Deadline: 31-Jan-23
The Public Diplomacy section at the U.S. Embassy Zimbabwe announces an open competition for public and private Zimbabwean higher education institutions to submit applications to carry out a program (or programs) to strengthen ties between the United States and Zimbabwe’s academic libraries in supporting faculty educational, learning and research activities.
Objectives
- The program shall improve access to educational resources and use of technology for learning and research to academic libraries working with Faculty in the following subject areas: One Health, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in Agriculture, Mental Health, and Peace and Conflict Resolution. By the end of the program, faculty and students will have access to relevant publications, online research databases and digital educational resources to improve their access to information, research methodologies and overall learning outcomes.
- The program may also include the purchase of information communication equipment to adequately access the Internet for a host institution; these requests should be reasonable and explicitly explained in the budget, not to exceed 20% of the overall budget.
- All materials funded by this program must ensure open access to all students and faculty
Goals
- The goal of this program is to strengthen ties between the United States and Zimbabwe’s academic libraries to support higher education partnerships through the provision of educational resources and promote access to digital educational resources that support One Health, STEM fields in Agriculture, Mental Health, and Peace and Conflict resolution for Zimbabwean higher education.
- Proposals must promote increased access to U.S. educational resources (both digital and physical). Project themes must include some or all the following components. Only proposals that relate to the stated program objectives, in partnership with the specific relevant faculty departments will be considered:
- Access to Academic Journal and Electonic Thesis Databases: programs that promote access to academic journals and electronic thesis database subscriptions that cover One Health, STEM in Agriculture, Mental Health, and Peace and Conflict resolution.
- Higher Education Collections: Programs collaborating with faculty in One Health fields, STEM in Agriculture, Mental Health, and Peace and Conflict resolution to source the relevant materials and enhance student access to higher education print collections and resources.
- Access to Internet: Programs that seek to strengthen library Internet connection to enhance access to online research databases and digital content to support higher education research and development of faculty staff through collaborative research opportunities.
NOTE: All educational materials must be obtained from U.S. sources.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: 12 months or less
- Number of awards anticipated: 5 awards
- Award amounts: US$10,000
- Total available funding: US$50,000
- Type of Funding: Public Diplomacy Funds – Smith Mundt
- Anticipated program start date: April 1, 2023
- Funding Instrument Type: Grant
Participants and Audiences: Proposals must engage with a specific university faculty involving undergraduate and post-graduate students in the priority subject areas and academic library staff.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Applicants: The following organizations are eligible to apply: Zimbabwean or U.S. media organizations, civil society, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations.
- For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344300
