Deadline: 15 December 2016
The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs’ (OES) Office of Science and Technology Cooperation at the Department of State is pleased to announce the Notice of Funding Opportunity for Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) projects.
GIST empowers young innovators in low and middle income countries through networking, skills building, mentoring, and access to financing to develop startup solutions that address economic and development challenges.
Program Goals
- Identifies and recruits the most talented young S&T entrepreneurs in GIST eligible countries and territories.
- Catalyzes participants’ success and boosts the confidence of participants through training, networking, and program structure.
- Promotes GIST participants’ innovations and stories to the public as role models for entrepreneurship and youth.
- Reinforces the role of scientific values, including ethics, merit, transparency, and scientific rigor.
- Engages participants, mentors, prominent U.S. entrepreneurs, and others to support GIST, to educate entrepreneurs, and to become and remain part of the broader GIST Network community.
- Ensures women and other underrepresented groups are well represented (experts, judges, participants, and mentors).
- Assembles participant/event information and updates to support the identification of gaps and the monitoring and evaluation of the ecosystem.
- Delivers activities that address skill and resource gaps in priority entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Projects and Funding Information
GIST will support the following projects with the shared goal of strengthening young science and technology innovators and entrepreneurs in low and middle income countries and the innovation ecosystems in which they operate.
- Component One: In-Country Training Activities – grow the capacity and ingenuity of science and technology entrepreneurs in their communities with Startup and/or Ideation “Boot Camps,” long-term meet up groups, and pre- and post-event training activities and mentoring. Up to 15 months period of performance. Up to $900,000.
- Component Two: Interactive Online Activities – leverage U.S. expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship to engage science and technology entrepreneurs in emerging economies online to grow the GIST community with Tech Connects, Guru Chats and more. Up to 12 months period of performance. Up to $100,000.
- Component Three: Strengthening Angel (Early Stage Investor) Networks – catalyze the formation and sustained activity of angel networks in emerging economies. Up to 15 months period of performance. Up to $400,000.
- Component Four: Website (GIST Network) Development, Maintenance, and Knowledge Management – build out GISTNetwork.org to enhance access to resources for training, mentoring, and other entrepreneurial-related information and support. Establish and maintain GIST user database. Up to 12 months period of performance. Up to $200,000.
- Component Five: Website (GIST Network) Content Support and Social Media – develop and manage web content, leveraging web, social media, and the user database to grow the GIST community. Up to 12 months period of performance. Up to $150,000.
- Component Six: Global Tech-I Competitions – grow the capacity and ingenuity of science and technology entrepreneurs in emerging economies globally with a pitch competition hosted at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Up to 36 months period of performance. Up to $700,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility for this NOFO is limited to U.S. non-profit/nongovernmental organizations subject to section 501 (c) (3) of the U. S. tax code, foreign not-for-profit/nongovernmental organizations, educational institutions, and to public international organizations.
- Applicants must have significant experience working on science and technology innovation capacity building programs outside the United States, preferably in low and middle income countries.
- Applicants are encouraged to partner or engage with other institutions to amplify the long-term impact of the proposed activities and to leverage available cost sharing.
- Applications connecting U.S. and local institutions overseas are strongly encouraged.
- Applications should demonstrate creativity, substance, and relevance to OES’s goal of developing a global community of science and technology entrepreneurs ready to address local, regional, and global challenges and to promote economic growth.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can send their application forms at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit Global Innovation through Science and Technology.