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Open Call: BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program

Deadline: 15-May-23

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)’s Office of Private Sector Exchange (BridgeUSA) announces an open competition for the administration of the FY 2023 BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program.

Accredited U.S. colleges and universities (to include community colleges), U.S. consortia of accredited colleges and universities, or U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) are eligible to submit one proposal to cooperate with BridgeUSA to provide between 30 to 45 scholarships for academic participants from within Ukraine. The scholarship will cover BridgeUSA program fees, healthcare benefits coverage, visa fees, SEVIS fees, and airfare. The program will be implemented in a 36-month time frame.

The BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program will focus on Ukrainian academics living in Ukraine in any of the three eligible J-1 categories: Professor, Research Scholar, and Short-Term Scholar.

Scholars may be selected from disciplines in any of the following eligible fields: Agricultural Technology, Conflict Resolution/Peace Studies, Engineering, Information Technology, Mental Health, Pedagogy, and Urban Planning.

Competitive proposals will demonstrate the ability to place exchange visitors across a wide variety of eligible fields. To ensure maximum program flexibility and in recognition of the challenges created by longterm absences from Ukraine given Russia’s full-scale invasion, the award recipient may have the capability of the Out of Country functionality in SEVIS for eligible J-1 categories to allow for continued program participation from Ukraine.

Purpose

In order to enhance the U.S. Department of State’s engagement with BridgeUSA exchange visitors in support of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy objectives, BridgeUSA will issue a cooperative agreement for $500,000, pending the availability of FY 2023 funds, to conduct the FY 2023 BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program.

Goals

This programming will support scholars from Ukraine to collaborate and learn with U.S. counterparts, enabling them to put their exchange experiences into practice within their home institutions to rebuild and enhance higher education opportunities in Ukraine, and to support the rebuilding of Ukraine’s physical and social infrastructure.

Throughout the program, exchange visitors will be encouraged to think about how they can apply lessons learned in the United States to their home institutions and to share what they have learned within their communities. Program alumni will also stay in contact with each other to collaborate on initiatives following their return to Ukraine. The program will build the foundation for lasting university exchanges between U.S. and Ukrainian tertiary educational institutions, ensuring ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Funding Information
  • Approximate Total Funding: $500,000, pending the availability of FY 2023 funds.
  • Approximate Number of Awards: One.
  • Approximate Average Award: $500,000, pending the availability of FY 2023 funds.
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, in an amount of $500,000 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 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 this program, 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 award recipient (or selected sub-awardee) must have the ability to issue program participants a Form DS-2019 in one or more of the eligible Exchange Visitor Program categories for this proposal. U.S. consortia of accredited U.S. colleges and universities (to include community colleges) or U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit only one proposal to cooperate with BridgeUSA under this competition.
    • 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 Country and J-1 Categories
    • Under this NOFO, a single award will be issued for the following country: Ukraine.
    • In line with the themes of the NOFO, exchange visitors may come from any of the three eligible J-1 categories and from a variety of fields and backgrounds, to include: agricultural technology, conflict resolution/peace studies (e.g., transitional justice, international legal systems, mediation, restorative justice, and human rights), engineering, information technology, mental health (e.g., counseling, psychology, psychiatry, social work), pedagogy (e.g., K-12 education, special education, adult education, higher education, educational psychology, instructional design, educational leadership), and urban planning. Competitive proposals will include detailed plans on placements for exchanges visitors in multiple eligible categories across a variety of fields and should demonstrate the capacity to recruit a diverse group of exchange visitors.

For more information, visit ECA.