Serbo-American Cooperation Grants Program 2022 Funding Opportunity

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Deadline: March 31, 2022

This notice is subject to the availability of funds.

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade announces competition open to individuals and organizations to submit nominations for the Serbo-American Cooperation Grants Program.

Program objectives:

PDS accepts creative and engaging project proposals that align with the primary goals of the U.S. Embassy. This includes strengthening Serbo-American relations and explaining American culture, society, values ​​and policies to the Serbian public. The Embassy also works with the Serbian government, civil society, business and other partners to promote economic development and fight brain drain; strengthen democracy, in particular by supporting civic participation; encourage a free press and human rights; and advance regional stability and cooperation. Progress in these areas should help Serbia on its way to its stated goal of European Union (EU) membership.

Projects funded by this NOFO must include an American element. This could involve a connection or partnership between Serbian and American organizations or institutions; invite an American expert to participate, in person or virtually, in your project; host a program to examine Serbo-American shared values, national interests, etc .; or by incorporating an American approach or method to address a challenge facing your community, institution or profession.

Grant activities can take the form of academic competitions, summer camps (focused on the study of languages, sports, etc.), cross-border exchanges, conferences, workshops, courses, program design, exhibits, hackathons or application development, online projects, trial moot competitions, simulations and role-playing activities (e.g. congress model, United Nations model), festivals cinema or theater, performances or other activities.

Projects must start no earlier than July 1, 2022 and no later than July 1, 2022. All activities and your project assessment or appraisal must be completed within 18 months. Activities should focus on the public in Serbia. However, applicants may include participants or partners from neighboring countries of the Western Balkans, if this supports the objectives of the project. (See “Participants and Audiences†below.)

Serbo-American Cooperation Grant proposals (SAC) should be developed with a SMART logic model. The objective of your activity should be: Sspecific, Mmeasurable, Afeasible, Rrelevant to the problem or challenge, and Ttime based which means you will meet them on a certain date.

In accordance with Executive Decree on the Promotion of Racial Equity and Underserved Communities, proposals must demonstrate how the program advances equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability. The proposal should also demonstrate how the program will promote engagement in underserved communities and with individuals from underserved communities. Proposals should demonstrate how addressing racial equity and underserved communities will improve the goals and objectives of the program, as well as the experience of participants.

In light of social distancing measures and to limit the spread of COVID-19, we welcome proposals that use video conferencing, distance learning tools, etc. If your proposal includes in-person activities, please consider including contingency plans, if the health situation requires social distancing measures to be in place during the grant period.

Beneficiaries are expected to: publicize your activities, including through social media and / or traditional media; and underscore the support of the US Embassy, ​​with our logo included on project related documents.

Program themes

The Embassy is seeking applications focusing on the themes below. We have included ideas on what your project could do, but we welcome creative approaches and activities.

  • Fight the brain drain: through entrepreneurship, innovation and / or tourism promotion.
    • Take advantage of Serbia’s historical and cultural sites, including past recipients of Ambassadorial Fund for the Preservation of Culture (AFCP) grants, and / or its natural treasures (e.g. parks, rivers, mountains, land agriculture, vineyards, etc.) to attract more tourists and promote economic development.
    • Promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation, study of STEM (science, technology, environment and mathematics) subjects and business development skills, including activities specifically focused on women, youth, minorities, members of other disadvantaged groups and / or underserved communities, especially in small towns and rural areas.
    • Protection of intellectual property rights to help entrepreneurs, inventors and artists generate income from their ideas, innovations, inventions and works.
    • Practical, useful and realistic strategies and approaches to help Serbian businesses and communities to recover economically in the post-coronavirus period.
  • Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities (PWD): Inclusion and Advocacy in Education, Workforce, Civic Participation and Social Interaction.
    • Generating a wider awareness and discussion of the challenges faced by the disabled community in publicizing the activities and successes of the disabled community in Serbia; showcase best practices from NGOs, government offices, schools, institutions and unions; or learn from the US struggle to expand the rights of people with disabilities that can be adapted and enforced in Serbia.
    • Advocate for better access for people with disabilities to opportunities in education, employment, sports, civic engagement, public policy debates, culture and other areas, including teachers and schools that provide quality education for children with learning disabilities; and communities that minimize or remove physical barriers to people with disabilities and provide easier access for the deaf / hard of hearing and the blind / visually impaired.
  • Human rights. PDS hosts projects focused on women’s rights and the promotion of equality for ethnic and religious minorities, the LGBTQI community, refugees and migrants, and other disadvantaged or vulnerable populations.
  • Serbo-American ties. PDS hosts projects that inform and educate the public in Serbia about the historical, cultural, scientific and people-to-people ties between our two countries.
    • Highlight the cooperation and contributions of the citizens of the two countries in different sectors (economic, governance, security, health, science, education, culture, etc.), in the past or currently;
    • Publicize joint efforts to combat global issues such as climate change, disease, terrorism, human trafficking, international crime;
    • Explain and promote debate on current US policies towards Serbia, the region and Europe;
    • Explore the intersection of national interests of Serbia and America;
    • Examine the benefits of past and current cooperation and coordination with US and Western institutions (including the EU), US aid and / or investments in Serbia; examine the impact of people-to-people contacts on our two countries, particularly through immigration and / or exchange programs;
    • Highlight our common attitudes and shared values, including our faith in democracy, our commitment to academic research, etc.
  • Regional cooperation / Find common solutions to common problems.
    • Identify common approaches to solve the problems or challenges currently facing the Balkan region, for example, in education, environmental protection, tackling brain drain, tourism promotion, planning crisis, protection of human rights, etc.
    • Broaden and strengthen the links of professional societies and Serbian civil society organizations with their counterparts in the Balkan region;
    • Promote mutual understanding, tolerance and respect among the peoples of the Western Balkans;
    • Support the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, including projects focusing on education, environment, economy, etc.
  • Promotion of innovative or interactive teaching methods, teaching by students or projects, in class or outside, and / or development of educational television, radio, online and video games programs, focusing on:
    • civic education
    • promote the active engagement of citizens, including young people, in the democratic process;
    • broaden students’ understanding of central and local government structures, policy making, representative government and their rights and responsibilities as citizens in a democratic society;
    • examine the role of non-governmental institutions, including the media, business and civil society, in policy making;
    • involve students in debates on issues of public interest;
    • examine the role Serbia plays or can play in diplomacy, promoting regional and global stability and / or combating global issues, such as crime, terrorism, human trafficking, disease, etc. .
    • fight anti-Semitism through Holocaust education.
    • promoting tolerance and understanding among people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds, who are disabled, from the LGBTQI community or other disadvantaged or vulnerable population.
    • promotion of gender equality.
    • ensure that children from disadvantaged or vulnerable populations, or from more remote areas of the country, have equal educational opportunities.
    • strengthen academic integrity and fight corruption in education.
    • establishing or strengthening links between American and Serbian academic institutions, including faculty, staff and / or students.

For all information and step-by-step instructions on how to apply, please download and read the 2022 Serbian-American Cooperation Grants Program Funding Opportunity. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or do not meet the stated requirements will be ineligible.

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