Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowship Program

Deadline: 8-Mar-24

The Study of the U.S. Branch (ECA/A/E/USS), Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposal submissions for one cooperative agreement to design, administer, and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowship Program.

• The YSEALI is designed to strengthen leadership development across Southeast Asia, deepen engagement with young leaders on key regional and global challenges, and strengthen people-to- people ties between the United States and Southeast Asia. YSEALI, which began in 2013, is a broad U.S. government initiative with a range of components that include educational exchanges, professional skills-building workshops in the region, online networking, project seed money, and professional seminars at the YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam.
• The Academic Fellowship component of the YSEALI is targeted at undergraduate students and recent graduates in Southeast Asia, and includes an intensive academic residency, community service activities, leadership development, and an integrated study tour. The Institutes should provide participants with an in-depth examination of the themes of Civic Engagement; Sustainability and Environment; Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Empowerment; and Society and Governance while also heightening their awareness of the history and evolution of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions, broadly defined.

Objectives

• Objective 1: Advance participant and beneficiary cross-cultural competence and global perspective
• Objective 2: Increase the impact that participants and alumni have on their communities/countries
• Objective 3: Strengthen engagement among participants, alumni, beneficiaries, and institutions
• Objective 4: Strengthen personal, professional, and technical abilities and aptitudes of participants and beneficiaries
• Objective 6: Increase Capacity of ECA partner institutions to achieve program strategic goals
• Objective 8: Enhance the quality and effectiveness of ECA programs by leveraging the Bureau’s resources, policy, and stakeholder relationships

Themes

• The YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Civic Engagement should provide participants with an overview of how citizens, both as individuals and in groups, have shaped U.S. history, government, and society. The academic program should define civic engagement, examine its development in the United States, and explore topics such as active citizenship, community-building, economic development, grassroots activism, gender equity, political leadership, volunteerism, voting, and the ways in which traditional and social media can be leveraged to advance civic causes. In order to define the content of the Institute and enhance the academic experience, proposals may choose to focus on one of the following sub-themes: media literacy, education, public health, civil rights and social justice, and community resilience. To the extent possible, academic sessions should be complemented with hands-on sessions or workshops designed to build skills in the topics mentioned. The Institutes should encourage participants to develop innovative and practical plans to become engaged citizens in their own communities.
• The YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Sustainability and Environment should explore the role that environmental issues and policies have played in the economic, political, and social development of the United States. Institutes should use experiential learning techniques to expose participants to topics including climate change, climate resilience, ocean protection, renewable energy, pollution, public health and safety, emergency and disaster management, land use, sustainable development, conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, food security, illegal and unreported fishing, ecotourism, and water access, management and treatment. The Institutes should explore the issues from numerous angles, including local grassroots activism and civic initiatives, impacts on underserved communities, global multilateral efforts, the private sector, and government policies and regulation. Finally, Institutes in this theme should explore climate change and environmental issues in the context of a globalized society and draw parallels between the United States and the participants’ home countries.
• The YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Empowerment should provide participants with an overview of U.S. entrepreneurial strategies and critical emerging technologies that are employed to address social issues. Institutes under this theme should review the development, history, challenges, and successes of social enterprises and community leaders in the United States and globally, with specific relevance to Southeast Asia. Topics may include, but are not limited to, economic and social justice initiatives; investment; social capital development; strategies for sustainable economic development; financial literacy; microfinance; organizational development and management; innovation; emerging technology; risk analysis; strategic business planning; corporate social responsibility; and underrepresented communities in entrepreneurship. To the extent possible, academic sessions should be complemented with hands-on sessions or workshops designed to build skills in the topics mentioned.
• The YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Society and Governance should offer an overview of governance in the United States, exploring policy making and public management practices at both the local and national level. The Institutes should explore a variety of subtopics such as democracy and rule of law, judicial reform, public administration and management, fiscal management in public and non-profit organizations, public health and human services, public-private partnerships, public safety, transportation and urban planning, civil liberties, anti-corruption, and transparency and accountability. The Fellowship should emphasize practical skills such as management and leadership through interactive workshops that allow participants to outline policy solutions for their own communities. The Institute curriculum should also encourage participants to draw parallels between the United States and their home countries.

Funding Information

• Approximate Total Funding: $30,000,000 This figure represents base year plus two Non-Competitive Continuation years, pending successful performance and the availability of funds.
• Approximate Number of Awards: One award.
• Approximate Average Award: $10,000,000
• Minimum “Floor” of Award: None
• Maximum “Ceiling” of Award: $10,000,000
• Anticipated Award Date: September 1, 2024
• Anticipated Project Completion Date: August 31, 2029. This date reflects the anticipated duration of the award – one base year plus two NCC years.

Responsibilities

• Proposals must demonstrate the capacity of the recipient to assist ECA in recruitment efforts and in the selection process for Fellows. The recipient will be responsible for developing creative and comprehensive plans to assist recruitment conducted by U.S. embassies and consulates and other U.S. government agencies throughout Southeast Asia. The recruitment plans should include the development of marketing materials including, but not limited to, print materials (flyers, fact sheets, one pagers, brochures); prerecorded content (audio advertisements, podcasts, etc.); online content (website information, social media campaigns); and outreach to stakeholders in U.S. higher education, sectors related to Fellowship themes, and other relevant communities.
• The recipient will be responsible for creating a Fellow application form that will be posted on the program website for U.S. embassies, consulates, and other U.S. government agencies to submit eligible candidates. Please see the POGI for more information.
• The initial nomination of qualified candidates will be the responsibility of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other U.S. government agencies, including ECA. The recipient will be responsible for assisting with the placement of nominated candidates with ECA making final participant selection and placement decisions.
• Participants will be undergraduate students or recent graduates aged 18-25 from the 10 ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) plus Timor-Leste. ECA will make the final decisions regarding participating countries and reserves the right to adjust the participating countries, participant numbers, themes, and Institute dates based upon Department priorities.

Eligibility Criteria

• U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons, and other not-for-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.
• 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 $10,000,000 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.
  • In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued.
  • 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.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.