U.S. Embassy Argentina PAS announces Public Diplomacy Grants Program

Deadline: 31 December 2019

The U.S. Embassy Argentina Public Affairs Section (PAS) has announced the availability of funding through its Public Diplomacy Grants Program.

The Grants Program supports projects proposed by U.S. and Argentine academic, cultural, educational, and other non-profit organizations and/or individuals that fulfill U.S. Embassy goals and objectives: to promote economic prosperity and security through academic and cultural initiatives seeking to increase understanding between U.S. and Argentine people and institutions.

Topics

The Grants Program assists organizations in carrying out programs, providing new opportunities for citizen engagement, sharing best practices, and promoting and advancing issues of public importance, focused on the following topics:

Entrepreneurship;
English language teaching and learning; (priority: training secondary school teachers of underserved populations and English language teaching in institutions of higher education);
Democracy;
Transparency and the Rule of Law;
Cultural, artistic, and athletic activities (priority: those aimed at improving social inclusion)
Science and technology cooperation;

Priority Audiences

Emerging voices, including civil society leaders;
Business leaders and entrepreneurs;
Established opinion leaders, including cultural and/or academic institution leadership;
Residents of Argentine provinces outside of the city of Buenos Aires.

Funding Information

Award Ceiling: $100,000
Award Floor: $10,000

Activities

Activities not typically approved include, but are not limited to:

Investments that primarily benefit only one or a few businesses or individuals,
Scholarships for the study of English; conference attendance or study tours to the United States,
Proposals that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship/support or electoral campaigns,
Proposals with the main purpose of publication of books/pamphlets/websites/applications,
Exclusively scientific research projects,
Projects that require more than two years to implement,
Purchase of equipment, vehicles, construction, or construction materials,
Exchange programs with countries other than the U.S. and Argentina,
Programs or exchanges focused on children under 13 years of age,
Projects that support specific religious activities.

Examples

Examples of prior projects include, but are not limited to:

U.S. experts conducting speaking tours/public talks or roundtable discussions with counterparts in Argentina;
Joint U.S.-Argentina conferences or meetings that produce concrete advances or other results;
Projects showcasing U.S. models or curricula;
Development of initiatives aimed at maintaining contact with alumni of their prior exchange programs;
Creative projects that advance one or more of the priority areas.

Eligibility Criteria

Argentine applicants, NGOs, higher education institutions, or local provincial governments, must present a valid Inspección General de Justicia registration when submitting the application. Absence of this proof will disqualify applicants application.
U.S. applicants may be registered 501c3 not-for-profit organizations, including think-tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience; individuals; or educational institutions.
For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be considered and evaluated based on the following criteria:

Completeness: The proposal must complete all of the requirements outlined in this call.
Clarity of purpose: The proposal must explain why the project is important and how it responds to a specific need as well as how it seeks to address one of the above-mentioned priority areas.
Attainable objectives: The objectives must be realistic and measurable. Proposals must demonstrate how the activities will meet project objectives and how these objectives will be measured. The staff and budget of the proposal must be adequate and appropriate to meet project objectives.
Project planning and development: The project must be well-designed and provide a work plan with specific details, including project activities, schedule and itemized budget.
Monitoring: The proposal must demonstrate how the project will be monitored. A commitment to submit a Narrative and a Financial Report in the middle and at the end of the program is required.
Sustainability: The proposal must describe how the project will continue in long-term, with or without the U.S. grant funding.
Innovation: The proposal presents an innovative strategy; new and creative activities.