Federal International Development Grants

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) announces an open competition for projects in support of the Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership between the United States and the Government of Nepal. The CPC Partnership is jointly developed and implemented by the United States and the Government of Nepal through a multi-year plan (approximately five years). The purpose of this CPC Partnership is to advance and strengthen the efforts of the Government of Nepal and civil society organizations in Nepal to combat forced child labor and child sex trafficking in a victim- 2 centered, coordinated, sustainable, and multi-sectoral approach to support an effective system of justice, prevention, and protection. This includes the implementation of a victim-centered prevention strategy that addresses targeted risk factors, promotes high-quality comprehensive victim protection, and investigates, prosecutes, and convicts perpetrators of child trafficking. The Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens (MoWCSC) is the primary focal point for the Government of Nepal under the CPC Partnership. However, the TIP Office anticipates close collaboration with additional government ministries and agencies at a federal, provincial, and local level including a full range of criminal-justice stakeholders. The full partnership will be posted online here: Child Protection Compact Partnerships - United States Department of State Nepal is the eighth CPC Partnership the US government has negotiated globally; the TIP Office has active CPC Partnerships in Peru, Mongolia, Colombia, and Cote d’Ivoire, and previous CPC Partnerships with the governments of Jamaica, the Philippines, and Ghana. More information is available at: . The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity is to advance and strengthen the efforts of the Government of Nepal and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Nepal to combat child trafficking in a victim-centered, coordinated, sustainable, and multi-sectoral approach to support an effective system of prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership. Applicants are expected to propose activities that align with the goals and objectives outlined below from the U.S.-Nepal CPC Partnership text. Applicants should use the following illustrative activities to guide their proposals but are not expected to include every item listed: Objective 1 (Prevention): The Government of Nepal, particularly local government, coordinates with NGOs on child trafficking prevention efforts that are comprehensive and contextualized into local community child protection initiatives. Illustrative Activities: • Capacity Building o Strengthen and empower Local Coordination Committees on Human Trafficking; Train Child Welfare Officers to further identify and combat child trafficking; o Provide technical assistance to the MoWCSC on effective prevention strategies. • Awareness Raising o Engage schools and communities on action plans to identify and prevent child trafficking; o Engage families and communities about the risks of child trafficking among vulnerable communities; o Work with government and local communities to increase child registration for identification. • Community Interventions: o Targeted interventions for most at-risk populations; examples include but not limited to working with cash plus programs, community savings and loans cooperatives, financial inclusion strategies, vocational training, and alternative livelihoods; o Pilot or support community resilience programs to minimize the effects of disasters and climate change that exacerbate child trafficking risk factors. Objective 2 (Protection): The Government of Nepal supports child trafficking victims by providing accessible trauma-informed, victim-centered care, and supports NGOs to protect children throughout the country. Illustrative Activities: • Training and Curriculum Development o Expand social workers’ use of victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches; o Build capacity of local child-care centers with curriculum on minimum standards of care and sustainability plan. • Direct Victim Support o Enable organizations to provide protection services to child trafficking victims; o Identify and support protection services for male victims of trafficking, including shelter services for boys; 4 o Support reintegration efforts, including but not limited to vocational/ apprenticeship training, paying of school fees, and small business support. • Standard Operating Procedures o Create SOPs and/or handbooks to guide victim support in partnership with local committees; o Support implementation of identification guidelines with MoWCSC; o Develop repatriation procedures, SOPs, and guidelines for crossborder trafficking cases. • Capacity Building o Support the rollout of the Social Information Management System (SIMS) as a data collection tool and ensure it meets data sharing and case tracking needs; o Assist the “1098 hotline” for victims of human trafficking to be more responsive to victims and increase capacity to identify and serve trafficking victims. • Advocacy o Support pending legal code amendments that align laws with the Palermo Protocol; o Ensure civil society organizations are adequately resourced to provide needed victim services. Objective 3 (Prosecution): The Government of Nepal, including law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary, utilizes existing trafficking-specific legal frameworks to identify child trafficking victims, investigate