Call for Applications: BridgeUSA Global STEM Scholarship Fund

Deadline: 10-May-23

The Office of Private Sector Exchange (BridgeUSA) of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition for the administration of the FY 2023 BridgeUSA Global Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarship Fund.

The Office plans to issue one cooperative agreement of approximately $360,000, pending the availability of funds, to implement the BridgeUSA STEM Scholarship Fund in the academic and/or professional categories. U.S. accredited colleges/ universities, U.S. consortia of accredited colleges and universities including consortia of community colleges, or U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) who are interested in collaborating with ECA to promote STEM education and career STEM initiatives in the United States, may submit proposals to provide between 20 and 30 STEM scholarships to foreign university students, scholars, and professionals evenly distributed across eligible countries in Africa (AF), East Asia and Pacific (EAP), and Western Hemisphere (WHA) regions.

Exchange visitors will be recruited from any of the following eligible academic and professional J-1 visa categories: College/University Students, Interns, Research Scholars, and Trainees. U.S. consortiums representing universities/colleges are encouraged to apply.

Proposals must include a focus on climate change and should include U.S. partnership collaboration with institutions that focus on various STEM fields shared across continents, including improving understanding of climate systems, developing precision agricultural capabilities, enhancing risk assessment tools, and increasing societal resilience in the face of catastrophic natural or human induced disasters.

Purpose

In order to enhance the U.S. Department of State’s engagement with BridgeUSA program exchange visitors in support of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy objectives, ECA’s BridgeUSA is issuing a NOFO for $360,000, pending the availability of FY 2023 funds, to conduct the FY 2023 the BridgeUSA Global STEM Scholarship Fund. This is an opportunity for foreign students and professionals to study and train to the United States for longer periods of time so they can better understand the United States and Americans, while also developing skills to address key climate-related issues. The BridgeUSA programs are a unique opportunity to experience first-hand American culture and traditions, share knowledge and collaborate on transnational issues, and develop skills critical to their home country.

Goals

The mission of BridgeUSA is to provide opportunities for international candidates looking to travel and gain experience in the United States. The multifaceted programs enable foreign nationals to come to the United States to teach, study, conduct research, demonstrate special skills or receive on the job training for periods ranging from a few weeks to several years. BridgeUSA’s mission – to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people of other countries – remains vital to U.S. national security and building people-to-people connections around the world.

Through the FY 2023 BridgeUSA Global STEM Scholarship Fund, BridgeUSA aims to:
- Promote mutual understanding and lasting partnerships between exchange visitors from foreign countries and the United States;
- Provide opportunities for exchange visitors to collaborate and share ideas, approaches, and strategies to develop solutions to pressing local and global challenges;
- Increase Americans’ global competitiveness by expanding education to restore the nation’s historic strengths by ensuring the policy incentivizes the world’s best and brightest to study and work in America;
- Pursue a science and technology approach to climate change and migration;
- Increase STEM research, training, and teaching opportunities for exchange visitors from priority countries that advance U.S. foreign policy objectives;
Build a global network of like-minded professionals committed to creating positive change in their workplaces and communities. Competitive proposals should be designed to achieve outcomes that may include:
- Supporting civil society organizations and natural resource defenders to meaningfully and safely contribute to national, regional, and global environmental policy development;
- Addressing the challenges of climate change, governance, corruption, post-conflict recovery, and a just and equitable transition to a clean economy;
- Ensuring the public has access to transparent and credible information on climate issues, including by supporting responsible media coverage, the role of independent media in climate coverage, and access to public records on environmental degradation and climate change;
- Enabling all stakeholders to safely coordinate and cooperate in their local, national, and regional-level advocacy for preserving natural resources and tackling climate change effects.

Funding Information

Approximate Total Funding: $360,000. pending the availability of FY 2023 funds.
Approximate Number of Awards: One.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants
- U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons, and other notfor-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit applications for this competition. Applicants must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application.
Other Eligibility Requirements
- The following additional eligibility requirements apply to this NOFO announcement:
  - ECA’s grant guidelines require that organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges be limited to $130,000 in ECA funding. ECA anticipates making one cooperative agreement, in an amount of $360,000, to support all costs required to implement this exchange program. Therefore, organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges are ineligible to apply under this competition.
  - All proposals must comply with the requirements stated in the NOFO, POGI (if applicable), and the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI); non-compliance will result in your proposal being declared technically ineligible and given no further consideration in the review process.
  - Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.
  - U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) that represent consortia or other combinations of accredited U.S. colleges/universities may submit one proposal to cooperate with ECA under this competition.
  - U.S. institutions with J-1/ EVP designations in academic categories including the College/ University Student, Intern, Research Scholar, and Trainee categories, may submit proposals. Applicants should have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners or entities, and relevant stakeholders, including academia, private sector partners and NGOs, and have demonstrable experience in administering successful and preferably similar projects.
- Please note: Applicant organizations are defined by their legal name, and EIN number as stated on their completed SF-424 and additional supporting documentation outlined in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document.
Eligible Countries
- Under this NOFO, a single award will be issued for participating countries in the following regions:
  - AF: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. Approximately 7-10 participants across the region.
  - EAP: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Approximately 7-10 participants across the region.
  - WHA: Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago. Approximately 7-10 participants across the region.