Deadline: 22-May-23
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition to support the Office of U.S. Speaker Program.
Purpose
- The U.S. Speaker Program recruits dynamic American experts to engage international audiences on topics of strategic importance to the United States. U.S. Speakers represent a broad range of expert knowledge and responsible and informed opinion.
- The U.S. Speaker Program Office connects with experts by contacting professional organizations, academic institutions, other Department of State and U.S. government entities, reviewing biographical information, conducting online searches or contacting former speakers for suggestions. All exchanges advance policy priorities and the United States’ strategic engagement.
Goals
The U.S. Speaker Program goals are to:
- Support U.S. foreign policy goals by enabling U.S. citizen experts in a variety of fields to interact with key professional foreign audiences worldwide, in person and via virtual platforms
- Identify and recruit the most appropriate U.S. experts to undertake public diplomacy programs in response to Department of State strategic initiatives and requests from U.S. missions abroad
- To engage in conversations that enable foreign audiences to learn more about U.S. society, culture and institutions, thereby supporting development and growth of political, economic and social institutions abroad
- Establish sustained relationships and linkages between U.S. Speakers and foreign audiences and institutions to share knowledge and skills, increase American global competitiveness, and encourage strong civil society institutions
- Expand participation of diverse U.S. institutions, specifically Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Americans in professional exchange programs
- Provide timely, comprehensive, and high-quality logistics services to ensure that U.S. Speaker Programs are implemented in an effective and appropriate manner
- Use social media and content amplification to promote the U.S. Speaker Program as an established professional exchange opportunity for American experts to share knowledge and skills
Funding Information
- Fiscal Year Funds: $3,809,000 FY 2023 – base year funding amount; $3,809,000 FY 2024 – NCC year-one funding amount; $3,809,000 FY 2025 – NCC year-two funding amount, pending successful performance and the availability of funds.
- Approximate Total Funding: $11,427,000. This figure represents base year plus two NCC years, pending successful performance and the availability of funds.
- Approximate Number of Awards: 1
- Approximate Average Award: $3,809,000
- Floor of Award Range: None
- Ceiling of Award Range: $3,809,000
- Anticipated Award Date: September 1, 2023
- Anticipated Project Completion Date: September 1, 2025. This date reflects the anticipated duration of the award – one base year plus two NCC years.
Eligibility Criteria
- U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons, and other not for-profit organizations meeting the provisions may submit applications for this competition.
- Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.
- The following additional eligibility requirements apply to this NOFO announcement:
- ECA’s grant guidelines require that organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges be limited to $130,000 in ECA funding. ECA anticipates making one cooperative agreement, in an amount totaling $11,427,000 (FY 2023 base year $3,809,000) to support all costs required to implement this exchange program. Therefore, organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges are ineligible to apply under this competition.
- All proposals must comply with the requirements stated in the NOFO, POGI (if applicable), and the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI); non-compliance will result in your proposal being declared technically ineligible and given no further consideration in the review process.
For more information, visit Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).