cases, and prosecute and convict perpetrators of child trafficking in a child-friendly, victim-centered, and traumainformed manner. Illustrative Activities: • Training and Curriculum Development o Comprehensive (basic and advanced) training for justice-sector actors on the human trafficking law and how to utilize it during investigations, prosecutions, and convictions; o Comprehensive (basic and advanced) training for justice sector actors on victim-centered, trauma-informed, and child-friendly practices; o Training for law enforcement entities on trauma-informed and childfriendly techniques for gathering evidence and testimony from survivors of child trafficking; o Victim-centered training in the National Police Academy to combat human trafficking; o Curriculum for the National Judicial Academy focused on human trafficking laws, trauma-informed and child friendly practices, in coordination with NGOs o Methods to investigate and monitor online violence and cybercrimes. • Standard Operating Procedures o Child-friendly procedures for accompaniment of child trafficking victims and witnesses before the courts; o Child interview SOPs for police investigators and MoWCSC social workers; o Nationwide SOPs on victim identification, referral, and case management; o Support airport and border officers with resources for improved screening tools. • Establish New Practices o Digitized Court or “E-court” using video conferencing or video testimony likely connected with protection homes to support criminal cases; o Victim service units and victim-friendly court environments within the Supreme court and District courts; o Child-friendly spaces in local police offices, and/or other relevant locations; o Create child-friendly space guidelines that are adopted and used to train relevant staff; o Promote creation of a secure network and data collection system for criminal justice actors to share case details. • Advocacy o Expand judges’ use of current legal frameworks with innovative prosecution techniques such as victim compensation; o Promote appointment of an Office of the Special Rapporteur for Human Trafficking within the National Human Rights Council; o Create a cybercrime law from current cybercrime policy. 6 Objective 4 (Partnership): The Government of Nepal addresses child trafficking in a coordinated manner across all relevant ministries, local authorities and NGOs. Illustrative Activities: • Expand Alliances o Engage with private sector actors to raise awareness and prevent forced child labor in targeted industries; o Engage telecommunications companies to prevent online sexual exploitation of children; o Encourage parliamentary involvement on child protection issues; o Analyze the use of information technology to support child trafficking prevention and protection. • Information Sharing o Encourage information sharing across different data management systems, including the Missing Children and National Police databases. • National Frameworks o Review and support the Master Plan on Child Labor; o Support regional referral mechanisms and/or intergovernmental MOUs on trafficking with neighboring countries in the region; o Foster development and implementation of a National Action Plan. • Advocacy o Empower the National Coordination Committee on Human Trafficking; o Promote creation of a national budget line to combat child trafficking to ensure programs and relevant ministries are properly funded; o Facilitate sustainability planning to maintain CPC investments beyond the end of the agreement.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in eliminating labor abuses and conditions of forced labor connected to cyber scam operations in Southeast Asia.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to non-profit organizations working to promote peace and a negotiated two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through youth engagement, civil society capacity-building, and innovative public discourse initiatives.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department) announces the availability of approximately $3,000.000 total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for one cooperative agreement to fund a technical assistance project in Cambodia to increase the responsiveness of Cambodian Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and their key stakeholders to labor exploitation and barriers that impede access to decent work. We encourage prospective applicants and interested parties to use the Grants.gov subscription option to register for future updates provided for this particular FOA. In order to achieve the project goal, applicants must propose strategies to achieve the following outcomes:Outcome(s) (1) Increased understanding of the linkage between disability and vulnerability to child labor, forced labor and/or human trafficking and of barriers that impede access to decent work for persons with disabilities. (2) Increased coordination and partnerships between/among Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and their key stakeholders to address the prevalence of child labor, forced labor and/or human trafficking among persons with disabilities and barriers that impede their access to decent work. (3) Increased implementation of sustainable interventions by OPDs and their key stakeholders that address the linkage between disability and vulnerability to child labor, forced labor and/or human trafficking and barriers that impede access to decent work. Questions regarding this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) may be emailed to [email protected].

