U.S. Mission to France – Public Diplomacy Section is offering a Small Grants Program to strengthen U.S.-France bilateral ties.

Overview Small Grants Program – Annual Program Statement

The Public Diplomacy Section at U.S. Mission to France is now accepting Statements Of Interest (SOI) proposals to participate in the Embassy’s Small Grants Program competition.

The U.S. Department of State provides funding for well-conceived programs that support U.S. Mission to France’s strategic priorities. Proposed programs should strengthen bilateral ties between the United States and France and include a clear U.S. connection that will promote increased understanding of the United States among the French public. All programs must include a U.S. element or a connection with experts, organizations, or institutions from the United States in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy or perspectives.

Priority programmatic themes for the U.S. Mission to France include:

• Security and Defense: Activities that promote transatlantic security; combat transnational, regional, and global challenges, such as terrorism, racially, ethnically, and/or religiously motivated violent extremism, or cyber threats; and encourage resistance to malign influence and disinformation.
• Foreign Policy: Activities that promote understanding of U.S. foreign policy priorities and Franco-American foreign policy cooperation among the French public and influencers.
• Civic Education and Media Literacy: Activities that support involvement of young people in the civic life of their country and building a sense of shared values and responsibilities of citizenship, especially across ethnic, religious, and socio-economic divisions. Activities that build media literacy and resilience to misinformation.
• Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability: Activities that encourage understanding of climate change, promote civic activities supporting environmental sustainability, promote innovation and economic opportunity related to climate change, and demonstrate how America and France can work together to achieve our climate goals.
• Prosperity, Trade, and Investment: Activities that encourage a nuanced understanding of U.S. agricultural practices and industries, support the expansion of U.S. exports and investments, improve the connections between U.S. and French businesses, and/or expand economic opportunities, entrepreneurship, and financial independence among women, youth, and underserved populations.
• Health, Technology and Innovation: Activities that support cooperation in such areas as health, space exploration, agricultural technology, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship.
• Shared Democratic Values and Interests: Non-partisan activities that promote the long history of the U.S.-France relationship and build people-to-people ties based on our shared history and democratic values, including but not limited to commemorations of key historic events.
• Cultural Diplomacy: Activities promoting U.S. culture, building on shared U.S.-French appreciation for cultural excellence through culinary traditions, art, film, sports, fashion, literature, and other cultural forms.

The following registered U.S. or French organizations are eligible to apply:

• Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience
• Non-profit educational institutions
• Governmental institutions

For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.  

This is a two-tier competitive process. The submission of the SOI is the first step in a two-step process. Applicants must first submit a concise three-page statement of interest clearly communicating program ideas, objectives and budget summary draft. This first step is not a full proposal application. The purpose of the SOI process is to allow applicants to submit program ideas for evaluation prior to requiring the development of a full proposal application. Upon a merit review of eligible SOIs, selected applicants will be invited to expand on their program ideas and budget by submitting a full proposal application. Full proposals will go through a second merit review before final funding decisions are made. The time for the whole process may take 2 to 3 months. Applicants are encouraged to apply 3 to 6 months before the start date of the proposed activity. SOI applications will be reviewed in February/March and May/June 2022.

Deadlines to apply:

• 1st Round February 20, 2022 at 23:59 (French time)
• 2nd Round May 1, 2022 at 23:59 (French time)

Please see below for instructions on how to submit an initial Statement of Interest for consideration by the U.S. Mission to France Public Diplomacy Section. Organizations may submit only one statement of interest per round.

1. Submit Statement of Interest (SOI) via e-mail to GrantsFrance@state.gov

Applicants should draft a three-page Statement of Interest, in English, that briefly introduces the organization and explains the project’s goal and objectives, how it addresses the above priority program areas, its connection to the United States, and anticipated results. The Statement of Interest should be accompanied by a one-page budget summary in U.S. dollars.

The e-mail must contain the following information:

a)     Subject/Title: # Round, PDS France – FY2022 APS/SOI and the title of the Program (in English)

b)     Message body:

• Presentation of the proposal and detail of attached documents
• Legal name of the organization
• UEI or DUNS number
• Name of the organization’s signing authority, title, telephone, address, e-mail
• Name and contact information of person submitting the proposal

c)      Attachments:

A concise proposal, in English, of no more than 3 pages that includes the following:

§ A brief introduction of the organization (1 paragraph)

§ Description of the proposed program (who, why, what, what for, when)

§ Summarize goals, objectives, outcomes, performance indicators, beneficiaries, and proposed timeline

§ A clear statement of the applicant’s organizational capacity to carry out the proposed activity and manage U.S. Government funds.

§ The anticipated total budget amount (in U.S. dollars).

 A detailed budget (see budget guidelines on section H. Other information for budget categories).

Note: All organizations must have a unique entity identifier (UEI) or Data Universal Numbering System number (DUNS #) from Dun & Bradstreet. Please refer to section D3. Required Registrations in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

2. Selection of SOI Initial Proposals

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) at U.S. Mission to France will review and analyze the quality and feasibility of the project and whether it aligns with the Embassy’s priorities, and will select eligible and qualified applications based on the following criteria:

• Program areas addressed are aligned with stated priorities
• Objectives and expected outcomes are clear
• Target audience is identified and aligns with program objectives and outcomes
• Detailed budget and timeline are included
• Proposal is viable, reasonable, and executable
• Compliance with required information and documents
• If project is envisioned as recurring, proposal demonstrates potential for additional funding sources or partners to ensure sustainability without guaranteed U.S. government support in the future.

3. Full Application Deadline

Applicants whose statements of interest are selected will receive a notification and invitation to submit a full proposal application within 3 weeks of the notification.

Qualified full applications will go through a second merit review. Each proposal will be evaluated by an internal Embassy committee to determine the project’s potential to advance U.S. policy priorities. In general, it takes 15 to 20 days to complete the review process, panel discussion, and selection.

For more information, eligibility, and deadlines please read the Notice of Funding Opportunity PDS-France-FY2022-03 APS SOI and/or refer to the U.S. Embassy in France website (Grants Programs).

Questions can be directed to GrantsFrance@state.gov.

Please note: We do not provide any pre-consultation for application related questions that are addressed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity