Deadline: 28-Mar-24
The U.S. Mission to South Africa Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce its Annual Program Statement (APS) for Fiscal Year 2024.
Program Objectives
- Successful proposals will align with the strategic priorities of the U.S. Mission to South Africa as defined below. Their overall goal will be to develop and strengthen partnerships and knowledge sharing between Americans and South Africans, as well as institutions in both countries. Project activities must take place principally in South Africa. Proposals mostly focused on cultural activities (e.g. concert or other performances, festivals or similar events) without a significant linkage to advancing shared priorities are unlikely to be considered.
Strategic Priorities and Initiatives
- Develop or strengthen lasting linkages between U.S. and South African universities and other institutions of higher and technical/vocational education.
- This initiative’s goal is to identify new efforts to create sustainable partnerships between higher education institutions — especially TVETs/CETs — in order to promote exchange on topics of priority; support student-led exchange and cooperation – including related to entrepreneurship and media literacy; create new shared curricula; and focus on increasing graduate employability; increase and improve commercialization of research; etc. Priority may be given to projects involving historically disadvantaged institutions.
- Promote Democracy and Good Governance in celebration of the 30th anniversary of democracy in South Africa.
- This initiative’s goal is to increase citizen understanding of and participation in their democracy through civic engagement and education initiatives, as well as to improve public administration and accountability, reduce corruption, and improve institutional capacity to fulfill governance and human rights commitments, all through partnership and the sharing of experience and expertise between Americans and South Africans.
- Increase and Broaden Entrepreneurship Skills and Opportunities to Expand Economic Opportunities for Disadvantaged & Youth Populations.
- This initiative’s goal is to increase support for entrepreneurs that work with women, youth, and historically underserved communities by creating connections with American peers and experts to share resources, innovative techniques, and other tools to strengthen and grow their businesses while expanding their networks and markets. This initiative can also focus on helping aspiring or historically disadvantaged South African entrepreneurs explore trade opportunities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
- Connect U.S. and South African expertise related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education among youth and young adults – particularly working in partnership with TVETs.
- This initiative’s goal is to find innovative approaches to STEM education, including in partnership with TVETs, particularly in under-resourced and disadvantaged communities and schools and to populations overcoming historical challenges to accessing STEM education.
- This initiative may also include projects designed to connect private sector employers with educational institutions to improve the employability of graduates in the STEM fields.
- Projects in line with the priorities above that also focus on empowering girls through activities supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity, and leadership are also encouraged.
- Strengthen U.S. government-sponsored exchange alumni networks and help alumni effect positive change in their communities.
- This initiative’s goal is to strengthen networks and skills among alumni of U.S. government exchange programs to implement results-focused activities in their fields of expertise and that benefit their communities and share aspects of their U.S. experience.
- Address awareness among key audiences about climate change, the importance of a Just Energy Transition (JET), and shared U.S.-South African climate challenges through connecting U.S. and South African climate change advocates and supporting public education initiatives.
- This initiative’s goal is to improve and broaden awareness among key audiences about climate change and the importance of a Just Energy Transition (JET), including by connecting relevant South African actors with American peers.
- Address the shared challenges to American and South African democracy, society, and prosperity rooted in the rise of misinformation and disinformation, particularly by connecting American and South African community, citizen and student journalists for meaningful exchange, cooperation, and learning.
- This initiative’s goal is to increase awareness of and improve ability to identify misinformation and disinformation — particularly among community, citizen, and student journalists – and to encourage peer cooperation and engagement/network development among emerging journalists and community media outlets.
- Projects connecting American and South African student and/or community media outlets for mis-/disinformation identification training, joint or shared reporting, and/or exchange of best practices related to mis-/dis-information, and the practice of accurate citizen, student or community journalism generally are of particular interest.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $600,000-$800,000
- Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $200,000.
- Proposals with a budget below $25,000 should be submitted in Cycle 1, and
- Proposals above $25,000 should be submitted in Cycle 2.
- Length of performance period: 12 to 24 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 4 to 10 (depending on amounts)
- Anticipated project start date: On or before September 30, 2024.
Participants and Audiences
- Project activities must principally take place in South Africa and be directed at South African audiences/participants. Proposals should specify the main geographic location(s) of the project. They welcome proposals that reach multiple provinces or engage in areas outside the metropolitan areas of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, including townships, rural areas, and other historically underserved areas. Proposals should reflect the applicant’s proven organizational capacity to implement the activities as outlined and in the geographic areas indicated.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only non-profit South African or U.S. organizations are eligible to apply. This includes non-profit think tanks, civil society/non-governmental organizations, and non-profit public and private educational institutions.
- Proposals from for-profit entities will not be considered.
- Applicants may be asked to provide proof of their non-profit status if such status is unclear to the selection committee.
Ineligible
- The following types of projects are not eligible for funding:
- Projects relating to partisan political activity or advocacy;
- Projects solely dedicated to research;
- Charitable or development activities;
- Activities with a profit motive;
- Construction projects;
- Support for social or health services;
- Projects that support specific religious activities;
- Fund-raising campaigns.
For more information, visit Grant.gov.