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NOFO: Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative Fellowship Program

Deadline: 15-May-23

The Office of Citizen Exchanges at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposal submissions for the FY 2023 Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellowship Program.

YTILI is a two-way exchange program for emerging entrepreneurs from Europe, ages 25-35, and American professionals. The program is designed to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, develop sustainable partnerships between U.S. and European innovators, promote regional integration and cooperation in Europe, and encourage European governments, businesses, and civil society to improve their innovation eco-systems.

The FY 2023 program will support approximately 65 participants, including 50 European business and social entrepreneurs and 15 American business professionals. The defining YTILI program activity is a five-week U.S.-based fellowship for European participants including a fourweek placement in a professionally relevant U.S. business and mentorship from American peers in those organizations. The U.S.-based exchange should also provide Fellows with opportunities to complement their professional fellowship through workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and networking activities. Following the U.S.-based program, American participants will travel to select European countries to assist YTILI Fellows implement business action plans and joint projects in their home communities. The YTILI Fellowship Program should also include followon alumni engagement activities.

Purpose

Launched in 2016, the YTILI Fellowship Program is a two-way exchange program designed to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, develop sustainable partnerships between U.S. and European entrepreneurs and innovators, promote regional integration and cooperation in Europe, and encourage European businesses, governments, and civil society to develop their innovation ecosystems. Since its inception, over 350 YTILI Fellows and Americans have participated in the program. The YTILI Fellowship Program supports the following broad goals:

  • Promote mutual understanding and lasting partnerships between business and social entrepreneurs from Europe and the United States;
  • Enhance the entrepreneurial and leadership skills of YTILI Fellows so they can achieve success, grow their businesses in size and impact, and lead positive change in their workplaces, communities, and countries;
  • Provide opportunities before, during and after the U.S.-based program for the YTILI Fellows and American participants to collaborate and share ideas, approaches, and strategies to develop solutions to pressing business challenges;
  • Assist the YTILI Fellows in identifying new resources, networks, and support for their businesses or organizations; and
  • Create a transatlantic network of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and innovators that supports entrepreneurial partnerships and continued business opportunities between the people of Europe and the United States.
Themes

Proposals should address the following themes:

  • Entrepreneurship,
  • Innovation, and
  • Transatlantic connections.

These include, but are not limited to, increasing trade and marketing across borders to create synergies and strengthen U.S. job growth and exports and strengthening Western government values like competition and innovation.

Funding Information
  • Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2023 base year funding amount – $1,050,000;
  • FY 2024 NCC year-one funding amount – $1,050,000;
  • FY 2025 NCC year-two funding amount – $1,050,000, pending successful performance and the availability of funds.
  • Approximate Total Funding: $3,150,000.
  • Approximate Number of Awards: One
  • Approximate Average Award: $1,050,000
  • Ceiling of Award Range: $1,050,000
Eligibility Criteria
  • Eligible Applicants
    • U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons, and other notfor-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit applications for this competition. Applicants must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application.
  • Other Eligibility Requirements
    • 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, over $130,000 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.
      • 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.
    • Please note: Applicant organizations are defined by their legal name, and EIN number as stated on their completed SF-424 and additional supporting documentation outlined in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document.
  • Eligible countries: Fellows will be business or social entrepreneurs, ages 25-35, recruited and selected from the following countries in Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. ECA reserves the right to modify the final list of participating countries and the allocation of participant numbers by country in the FY 2023 cooperative agreement.

For more information, visit ECA.