think tanks
- Public and private educational institutions
- Individuals
- Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
- Please choose organization nationality and type: International Not-for-Profit Organization.
- Organizations may sub-contract with other entities, but only one, non-profit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient of the award. When sub-contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
- Cost sharing or matching is not required for this funding opportunity.
- Pre-award costs are not an allowable expense for this funding opportunity.
Applicants must ensure:
- All documents are in English
- All budgets are in U.S. dollars and calculated @ USD 1 = INR 68
- All pages are numbered
- All materials are submitted in .pdf format
- Applicant has read the Standard Terms and Conditions applicable to all Grants and Cooperative agreements. Included in the package here.
- Forms SF-424, SF-424A and SF-424B are completed and submitted with the application. These forms are included in the package.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325693