U.S. Embassy Riyadh announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program that provides exchange opportunities for emerging Saudi leaders in video game development and fosters linkages between them and experienced U.S. practitioners, professionals, educators and peers. Please read this document carefully and follow all instructions. This notice is subject to availability of funding.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in eradicating descent-based slavery and discrimination towards enslaved and formerly enslaved persons in the Sahel region of West Africa. Two projects will be awarded; one for Mauritania only and one regional project, focused on two or more countries in the Sahel region of West Africa. If applying to both opportunities, applicants should submit two separate applications.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs in North Macedonia to implement innovative public service projects that address local and global challenges.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Niamey of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to increase womens participation as mediators in community peace processes in Tillaberi Region. Please follow all instructions below. Priority Region: Tillaberi Region Program Description and Objectives: In January 2023, community leaders in northern Tillaberi Regions Bani Bangou Department signed a landmark peace agreement between the Fulani and Zarma ethnic groups. The peace agreement ended three years of cyclical intercommunal massacres exacerbated by the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara (IS-GS)s vicious attacks and recruitment schemes in these localities. Six months later, Tuareg and Fulani leaders in neighboring Ouallam Department signed their own community peace accord to end similar intercommunal violence strategically spurred by IS-GS. Neither Bani Bangou nor Ouallam Department has experienced cyclical intercommunal massacres since the accords signature. The National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP) has continued sponsoring the mediation of additional peace agreements in localities across northern Tillaberi Region since the coup detat in July 2023, targeting areas like Gourol Commune that have been devastated by intercommunal massacres, IS-GS warfare, and mass population displacement. Nigerien women did not serve as mediators in the negotiation of the Tillaberi Region peace accords. Instead, the men mediators held focus group discussions with women community members to incorporate their perspectives into their conflict analysis prior to the start of negotiations. This reflects a common trend in Nigerien peacebuilding and mediation: men lead and facilitate peace processes, involving women as passive informants and participants in the peace accord ceremonies. Peacebuilding interventions have had a transformative impact on the ability of women leaders in Tillaberi Region to mediate disputes and promote peace in their communities. Yet older men continue to dominate the mediation of community peace processes, ultimately leaving local patriarchal power structures untouched. Prospective projects should respond to the following goal: Women leaders will increase their participation in northern Tillaberi Region peace processes as mediators and institutionalize their leadership in partnership with national and local authorities by 2026. Prospective projects should reflect a strong strategic vision with clearly defined procedures for overcoming gender inclusion barriers in northern Tillaberi peace processes. Prospective projects should build on previous women peacebuilding interventions in northern Tillaberi and work with local women leaders who have been already trained on mediation skills and conflict resolution. Applicants are strongly encouraged against holding new trainings for local women leaders and are instead advised to work with local women leaders who have previously received mediation training. Applicants are advised to focus on strategic activities that advance womens integration into local peace process mediation. Possible project activities include: - Rapid gender inclusion assessment of northern Tillaberi Region peace processes - Gender inclusion strategy development for northern Tillaberi Region peace processes - Advocacy meetings to implement a peace process gender inclusion strategy - Gender-inclusive peace monitoring - Public gender inclusion sensitization activities Close collaboration with Nigerien authorities like the Ministry of Interiors Stabilization Unit and the High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP) as well as other partners implementing peace process support activities in northern Tillaberi Region is essential for successful project implementation. The successful applicant will demonstrate a successful track record of gender inclusion in local peacebuilding and will have collaborated previously with national or local Nigerien authorities. Applicants should budget for quarterly meetings of a project advisory group that will ensure coordination with Nigerien authorities and other women, peace, and security implementing partners. Participants and Audiences: The successful applicant will work with women leaders in northern Tillaberi Region who have been trained by previous peacebuilding and gender inclusion programs to co-design and implement gender inclusion activities. The successful applicant will build on pre-existing relationships with local and national Nigerien authorities, community leaders, and womens leaders in northern Tillaberi Region to manage a broad coalition of partners critical to successful gender inclusion.

The Global Engagement Center seeks to support a third-party implementer to conduct a three-phase project to mitigate foreign influence efforts in Indonesia. The project implementer is expected to share findings through a publicly available report, partnered media reporting, and a series of briefings that integrate findings and propose actionable recommendations, with translation of published materials and public events into Indonesian.

The U.S. Embassy Argentina Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce its Public Diplomacy Annual Call for Strategic Programs. PAS will evaluate those proposals that focus exclusively on the development of one or more of the following strategic programs: A) International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) On Demand. B) Empowering Women Leaders in Congress and Local Legislatures C) Empowering Women Leaders in Argentine Labor Unions D) Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) E) Alumni Groups Meeting and Networking Event F) Argentina TESOL Annual Convention G) Empowering Youth program H) Promote Democracy Among Youth I) Study of the United States Program J) Bilingual Science Camp To apply, please read carefully the additional information contained in the documents attached.

ROGRAM DESCRIPTIONThe U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Small Grants Program. This is an Annual Program Statement, outlining funding priorities, focus themes, and the procedures for submitting requests for funding. Please carefully follow all instructions below.Purpose of Small Grants: PDS Nairobi invites proposals for programs that strengthen ties between the United States and Kenya and promote bilateral cooperation. All programs must advance a U.S. linkage including for example a connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policies, economic models, and perspectives on U.S.-Kenya partnership.Priority Program Areas: Proposals must address one of the following key program areas:1. Economic Prosperity Advances the prosperity of the United States and Kenya through a fair and reciprocal economic partnership, the strengthening of Kenyas business climate, support for its startup ecosystem, clean energy solutions and climate change resiliency, and education that skills the next generation of workers. 2. Democracy and Governance Deepens the bilateral relationship on a broad range of common interests including the respect for human rights, safeguarding civic space, rule of law, public accountability, anti-corruption efforts, shared democratic values, and protection of fundamental freedoms.3. Celebrating 60 Years of U.S.-Kenya Partnership 2024 is the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya ties, a milestone to celebrate as well as build upon. Amplify what the United States and Kenya are accomplishing together across various fields, including but not limited to the trade and investment partnership, climate action and renewable energy, public health advancements, education, shared values, and security cooperation. Participants and Audiences:Kenyans who may be in any of the following categories; Kenyans between the ages of 16 and 35, including students, civil society leaders and social influencers; Business leaders and rising entrepreneurs; Established opinion leaders, including cultural influencers and academic institution leadership.

YSEALI (yseali.state.gov) is the U.S. governments signature initiative to engage emerging leaders in Southeast Asia. The program aims to create a network of young Southeast Asian leaders who work across national borders to solve common problems. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to solve shared issues. YSEALI is open to young leaders ages 18 to 35 who are both citizens and residents of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor-Leste. Responding to priorities from youth in the ASEAN region, YSEALI programs focus on four themes (i.e., Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, Education and Environmental Issues). The 2025 YSEALI WLA: InnovateHER will advance all of the YSEALI themes and the U.S. Mission to ASEANs strategic goals: Sub-objective 3.2.1. ASEAN recognizes the contribution of women in the economic recovery of the region and strives to promote DEIA principles across its economic community pillar. Sub-objective 3.2.2. The United States creates a program to promote the role of women across ASEAN in contributing to peace and security across the region. The 2025 YSEALI WLA: InnovatHER will be designed for 50 to 60 female participants who have professional experience working in the tech industry. Possible fields include artificial intelligence technology, clean energy, cybersecurity, software development, medical technology research, and tech start-up incubators. The participants, age 20 to 35, must represent all 10 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and Timor-Leste. The Academy will have pre-workshop virtual activities and an in-person four-day or five-day workshop located in Southeast Asia. The purpose of the pre-workshop and workshop activities will be to: (1) create a network of Southeast Asian women making advances in technology who will design future activities and workshops for women in the YSEALI network; (2) explore how technological advancements, including artificial intelligence, could improve the daily lives of women; (3) discuss political and governmental policies that are affecting womens access to the digital economy and technological advancements; (4) develop general leadership skills, including self-awareness of personal professional strengths. FULL NOFO is on the U.S. Mission to ASEAN website here.

