U.S. Mission to Ecuador Public Diplomacy Grants Program

AGENCY NAME: U.S. Mission to Ecuador

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Public Affairs Sections (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy Quito and U.S. Consulate General Guayaquil of the U.S. Department of State (U.S. Mission) are pleased to announce an open competition for organizations and individuals to submit applications to organize, plan, and work closely with the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Commission Ecuador to develop a strategic plan to cover the next five years. This will be funded through the Public Diplomacy Grants Program. 

Purpose of the Grant: 

The purpose of this grant is to work with the Fulbright Commission in Ecuador as the organization formulates a vision, mission, and a Strategic Plan for 2020-2025. This would include working with the Board of Directors, the Fulbright Commission staff, and the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to draft a mission statement for the Commission, and to adjust their work to meet the U.S. mission goals. 

Over the course of this program, the Fulbright Ecuador Board of Directors will be able to articulate the vision, mission, and values of the organization; create a job description for Board Members; and, identify potential skills gaps in the Board and launch a recruitment strategy. Likewise, this program will help the Board and staff create a mission statement, a strategic plan, and job descriptions.

This program supports the Mission ICS goal of strengthening institutions, democratic governance, and international collaboration. 

PAS invites proposals to design the Strategic Planning Process of the Fulbright Commission of Ecuador 2020- 2025:

• Conduct all the Strategic Planning workshops with all the members of the Board and when needed the Fulbright Commission staff. These workshops should follow a plan previously approved by PAS Quito;
• Draft the Strategic Plan 2020-2025 for the Fulbright Commission  and send it to the Board for comment and edits. Incorporate those observations into the final document;
• Help the Board construct a mission and vision this should be incorporated in the strategic planning process.

Key Responsibilities

The project grantee, with assistance and insight from the U.S. Embassy and the Fulbright Commission Board of Directors, will organize, oversee, and execute the following activities:

1. Become familiar with Ecuador’s Fulbright Commission and with the Board of Directors.
2. Develop a Strategic Planning process which should engage the Board in all matters and decisions, including the selective participation of the Staff, to be presented for approval and execution.
3. Prepare all materials needed for proposing, communicating and conducting the Fulbright Commission 2020-2025 Strategic Planning process.
4. Help the Board develop a clear mission and vision for the next five years.
5. Identify key milestones that need to be achieved in order to keep track of the Strategic Plan. Integrate this into a calendar that will help keep track of how the plan is advancing over time.
6. Detailed planning and execution of the Strategic Planning sessions in Quito.
7. Facilitate the 2020-2025 Fulbright Commission Strategic Planning meetings. A plan on how to interact and incorporate the ideas of all the members of the Fulbright Commission Board and the Staff. 
8. Draft a Strategic Plan for the next five years:

• This plan should include all the conceptual framework (definitions, process, components, deliverables, and contents) needed to outline a plan of action for the next five years.
• Integrate a calendar of activities and milestones that should be reached in order to keep in tract of the plan

Timeline: A prospective timeline for the delivery of the program is as follows:

• May: Grantee is selected, grant awarded. Strategic planning and workshop with the Board.
• June: Drafting the plan                     
• July: Present draft plan
• August: Receive and incorporate edits                    
• September: Present final plan
• October: Follow-up survey with participants
• November: Final reports

IMPORTANT NOTE: Given the current situation with COVID-19, it is important to remain flexible as the timeline is likely to change as a result of the global pandemic.

Participants and Audiences:

The participants for this project will be the Board of Directors and staff members of the Fulbright Commission.

ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION: Eligible Applicants: The Public Affairs Section encourages applications from U.S. and Ecuadorian:

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

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

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Content and Form of Application Submission

Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.

Content of Application: Please ensure:

• The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity
• All documents are in English
• All budgets are in U.S. dollars
• All pages are numbered
• All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper, and
• All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

Summary Coversheet: Cover sheet stating the applicant name and organization, proposal date, program title, start and end date of program, and brief purpose of the program.

Proposal (three pages maximum): The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do and what the program will accomplish. You may use your own proposal format, but it must include all the items below. 

• Proposal summary: Short narrative that outlines the proposed program, including program objectives and anticipated impact.
• Introduction to the organization or individual applying: A description of past and present operations, showing ability to carry out the program, including information on all previous grants from the U.S. Embassy and/or U.S. government agencies.
• Problem statement: Clear, concise and well-supported statement of the problem to be addressed and why the proposed program is needed.
• Program goals and objectives: The goals describe what the program is intended to achieve. What aspect of the relationship between the U.S. and Ecuador will be improved? The objectives refer to the intermediate accomplishments on the way to the goals. These should be achievable and measurable.
• Program activities: Describe the program activities and how they will help achieve the objectives.
• Program methods and design: A description of how the program is expected to work to solve the stated problem and achieve the goal.
• Proposed program schedule: The proposed timeline for the program activities. Include the dates, times, and locations of planned activities and events.
• Key personnel: Names, titles, roles and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program. What proportion of their time will be used in support of this program?
• Media plan: All submissions must include a detailed press and social media plan that outlines how the implementer will publicize the activities and goals of the program. (If applicable) 
• Program partners: List the names and type of involvement of key partner organizations and sub-awardees. (If applicable)
• Program monitoring and evaluation plan:  This is an important part of successful grants. Throughout the time-frame of the grant, how will the activities be monitored to ensure they are happening in a timely manner, and how will the program be evaluated to make sure it is meeting the goals of the grant?

Budget Justification Narrative: describe each of the budget expenses in detail.

Attachments (if applicable):

• 1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program
• Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner
• Official permission letters, if required for program activities

Funding Restrictions:

• Infrastructure/construction
• Development projects/programs
• Individual scholarships
• Personal development
• Social travel/visits
• Gifts or prizes
• Alcohol
• Food and drink not directly related to the program outcome
• Venture capital
• For-profit endeavors

All application materials must be submitted by email (.pdf or .doc formats only, not iCloud) to contactocultural@state.gov.

APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Criteria: A grants panel will review and evaluate each application based on the criteria outlined below:

• U.S. Component: The project has a clear U.S. component that incorporates U.S. expertise, processes, or personnel.
• Organizational capacity and record on previous grants: The organization has expertise in its stated field and PAS is confident of its ability to undertake the program. This includes a financial management system and a bank account.
• Quality and feasibility of the program idea: The program idea is well developed, with details about how program activities will be carried out. The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline.
• Goals and objectives:  Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.
• Embassy priorities: Applicant has clearly described how stated goals are related to and support U.S. Embassy priority areas and target audiences outlined in section A.
• Budget:  The budget justification is detailed. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities.
• Monitoring and evaluation plan: Applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provides milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal. The program includes output and outcome indicators and shows how and when those will be measured.
• Sustainability: Program activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the program.

FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

If you have any questions about the grant application process, please contact : BurneoJI@state.gov

Note: We do not provide any pre-consultation for application related questions that are addressed in the Program Statement. Once an application has been submitted, U.S. government officials and staff may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is complete.

Please review instructions in detail for applications at the link provided.