2023 Open World Grant Program to Bring Emerging Leaders

Deadline: 11-Oct-22

The Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL), formerly known as the Open World Leadership Center is seeking applications for its 2023 Grant program to bring emerging leaders from participating countries to the United States in order to give them firsthand exposure to the American system of participatory democracy and accountable governance.

The 2023 Open World Program will focus on emerging political, civic, and community leaders at the national, regional, and local levels from participating countries, and will put a strong emphasis on

acquainting participants with American lawmakers and legislative functions and processes at different levels of government;
helping to develop new partnerships or further existing partnerships between delegates and their U.S. counterparts.

Objectives

Open World program delegates include some of the participating countries’ most dynamic, highly educated emerging leaders, who are eager to share their experiences with Americans for a robust and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas—an element critical to the programming. Each proposed Open World program must ensure that delegates have the opportunity to:
- Develop an understanding of the role of the U.S. Congress and state, county, and local legislatures in shaping, overseeing, and/or funding programs and institutions connected with the applicable Open World hosting theme and subtheme.
- Observe and learn about their American professional counterparts and their role in society/people who interact with them. For example, a delegation of mayors and other city officials might meet with the host community’s mayor, city manager, city council members, mayor’s office staff, key departmental staff, and local political reporters.
- Share their professional expertise through planned formal presentations, panel discussions, and/or roundtables with their American counterparts and contacts, and present information about their country’s culture, history, and current affairs to members of their host community (this is a program requirement).
- Develop an understanding of how citizens and interest groups work to affect the legislative process (at the federal, state, county, and local levels) on issues related to the delegates’ hosting theme.
- Network with American professionals and hosts who are interested in maintaining contact beyond the eight-day community for ongoing cooperation and collaboration.
- Exchange views with influential representatives of appropriate federal, state, county, and local government agencies; legislators; civic organizations and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and the business and education communities.
- Participate in community events to gain an understanding of the role of community organizations’ interactions with government.
Receive an overview of the relationships among:
- the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state, county, and local government;
- the business and civic communities and government; and
- individual citizens and government.
Through the Open World program, the delegates should also be introduced to basic concepts of American civil society so that they:
- Acquire an understanding of the important elements of American civil society in order to make constructive comparisons with civil society in their own country.
- Acquire an understanding of governance in a mature democratic society and the rule of law in American society, including the concepts of accountability and transparency, the separation of powers, and the interrelationships of federal, state, county, and local governments.
- Acquire an understanding of the roles of American government, civic institutions, free enterprise, and voluntary organizations as they relate to the relevant Open World Hosting Theme.
- Acquire a better understanding of American culture and society and contribute to enhanced American knowledge of the Open World country’s society, culture, and institutions.

Eligibility Criteria

The program allows American leaders and their counterparts from the following participating countries to engage in meaningful and unfiltered dialogue: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Any U.S.-based organization with either established foreign visitor programs or demonstrated ability to host foreign visitors is eligible. U.S.-based organizations with ongoing project activity or initiatives in any of the countries covered by this solicitation that can be furthered by an Open World program should describe this activity. An applicant proposal:
- Must demonstrate that the applicant organization has the ability, experience, and expertise to provide excellent programming in the Hosting Theme(s) for which it is applying and/or will establish cooperative agreements with expert local host organizations that can do so.
- Will be given preference if it demonstrates that the applicant organization has the ability to provide programmatic activities with federal, state, county, and local legislators and legislative staff that will enhance the delegates’ understanding of the legislative process and the structure and functions of American legislative bodies.
- Will be given preference if it is likely to produce new partnerships or further existing ones.
- Will be given preference if it includes ideas for specific follow-on project activities and/or significant projected results, such as plans for substantive future reverse travel.
- Will be given preference if it demonstrates how the applicant organization will involve one or more organizations composed of young American professionals in providing some of the delegates’ professional, networking, and cross-cultural programming. To the extent possible, such young professional organizations should be focused on activities relevant to a delegation’s Hosting Theme.
- Will be given preference if its accompanying budget submission includes a significant cost share/in-kind contribution for Open World delegations, such as paying all or a significant portion of local hosting expenses, or all or portions of airfares.
- Will be given preference if it demonstrates how results will be accomplished, particularly if this programming would further ongoing or proposed projects/partnerships with the applicant organization or one of its proposed local host organizations.