Deadline: 21-Jul-23
The Public Diplomacy Section (PD) of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (U.S. OPA) announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out the “Promoting market-driven skills for Palestinian university graduates” program, which aims to prepare recent and soon-to-be graduates of Palestinian universities with employment skills (soft and technical) with the skills required by the modern labor market.
Applications may only be submitted by Eligible organizations.
Eligible applicant entities include U.S. and Palestinian non-profit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), or non-profit higher education institutions. This program must be designed to implement activities that advance the applicant’s goals and the U.S. OPAPD mission, including but not limited to:
- Building Palestinian institutions, both governmental and non-governmental, that effectively addresses the needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people;
- Building a prosperous Palestinian economy, led by a thriving private sector, that provides equitable and inclusive economic opportunities and improves daily life for Palestinians.
The proposed program must include substantive engagement with American people, institutions, ideas and ideals in order to improve American-Palestinian relations and create greater opportunities for mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation.
Program Objectives
- All proposed projects must aim to advance the OPA-PD mission goals, contain a partnership between American and Palestinian institutions, and achieve the following specific objectives:
- Capacity building for human capital in support of sustainable economic development: Prepares recent and soon-to-be graduates of Palestinian universities with employment skills (soft and technical) that are sought by Palestinian companies and organizations.
- Internationalization: Supports Palestinian graduates’ global and regional integration and prepares students to become employable, globally-empowered citizens.
- Relationships: Reinvigorates or builds upon existing partnerships or brings a new U.S. university or non-profit sector partner to the project to advance development of skills that are sought by the Palestinian private sector in recent graduates. The partnership agreement should delineate a well-defined purpose and objectives that align with the objectives of the respective institutions.
- Successful proposals should incorporate the following elements:
- A clear description of the specific problem to be addressed during the project being proposed, with clear linkages between the problem, as defined, and the activities being proposed.
- The proposal should establish a partnership and joint activities that support the development of a substantive and long-term linkage between the cooperating U.S. and Palestinian entities to encourage collaboration and engagement with the relevant private sector and not-for-profit organizational stakeholders, university faculty and administration, and students and recent graduates; and the sharing of knowledge and expertise.
- The proposal should explain the importance of the area of collaboration for both institutions and how it aligns with their priorities; provide details about the proposed model and how it will operate; and clearly show how the expected results will be aligned with the needs of the Palestinian private sector while helping the partnering organizations achieve their objectives.
- The proposal will use data and metrics in conducting a needs assessment of the private sector and outline how the project will meet these needs in using SMART objectives.
- The proposal should contain clearly stated, measurable goals and objectives, and specific indicators of success along with a plan for measuring those indicators to evaluate the project’s success in achieving its goals and objectives. Use of Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives (SMART) is recommended. 6. While there are no requirements about specific subject matter/fields of collaboration, the OPA seeks to fund a partnership with this award that is not focused on English language capacity building, since the U.S. government has many other resources supporting this field. We understand and expect that English language may be an element of a partnership proposal, yet the goal of this call for proposals is to expand to other needed subjects and fields.
- Sustainability: The proposal should clearly demonstrate how both institutions will successfully sustain the relationship after the end of the U.S. government-funded award and how this partnership will be embedded within the institutional framework of both organizations.
Participants and Audiences: Primary participants in the engagement may potentially be faculty, administrators, non-profitsector organizational staff, and students and recent graduates, as appropriate. Students and recent graduates at the institutions should also participate in and benefit from the project as appropriate.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: 12 to 36 months
- Award amounts: up to $200,000
- Total available funding: $200,000
- Anticipated program start date: September 30, 2023
Priority Region: Jerusalem, West Bank, and/or Gaza
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible primary applicants for grant funding must be Palestinian or American not-for-profit organizations and/or Palestinian or American not-for-profit higher education institutions
- Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing is not required under this opportunity. However, cost sharing may be used to break ties among applications with equivalent scores after evaluation against all other factors.
- Other Eligibility Requirements: In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov as well as a valid registration.
- Content of Application Please ensure:
- The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity and contains clear and measurable indicators of success along with a clear plan for measuring and evaluating whether or not those indicators have been met.
- Anyone reading the proposal can clearly understand the specific activities proposed and how those activities will achieve the stated goals and objectives
- The proposal contains a clear budget and budget narrative detailing how the budget proposal supports the proposed activities and goals/objectives of the project.
- The proposal includes a substantive American component which facilitates the exchange of information, ideas and/or experience between Americans and Palestinians.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.