Funding Wizard

BACKGROUND: While waging an unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, President Putin has systematically intensified repression inside Russia, shutting down independent media, restricting internet access, and punishing dissent with harsh prison terms. We recognize the terrible choice this presents for the Russian people who cannot make their voices heard. However, we do not hold the people of Russia responsible for President Putin’s actions, and cutting off contact with the Russian people does not serve the long-term interests of the United States. We welcome a future when Russia plays a constructive role in international affairs. To this end, the United States continues to pursue people-to-people exchanges and programs that welcome individual Russian students, scholars, and emerging civil society members to our academic institutions and our country to learn about American people, values, and institutions and to bring as many Russians as possible into contact with an affirmative image of America and Americans to build connections with the next generation of Russians. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Embassy Moscow Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) announces that funding is available through our Public Diplomacy Grants Program. This APS outlines our funding priorities, strategic themes, and the procedure for submitting requests for funding. Applications for programs are accepted until the deadline of March 20, 2023. The U.S. Embassy will not accept applications under the 2023 NOFO after that deadline. Purpose of Public Diplomacy Grants: PDS Moscow invites proposals for projects that support future constructive bilateral relations and reinforce ties between the American and Russian people. All grant proposals must convey an element of U.S. history, culture, or shared values. Competitive proposals should support a priority program area (see below). Competitive proposals should also include a connection with U.S. expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s that will promote increased cooperation between the people of the United States and Russia even after the program has finished. Priority Programming Areas: · Media & Information: Projects that promote an understanding of freedom of the press, good journalistic practices, increased access to information, and improved media and digital literacy for the Russian people; · Sharing America: Projects that promote an understanding of the American values of democracy, freedom of expression, and an open society, as well as proposals that increase the understanding of America’s diverse cultures and groups; · Empowering Women & Minorities: Projects that support women and minority rights and persons with disabilities; · Environment & Space: Projects that promote improvements, innovation, advancement, and collaboration in the areas of space and the environment; · English Language Learning & Teaching: Projects that support innovative, interactive teaching and learning of the English language. Projects that support ongoing efforts of the Regional English Language Office will be especially welcome. The following types of projects are NOT eligible for funding: · Projects relating to partisan political activity; · Charitable or development activities; · Construction projects; · Commercial projects; · Projects that support specific religious activities; · Fundraising campaigns; · Lobbying for specific legislation or projects; · Competitions where the prize is the only outcome of the program; · Scientific research and/or surveys; or · Projects that duplicate existing projects. Authorizing legislation, type and year of funding: Funding authority rests primarily in Fulbright-Hayes or Smith-Mundt FY2023 Public Diplomacy funding. All programming is subject to the statutory limitations of the funding determined and availability of funds.

The U.S. Embassy’s Regional English Language Office based in Tallinn (RELO Tallinn) and Public Affairs Section in Moscow (PAS Moscow) of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out the “FY22 English Language Immersion Camps for Russian University Students,” a program to create intensive English language immersion camp opportunities for Russian university students to learn English in context, interact with other students, counselors, and teachers using authentic language, and develop cross cultural competency as well as improve speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. The immersion setting should be tailored for Russian speakers in a retreat-like setting to maximize the short-term learning for participants and be two weeks in duration with typical daily activities starting at breakfast and continuing through evening activities. The audience for the immersions should be focused on university students who are motivated to improve their language skills in an intensive format and with small group (class) sizes. Multiple levels of groups will need to be offered either in the same immersion or separate immersion cohorts. One or more groups should be dedicated to working with future English language teachers enrolled in university programs who would benefit from advanced language and cultural study. The implementer should plan to provide a placement test in its management of the recruiting and selection phases and also design an experiential curriculum that maximizes opportunities for authentic language use, cross-cultural opportunities to learn about U.S. culture, and modern methodologies in classroom and out-of-classroom activities. Russian university students should be recruited from geographically diverse regions, and camps may be held in regional hubs in Russia to maximize participation, particularly from regions with fewer English learning opportunities. Finally, the grant recipient should include a marketing plan for recruitment, selection, and placement, including social media or other means of distributing the program announcement to Russian universities and university students. The grant recipient will work closely with RELO Tallinn and PAS Moscow to select participants and content, develop, and promote the immersion camp programs.