The U.S. Mission to the Republic of Italys Public Affairs Section (PAS) is pleased to announce that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Grants Program. This is an Annual Program Statement outlining funding priorities, strategic themes, and the procedures for submitting requests for funding. PA Italy invites proposals for programs that strengthen cultural ties between the United States and Italy through cultural and exchange programming that highlight shared values and promote bilateral cooperation. All programs must include a significant American cultural element, connection with American expert(s), organization(s), OR institution(s) in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Priority Program Areas: American and Italian voices countering malign influencers and misinformation campaigns Promoting strong transatlantic relations; Creativity and innovation in education and the arts, and problem solving of issues of mutual interest to both countries; American Studies, particularly American History and Literature, to include university linkages; Promoting diversity and inclusion; Empowerment and prosperity through STEM education and entrepreneurship; American English Language Study; Media Literacy.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for organizations to implement global initiatives that protect and assist vulnerable populations, such as refugees and stateless persons, with a focus on specific themes like disability, LGBTQI+ rights, and child protection.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to a wide range of organizations, including governments, educational institutions, and nonprofits, to strengthen public health systems and improve responses to infectious disease threats in Bangladesh.

The Department of States Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) is pleased to invite organizations to submit proposals to provide technical assistance focused on establishing survivor leadership and partnership structures in support of its global Training and Technical Assistance (T) Program. The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) announces an open competition for projects to provide technical assistance focused on establishing survivor1 leadership and partnership structures 1 For simplicity and consistency, the terms “survivor” and “survivor leader” are used throughout this document. While some individuals who have experienced trafficking choose to embrace the title “survivor,” others do not. Terminology regarding human trafficking varies based on a country’s respective laws and language(s). The word “survivor” is not generally defined by law, nor is it in support of its global Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Program. The TIP Office manages foreign assistance programs dedicated to combating human trafficking outside of the United States. The TIP Office awards grants to combat all forms of human trafficking—sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, forced labor, domestic servitude, forced child labor, and the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) provides a diagnostic assessment of the efforts of governments to combat human trafficking and shapes our foreign assistance priorities. More information is available at: https://www.state.gov/international-programs-officeto-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons/. The TIP Office’s Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) program aims to increase government and/or civil society capacity to combat human trafficking. T&TA is most appropriate for addressing specific knowledge or other capacity gaps through targeted, short-term interventions. The TIP Office can provide training and/or technical assistance on topics spanning all 4Ps – Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnership. T&TA interventions are most often initiated by requests from U.S. Embassies abroad, or sometimes from our T&TA implementing partners. The TIP Office reviews requests for T&TA on a rolling basis throughout the year. Selected T&TA requests are then referred by the TIP Office to the relevant implementer, depending on the type of assistance requested, the implementer’s areas of universally used or accepted in the context of human trafficking. In some countries, “survivor” may refer to those who have experienced historical, collective, or cultural trauma. Within the United States, there are some widely used terms for individuals who have experienced human trafficking and subsequently decided to engage in anti-trafficking related work on a professional level. Individuals may prefer to be referred to as “survivor leaders,” “survivor advocates,” or “subject matter experts with lived experience of human trafficking.” Some may have other titles or prefer not to identify based on this experience at all. In recognizing individuals’ full life experiences, skill