A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Background: The U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan launched the English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) in 2007. Since its inception more than 1600 students in more than 15 regions across Kazakhstan have participated in the Access Program. With the growing interest of rural areas and secondary school youth in Kazakhstan to develop their skills in English, the U.S. Consulate General Almaty would like to continue supporting the local community through structured language training. This funding opportunity seeks to engage local educational organizations to design and implement the English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) in regions across southern Kazakhstan (for the detailed location please refer to the “project audiences” section). Through after-school classes and intensive sessions, the program will create opportunities for talented 13-15 year-olds from economically disadvantaged sectors to learn English during a two-year project. The program also gives participants the opportunity to gain an appreciation for U.S. culture and values. It is intended to increase their ability to participate successfully in the socio-economic development of their country and improve their chances of participating in educational and exchange programs in the United States. Project Audiences: Female and male 13-15 year old students (50/50 ratio per group), from Talgar, Taraz, Sayram standard secondary schools. The target audience should be from socially and economically underprivileged groups with a motivation to learn U.S. culture and values within a two-year intensive in-person program. Selected participants must be bright, economically disadvantaged students with beginning level of English. Participants should commit to enroll in classes during the full two-year program. Students will graduate with certificates of completion from the U.S. Consulate General in Kazakhstan at the end of their two-year program. Project goal: Promote the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan through increasing the English language and critical thinking skills of economically disadvantaged Kazakh youth from rural and suburban secondary schools. Project Objectives: Objective 1: Increase English language proficiency of 90-110 beginner-level to intermediate, over a two-year period through interactive learning and real-life contextual practice strategies. Objective 2: Increase awareness and understanding of key issues facing the target audiences’ respective communities and ways they can positively contribute to addressing those challenges. Objective 3: Increasing understanding of US culture/values and critical thinking skills. Objective 4: Improve media literacy and basic computer skills, including use of search engines and social media of the target audience. More information: Please see the links below for further information: · Access Program: https://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/english-access-microscholarship-program · Access Provider Handbook: https://handbook.access-program.org/ The Successful Provider will be Responsible for the Following Tasks: ▪ To advertise and promote the program in the local community; ▪ To select program participants and staff members; ▪ To organize and provide the English Language instruction classes (after school and intensive sessions); and ▪ To work closely with the U.S. Consulate General in Almaty; B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION Length of performance period: 20-24 months (2 academic years) Number of awards anticipated: 1-3 awards Floor of Individual Award Amounts: $31,000 Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $31 000 to a maximum of $33 000 Ceiling of Individual Award Amounts: $100,000 Total available funding: $100,000 Type of Funding: Assistance to Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia under the Foreign Assistance Act. Anticipated programs start date: September 2023 Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that Consulate General staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation. There will be (but not limited to) a substantial involvement of the U.S. Consulate General Almaty in teacher and student recruitments, program activities planning and implementation, U.S.G. alumni and other representative visits, ceremonies organization. Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in September 2025 or less. C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 1. The following organizations are eligible to apply: · Not-for-profit organizations · Civil society/non-governmental organizations. · Think tanks. · Public International Organizations. · Governmental institutions. · Public educational institutions and/or teaching English, preferably with similar projects. For this announcement, only Kazakhstan-based organizations are eligible to apply. The grantee should be an established institution or a non-governmental organization (NGO) with at least 3 years of experience in administering educational programs and/or teaching English, preferably to the target age group. The grantee must have access to an established core of English instructors willing to commit their time to this project. Organizations with previous experience and a capacity of working with educational institutions on a national level will be given priority. 2. Cost sharing or matching is not required for this funding opportunity 3. Pre-award costs are not an allowable expense for this funding opportunity. 4. In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D for more information. Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov. D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement will be ineligible. Application forms required below are available at: https://kz.usembassy.gov/, grants.gov. Content and Form of Application Submission Applicants must ensure: · Proposal clearly addresses the goals, audiences, and objectives of this notice. · 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. · All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins. · All applicant authorized signatures are provided where indicated on the various, required forms. Application Deadline: All applications must be received by August 1, 2023 (11.59 p.m. Astana time). This deadline is firm and is not a rolling deadline. If organizations fail to meet the deadline noted above their application will be considered ineligible and will not be considered for funding. Please note that review may take up to 60 days. Application Submission Process: Submit all application materials directly to the following email address
[email protected] including the subject line: “Access 2023 proposal”. Required Registration: All organizations applying for grants must obtain a Unique entity Identifier (UEI) and a www.SAM.gov registration. The registration is free of charge. Note: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible. Read full NOFO in the Related Documents