The Global Leaders Division (formerly known as the Professional Fellows Division) in the Office of Citizen Exchanges at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposal submissions for the FY 2021 Professional Fellows Program (PFP) in the regions of Africa (AF), East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), Europe and Eurasia (EUR), the Middle East and North Africa (NEA), South and Central Asia (SCA), and the Western Hemisphere (WHA).

The Professional Fellows Program is a two-way global exchange program designed to promote mutual understanding, enhance leadership and professional skills, and build lasting and sustainable partnerships between mid-level emerging leaders from foreign countries and the United States.

The defining element of the program for non-U.S. participants is a substantive five- to six-week Fellowship program, including a four-week individually tailored working placement in a U.S. organization.

Goals

The Professional Fellows Program supports the following broad goals:

• Promote mutual understanding and lasting partnerships between mid-level emerging leaders from foreign countries and the United States;
• Provide opportunities for non-U.S. and American emerging leaders to collaborate and share ideas, approaches, and strategies regarding pressing challenges;
• Enhance leadership and professional skills for both non-U.S. and American Fellows to encourage positive change in their workplaces and communities; and
• Build a global network of like-minded professionals.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $7,520,040
• Award Ceiling: $750,000
• Award Floor: $400,000

Themes and Eligible Countries

All proposals should carefully incorporate the  specific requirements noted below, especially those that are unique to a particular region. ECA reserves the right to modify the final list of participating countries and regions, and the scope of any resulting cooperative agreement, including in any of the  subsequent solicitations.

• Governance and Society: Proposals submitted under the Governance and Society theme can include professionals  involved in the legislative process; governance; public administration; policy making;  political campaigns/political parties; the legal field; journalism; non-governmental  organizations; innovation and technology; or empowering women, children, minorities, persons with disabilities, and marginalized populations. Fellowship placements may be in legislative/government offices at the national, state, or local level; non-governmental organizations; or other relevant organizations.
  • Africa (AF) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, and Togo.
  • East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) Eligible Countries/Locations: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Burma, Hong Kong, Mongolia,and Papua New Guinea.
  • Europe and Eurasia (EUR) Eligible Countries:EUR proposals must include at least four countries in Group 1 or at least four countries in Group 2.
    • Group 1: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine
    • Group 2: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia
  • Middle East and North Africa (NEA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include at least four of the following countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Proposals should also explore how governments can promote multi-sector approaches to community issues including, but not limited to, public health challenges and equitable access to resources.
  • South and Central Asia (SCA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
  • Western Hemisphere (WHA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include at least four of the following countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Proposals should also promote the social inclusion of marginalized groups such as people of African and/or indigenous descent.
• Economic Empowerment: Proposals submitted under the Economic Empowerment theme can include professionals involved in entrepreneurship; small and medium enterprises; start-ups; incubators/accelerators; social entrepreneurship; business administration; business education; community training programs; non-governmental organizations; or government. Fellowship placements may be in businesses; non-governmental organizations; technology hubs; economic/business-related organizations; or government offices.
  • Africa (AF) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia,and Zimbabwe.
  • East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
  • Europe and Eurasia (EUR) Eligible Countries: EUR proposals must include at least four countries in Group 1 or at least four of the countries in Group 2.
    • Group 1: Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Slovenia
    • Group 2: Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Denmark (Greenland), Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain. EUR proposals involving countries in Group 2 should focus on empowering marginalized populations.
  • Middle East and North Africa (NEA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include at least four of the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Proposals should also address the use of innovation and technology to increase employment opportunities for marginalized populations, includingat risk youth, women and girls, and minority populations.11
  • South and Central Asia (SCA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
  • Western Hemisphere (WHA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include at least four of the following countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Proposals should include a special focus on addressing the root causes of irregular migration
• Civic Engagement: Proposals submitted under the Civic Engagement theme can include professionals involved in non-governmental administration; community development; advocacy; education; journalism; law; youth initiatives; strengthening resilient communities; or empowering women, children, minorities, persons with disabilities, and marginalized populations. Fellowship placements may be in non-governmental organizations; community-based organizations; civic education organizations; advocacy organizations; government offices; or relevant organizations.
  • Africa (AF) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
  • East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) Eligible Countries/Locations: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Hong Kong, Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan.
  • Europe and Eurasia (EUR) Eligible Countries: EUR proposals must include at least four countries in Group 1 or at least four countries in Group 2.
    • Group 1: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia12
    • Group 2: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey
  • Middle East and North Africa (NEA) Eligible Countries/Locations:  Proposals must include all four of the following countries/territories: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and West Bank/Gaza. Proposals must explore issues related to environmental impact on communities and civic engagement including, but not limited to, water scarcity and equitable access to water.
  • South and Central Asia (SCA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include all of the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • Western Hemisphere (WHA) Eligible Countries: Proposals must include at least four of the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica,Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. Proposals must include a special emphasis on building resilient institutions and countering malign outside influence.

Eligibility Criteria

• U.S. public and private non-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.
• All applicants must also have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and be registered in SAM.gov

For more information, visit Grant.gov.