sets, and professional goals, it is important to always ask someone how they want to be identified. Policymakers and stakeholders should not assume that someone who identifies as a “survivor leader,” “survivor advocate,” or “expert with lived experience of human trafficking” should be referred to as such in a professional setting or that identification as a survivor leader makes it acceptable to inquire about someone’s personal experience with human trafficking. expertise, and funding availability. The timeline to complete T&TA activities will depend on a variety of factors such as strategic priorities and country contexts. The selected implementer should be able to create an intervention concept note and budget in response to the specific T&TA request before the intervention is approved for implementation. The selected implementer should also expect to work closely with TIP Office staff throughout the development and implementation of interventions and activities. T&TA interventions can be standalone or they can lay the groundwork for or complement other programing, but they do not take the place of longer, multiyear programs. Individual T&TA interventions can sometimes also be structured in phases, with each phase being subject to TIP Office approval. T&TA activities may be conducted in countries across all regions of the world, so the scope of T&TA implementers’ capabilities must be global. The selected applicant should be able to respond to unanticipated requests for assistance in any country and/or region, with few exceptions. Some examples of what past T&TA interventions have looked like include the following: • Review of and edits to draft legislation or implementing regulations on a 24-hour turnaround; • Development and adoption of Foreign Government National Action Plan over the course of five months from receipt of request to final adoption; • Targeted technical assistance on the process to accede to United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Palermo Protocol; • Rapid diagnostic needs assessment on anti-trafficking capacity gaps of specialized anti-trafficking practitioners conducted within 4 weeks of initial request, followed by the development and delivery of a tailored training curriculum; • Tailored trainings delivered to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges on how to build a human trafficking case in a country with limited resources and low capacity; • Tailored trainings delivered to shelter staff to improve identification, screening, and assistance of victims of trafficking, as well as technical assistance to develop necessary tools, such as screening forms and risk assessments; • Creation and implementation of a training series curriculum tailored to psychological and legal service providers to victims of trafficking in urban and rural locations both virtually and in-person, delivered over the course of several months; • Regional training for law enforcement and prosecutors, tailoring the materials to for applicability across various participating countries in the region. While some T&TA activities can be conducted remotely, and the ability to provide some programming virtually is an asset to the T&TA Program and to the selected implementers, the majority of T&TA activities are conducted in-person. Because T&TA interventions can take place in settings where utilities, such as internet connectivity, are unreliable, the TIP Office will not be able to consider applications whose model of T&TA delivery is entirely remote.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for projects that promote U.S.-Angola and U.S.-São Tomé and Príncipe relations through education, cultural exchange, and professional development initiatives.

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Mission Afghanistan is pleased to announce an open competition for eligible organizations to submit applications to carry out a program providing educational advising services to public diplomacy program participants and alumni, and to current undergraduate and high school students in Afghanistan, with the goal of assisting qualified applicants in Afghanistan who are ready to pursue higher education at institutions in the region, and in the U.S. This program aims to provide a range of educational advising services, in group and individualized sessions, to promote awareness of educational opportunities for Afghans, and build Afghan capacity to successfully apply for and participate in international higher education opportunities. This program supports increasing access to higher education and should focus on improving access to education for Afghan particularly the women.

This grant provides funding to U.S. and Cabo Verdean non-profit organizations and educational institutions for projects that promote cultural exchange, democratic governance, and economic growth between the United States and Cabo Verde.

The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot (USFCS) Fellowship Program provides an opportunity for Masters degree students in the fields of International Affairs, International Relations, International Studies, Economics, Business, Trade, Public Administration, or Public Policy, to increase their level of knowledge and awareness of the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) and its vital role in promoting American exports and facilitating trade and commerce around the world. The program also provides a pathway to potential employment with the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Global Markets, and particularly encourages students from underserved communities to apply. The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service is dedicated to ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of every action and every decision. Having varied perspectives helps generate better ideas to solve the complex problems of a changing world. It also enables us to be effective stewards and reflect the communities in which we live, work, and play. As such, creating a culture that is welcoming and inclusive of all helps to ensure the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service is able to effectively execute on its mission of creating prosperity by strengthening the international competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and investment, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. Individuals who are U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals and are in the first year of an eligible Masters degree program, or will complete their first year in the spring or summer of 2024, at a U.S. accredited institution, may apply. Given the structure of the Program, individuals enrolled in Masters degree programs of less than a two-year duration are not eligible to apply. Fellowship selections are based on academic excellence, letters of recommendations, a personal statement, relevant experience, skills demonstrated during interviews, and financial need. Applicants must have either 1) a cumulative 3.30 grade point average (GPA) in their graduate program or 2) have earned a cumulative 3.30 grade point average from undergraduate studies to be eligible to apply. Applicants must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30 per either semester or quarter for the duration of their Masters degree program. If Fellows engage in fraudulent conduct or fail to comply with any term or condition of the fellowship, funding may be withdrawn, or Fellows may be required to repay monies already received. Additionally, if the selecting official determines that satisfactory progress towards market research and the Fellowship paper is not completed within the timeframe of the award, Fellows may be required to repay any expenses borne by the government for their participation in the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship Program. The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship Program may provide, subject to appropriations, up to $35,000 of support per person for up to an eight-week fellowship program in an overseas U.S. diplomatic mission. Recipients of a U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship will be required to participate in a mandatory one-week Office of Global Talent Management Orientation and Training in the spring of 2025. As a recipient of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship, you become a recognized member of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service community. Global Markets will provide financial resources to help you increase the level of knowledge and awareness of the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) and how it facilitates the growth of global trade, commerce, and American exports, as well as provide mentorship to assist you with your learning experience. There will be two separate program deliverables required of each Fellow. The first deliverable is the Individual Post Analysis Report (IPAR) which will document the up to eight-week summer enrichment program at an assigned overseas post, summarizing industry sector-focused market research that helps clients understand the opportunities available in selling their specific products and services in a select market as well as any specific tariff or non-tariff regulatory barriers that may impede market access. The IPAR must be submitted by July 31, 2025. During the succeeding Professional Development and Networking phase of the fellowship, which runs from August 2025 through September 2025, the fellows will be assigned their second deliverable, a Capstone Project. Fellows will be provided with the Capstone Project requirements including specific prompts that highlight how they will transfer the knowledge and skills learned through the fellowship into her or his professional career. Mentors will be assigned to enhance the fellows growth and help them understand their own personal career development opportunities. At the culmination of the fellowship, the Fellow will be required in September 2025 to present their project virtually before a diverse panel of ITA/Global Markets senior managers. Fellows must be ready to travel overseas and pass a Security Assurance Check. Placements to an overseas location for the duration of the fellowship are required for every fellow. Federal financial support (grant) for the summer enrichment program may be used toward allowable costs such as: travel to and from the Department of Commerce facility, housing, per diem, books/materials costs. Funds cannot be used toward research costs. Fellows are required to provide their own health insurance coverage during the program collaboration. Health insurance coverage and any supplemental insurance can be paid for with grant funds. More details on allowable costs can be found in 2 CFR part 200, Subpart E Cost Principles. Applications for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship Program will be assessed on the criteria listed below. As a reminder, if you are in the last year of your Masters program, you are not eligible for this program. For a complete list of review criteria, please see Section V, subsection A. 1. Your statement of intent aligns closely with the International Trade Administration Foreign Commercial Service mission, with a particular interest in a career with the Foreign Commercial Service. This is 30 points of your application score. 2. You have exceptional letters of recommendation. This is 20 points of your application score. 3. Additional relevant experience and communication skills. This is 15 points of your application score.