U.S. Embassy Tokyo’s Public Affairs Section is offering the Alumni Capacity Building Grant to foster leadership and strengthen networks among U.S. government program alumni in Japan.

U.S. Embassy Tokyo’s Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for proposals to engage in the capacity building of U.S. government program alumni, through alumni-driven projects or programs that facilitate alumni leadership development and the development of networks necessary to pursue and protect American interests abroad. 

Priority Region: Japan

Program Objectives:   

Every year, the U.S. government selects individuals from around the world representing a variety of fields with different levels of experience to participate in a variety of different U.S. government programs. Individuals learn and network their American interlocutors, as well as from other program participants from around the world. During and immediately after programs, participants are often energized to build on what they have learned; however, as time passes, that energy abates.

The Embassy welcomes proposals that seek innovative and creative ways to revitalize Japanese alumni enthusiasm, rekindling the sentiment they had immediately after returning to Japan upon the completing of their exchange program(s). Furthermore, the proposal should detail a specific social issue(s) the alumni can address, explain the approaches that are being implemented to solve this issue(s), and highlight the program’s impact, effectiveness, and future sustainability. The proposal must also contain an element that focuses on the collaborative efforts between the U.S. and Japan.

The Embassy is particularly interested in supporting the following priority areas: 

 – Strengthen U.S. Department of State ties to Japanese alumni by offering opportunities to allow them to expand upon their exchange experiences and use the skills they developed abroad to address shared global challenges. 

– Provide Japanese alumni with information, resources, and networks to allow them to leverage skills and experiences gained through their exchanges to prosper in a globalized world and marketplace. 

 – Support alumni-driven initiatives that address international issues of common concern and promote mutual understanding between the United States and Japan. 

– Reinforce existing alumni program identities and build a sense of common identity among past participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs.

All programs must include an American element, such as a 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, or discussions by Japanese speakers regarding their experience in the United States. And in order to promote collaboration and alumni networking building, projects should be submitted by teams of at least two alumni, with the “team lead” being a Japanese citizen alumnus/a to Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Tokyo. Project activities should take place in Japan and should multiply the effects of participants’ exchange experience by positively impacting communities in Japan.

All programs must engage Japanese audiences.

Programs may take place in person or virtually (note: due to current COVID travel restrictions, all applications should include a plan for virtual engagement). If you apply from outside of Japan, we highly recommend potential applicants to collaborate and coordinate with project partners in Japan to implement requested programs successfully. 

The applicant should budget for interpretation and translation.  

Participants and Audiences:

The Embassy will only consider grants that involve Japanese alumni of U.S. government (USG) program audiences. Applicants should be either Japanese USG Sponsored Exchange Alumni Organizations, who have already created an organization prior to applying for the NOFO with a minimum of two [2] alumni (one of who is the team leader), or organizations whose projects focus on U.S. Government-sponsored exchange program alumni.