Deadline: 21-Jul-23
The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN (USASEAN) announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future small grants competition.
One organization will be selected to manage the program, which will provide subgrants up to $15,000 each for up to 25 projects implemented by Southeast Asian youth from the 11 YSEALI countries. The subgrant recipients will be selected through an open competition designed by the successful organization and will be given tools and training to implement nine-month projects across the four core YSEALI issue areas.
YSEALI is the U.S. government’s signature initiative to engage emerging leaders in Southeast Asia. The program aims to create a network of young Southeast Asian leaders who work across national borders to solve common problems. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to solve shared issues.
Responding to priorities from youth in the ASEAN region, the Seeds for the Future program will allow YSEALI youth to implement public service projects that improve their communities by addressing one or more of the four core YSEALI themes: themes (Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, Education and Environmental Issues).
Objectives
- While working closely with U.S. Mission to ASEAN and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Office of Public Diplomacy, the recipient shall develop a robust program for the 2024 YSEALI Seeds for the Future with responsibilities as follows:
- Provide an online site to receive and manage subgrant participant applications, and answer questions from applicants. Provide virtual resources (e.g. webinars) to help applicants prepare.
- Collaborate with USASEAN to develop scoring criteria. Review and score all applications and provide a shortlist (maximum 40 projects). USASEAN will have substantial involvement in final participant selection.
- Work together with USASEAN to notify winning teams of approved proposals.
- Design and execute a two to three-day kick-off workshop in early 2024 for the selected participants, taking ownership of all logistics and programming. The goal of this workshop is to bring together all project participants (maximum 3 members per project), train them on subgrant expectations (e.g. budgeting, administration, communication, reporting, work plan, digital storytelling), and allow them to collaborate and improve their work plans. All logistics expenditures and travel costs for participants and trainers must be covered by the overall program budget. (e.g. flights, lodging, per diem, venue)
- Pair sub grantees with mentors that will help them with their project implementation throughout the program.
- Distribute funds to winning projects by January 2024 as follows: 60 percent of funding after submitting a detailed timeline and work plan (including marketing strategy for the project); 35 percent of funding after submitting a mid-term report (including direct and indirect impact metrics, both qualitative and quantitative); 5 percent of funding after submitting the final report with detailed project results.
- Oversee the implementation of projects and monitor subgrants by actively corresponding with the subgrant participants on at least a weekly basis. Collect monthly, mid-term and final reports. Track budget usage.
- Provide USASEAN with quarterly and final program and financial reporting. The program reports should summarize the progress on the subaward projects, identifying key milestones, successes, and challenges. Include both qualitative and quantitative success metrics to measure the impact of each project on their community.
- Collect media (photos/videos) and project stories to amplify on YSEALI website and social media through a robust and detailed communication and social media plan.
- Ensure that all program content and media adhere to the YSEALI and Department of State branding guidelines, including US flag and the YSEALI Seeds logo.
- Develop a “lessons learned” for future Seeds programs.
- Design virtual engagement opportunities for a minimum once per two months post kickoff workshop for the grantees to keep connected with the recipient, other participants, S. Mission to ASEAN as a way for them to connect and learn from each other and help run their projects throughout the year.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: 16 months (October 2023 to January 2025)
- Number of awards anticipated: One
- Award amounts: Award may range from a minimum of $150,000 to a maximum of $300,000
- Total available funding: $300,000
- Anticipated program start date: October 2023.
Participants and Audiences
- Registered YSEALI members, age 18 to 35, who are citizens of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- The recipient will coordinate with U.S. Mission to ASEAN and with the U.S. embassies in ASEAN and Timor-Leste to recruit and select up to 25 projects. Grantees will be between the age of 18 to 35.
- Recipient should provide a diverse range of applicants from inside and outside capital cities, as appropriate. Application criteria should include the name of the city from where the applicant originates.
- All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English. All programs must include participants from all ten ASEAN member countries and Timor-Leste.
- The workshop will be conducted in English.
- The recipient will be responsible for arranging and using cooperative agreement funds to cover all elements related to participant and staff travel including international and domestic flights, visas, travel to and from airports, visas, accommodations, per diem, meals during the program, insurance, etc.
Priority Region
- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- U.S. public and private educational institutions
- U.S. not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks
- Foreign public and private educational institutions
- Foreign not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks.
For more information, visit U.S. Mission to ASEAN.