The U.S. Embassy’s Regional English Language Office based in Tallinn (RELO Tallinn) and Public Affairs Section in Moscow (PAS Moscow) of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out the “FY22 English Learning for Russian Speakers: Content Development,” a program to curate content that is tailored for Russian speakers to learn English and about U.S. culture. Content should be developed in a bilingual model using Russian as a basis for providing content accessible and teaching skills for learners of English. Content may include but is not limited to audio content in the form of a podcast and/or video content similar to that used on YouTube or TikTok. Written content such as dialogues, exercises, or teacher guides should also be provided to support and maximize language learning. Thematic content should include elements of U.S. culture and include learnable chunks of language in the form of a dialogue or phrases. In addition to such audio/video content, the developers should create an online website with the content and focusing on ideas for incorporating content into English language teaching classrooms for Russian speakers. Finally, the grant recipient should include a marketing plan for the content, including social media or other means of distributing the content to Russian speakers inside and outside of Russia. The grant recipient will work closely with RELO Tallinn and PAS Moscow to select, develop, and promote content.

BACKGROUND The United States condemns the Kremlin’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. We remain committed to imposing a severe economic and diplomatic cost on the Government of Russia as it pursues a war that threatens the foundations of global peace and stability. However, we do not hold the people of Russia responsible for President Putin’s war. While there is no equivalency with the atrocities being carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine, President Putin has also systematically ratcheted up repression inside Russia, shutting down independent media, restricting internet access, and punishing dissent with harsh prison terms. We recognize the terrible choices this presents for the Russian people who cannot make their voices heard. In these dire times, cutting off contact with all Russian people does not serve the long-term interests of the United States. To this end, the United States continues to pursue people-to-people exchanges and programs that welcome individual Russian students, scholars, and emerging civil society and business leaders to our academic institutions and our country to learn about the American people, values, and institutions. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Moscow Public Affairs Section (PAS) announces that funding is available through our Public Diplomacy Grants Program. This Annual Program Statement outlines our funding priorities, strategic themes, and the procedure for submitting requests for funding. Applications for programs are accepted on a rolling basis until the deadline (June 15, 2022). This deadline is necessary to provide sufficient time to process and award programs before the end of our fiscal year on September 30, 2022. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Please use the grant application document and budget template found on our website. Purpose of APS Grants: PAS Moscow invites proposals for projects that strengthen ties and understanding between the American and Russian people through concrete demonstrations of cooperation between our two peoples. All grant proposals must convey an element of American history, culture, or shared values. Competitive proposals should support a priority program area (see below). Competitive proposals should also include a connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s that will promote increased cooperation between the people of the United States and Russia even after the program has finished. Priority Programming Areas: · Media & Information: Projects that promote an understanding of freedom of the press, good journalistic practices, increased access to information, and improved media literacy for the Russian people; · Sharing America: Projects that promote an understanding of the American values of democracy, freedom of expression, and an open society, as well as proposals that increase the understanding of America’s diverse cultures and groups; · Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility: Projects that support women and minority rights and programs that provide skills and tools for people with disabilities; · Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Projects that promote an understanding of entrepreneurship, American business, workplace, and legal values, and increases the entrepreneurship skills of the Russian people; · One Planet: Projects that promote improvements, innovation, advancement, and collaboration in the areas of community and regional health, technology, and the environment, and energy. · English Language: Projects that support innovative, interactive teaching, and learning of the English language. Projects that support ongoing efforts of the Regional English Language Office will be especially welcome. The following types of projects are not eligible for funding: · Projects relating to partisan political activity; · Charitable or development activities; · Construction projects; · Projects that support specific religious activities; · Fundraising campaigns; · Lobbying for specific legislation or projects; · Competitions where the prize is the only outcome of the program; · Scientific research; or · Projects that duplicate existing projects. Authorizing legislation, type and year of funding: Funding authority rests primarily in Fulbright-Hayes or Smith-Mundt FY2022 Public Diplomacy funding.