Purpose of the Program
The U.S. Speaker Program awards grants to American experts to travel worldwide or to participate in the programs to engage audiences through lectures, workshops, and seminars; through appearances in media; and in a consultancy capacity. The U.S. Speaker Program proactively promotes an understanding of U.S. foreign policy and other key policies, and the political, economic, social and cultural context out of which these policies arise. Grantees are programmed with a variety of professional audiences in a wide range of disciplines. English language teaching and the performing arts are specifically excluded. Performing artists may participate in programs as speakers or consultants, but we do not recruit artists for performances or exhibitions. In addition, speakers and specialist grantees do not teach undergraduate courses or conduct research. U.S. Embassy or local organization may request a specific speaker for a program. For name request, local organizations are required to provide sufficient justification for the individual(s) specified. Justification must include confirmation of U.S. citizenship, contact information and rationale for the selection of the individual. While local organization may request a specific speaker for the program, local organization should refrain from making commitments to potential speakers. Organization should always advise U.S Embassy Belgrade, Public Affairs Office if the organization has made prior contact with the requested speaker. If the local organization has already contacted a prospective speaker, they must be advised not to make travel reservations or to purchase airline tickets.
All requests should be submitted at least two months before the program date.
Daily schedules for the speaker should include six to eight hours of activity, including representational events. Exceptions to this policy will be granted on a case-by-case basis upon justification for such a program and when the grantee accepts such a schedule before travel.
Speakers program include international travel, per diem, health insurance, honorarium, book/educational materials allowance, and a miscellaneous expense allowance. Honorarium is provided for the entire length of the program to include stopovers, weekends, travel days and local holidays. Full per diem is paid for all official nights spent in a country and for rest stops taken on route to post, and for the rest days.
This year the U.S. Speaker Program is interested in projects relating to:
- Promotion of civil society and association building
- Free flow of information (including support for independent media)
- Transparency in government and rule of law and legal reform
- Public education and advocacy (including civic education)
- Protection of human rights
- Environment
- Market economy
- Anti-corruption awareness campaigns
- Ethnic, minority, and women’s equality/Women empowerment
- Domestic and peer violence
- Innovation
- Entrepreneurship/Job creation
- Science and technology
Guidelines for Application
- The grant amount is from $5,000 to $10,000.
- The grant period is three to ten days.
- Project proposals should be completed in English.
- Project proposals should include all of the information requested in the Application Form. Proposals will not be considered until all information is received.
- Amounts in the project budget have to be in U.S. dollars.
- This is the first call for proposals and it applies to programs scheduled between March until June 2018.
- Second call for proposals will be announced in April, for the programs scheduled between July until December 2018.
Projects NOT Funded by the U.S. Speaker Program
Projects NOT funded by the U.S. Speaker Program include:
- those submitted by non-Serbian organizations and individuals;
- those relating to partisan political activity;
- conferences and individual trips abroad;
- charitable activity and humanitarian aid;
- fund-raising campaigns;
- commercial projects;
- arts and culture projects;
- scientific research;
- individuals not affiliated with an organization that can provide long-term sustainability to the project;
- and those that duplicate existing projects.
Evaluation Criteria
Project proposals are evaluated according to the topic of the project, clearly formulated goals and target groups, project sustainability and the ability of the applying organization to carry out the project aim.
If your proposal meets the criteria of the Speaker Program and is under consideration, you may be invited for an interview or asked to submit additional information.
Applications deadline: March 12, 2018. Applicants can expect to be notified of the final outcome up to three weeks after the submission of the project.
How to Apply?
Please fill in and send the U.S. Speaker Program Request and the U.S. Speaker Program Schedule to belgradespeakers@state.gov. Please include one page biography of the desired speaker, and approximate budget for the speaker.
Grant Awards and Reporting Requirements
Grant awards will be made in two installments in bank transfers in U.S. dollars. The first installment will be transferred to the grantee/organization prior to the beginning of the project. The applicant must provide an interim report about the use of the first installment of funds before additional funds will be released. If no interim report is provided, no additional funds will be released.
Upon completion of the project, all grantee/organizations must complete a formal narrative report, and submit it to the Embassy.
By
U.S. Embassy in Belgrade
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22 February, 2018 | Topics: Announcements, Grants, Programs, Public Affairs
