Description
A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to implement the 2021-2023 English Access Microscholarship Program in five regions of Ukraine. The English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) is a global program supported by the U.S. Department of State. Access provides a foundation of English language skills to talented 13-20 year-olds from economically disadvantaged sectors through after-school classes and intensive sessions. Access gives participants English skills that may lead to better jobs and educational prospects. 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 countries and improve their chances of participating in educational and exchange programs in the United States. Since its inception in 2004, approximately 150,000 students in more than 80 countries have participated in the Access Program. Please follow all instructions below. Priority Region: Bakhmut, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Slovyansk, and Starobilsk. Program Objectives: The goal of the Access Program is to equip talented students who possess a minimal knowledge of English with effective communication and critical thinking skills through meaning interaction, cooperative learning strategies, and real-life contexts. Additionally, Access seeks to prepare students for conversational English language skills with native and non-native speakers of English through a variety of experiential learning activities. Selected participants must be bright, economically disadvantaged 13- to 20-year-old 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. Embassy in Ukraine at the end of their two-year program. The Program is divided into distinct phases: After-School Instruction Access Program is a two-year program that requires a minimum of 360 hours of instruction reasonably distributed over the two-year period. After-school instruction has been the preferred time for teaching and has generally taken place three days a week with each class lasting from one to two hours per day. It is the responsibility of the Providers to consider the schedule of the students to ensure that Access classes do not interfere with students’ regular school schedule. Enhancement activities related to U.S. culture and values must occur regularly throughout the two years of the program, including during after-school instruction. Cultural Enhancement activities should be designed to provide hands-on and interactive opportunities for students to engage in discussions, games, community service, and other activities related to U.S. culture and values. Examples may include community events (celebrating U.S. holidays, e.g. Thanksgiving and/or Fourth of July events) and joint programming with participation of U.S. Embassy personnel, U. S. scholars in town or virtually (e.g. English Language Fellows, English Teaching Assistants, Fulbright Students and/or Peace Corps volunteers), English language intensive sessions, leadership training, etc. Access Programs should also include computer instruction to complement English language classes and enhancement activities. Computer classes, multimedia learning, or social media activities during after-school Instruction and/or intensive sessions should be included in the proposal. Intensive Sessions Intensive Sessions are often two-week-long summer programs that include more instruction hours per week than the After School program. These sessions are included in the 360 hours of required instruction. Hours of instruction during Intensive Sessions may not exceed 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Intensive sessions should combine English language instruction with U.S. cultural activities such as drama, computers, art, music, or games and sports, or even civic responsibility projects, leadership and teamwork training, or tolerance programs. Access Program intensive sessions are an important activity which can supplement, initiate, or conclude a student's two-year English language programming. All intensive sessions should provide students with a window on U.S. culture and values, and their activities as much as possible should incorporate invited speakers (e.g. U.S. exchanges alumni, Embassy personnel, and other native and non-native English speaking partners, etc.). Community Service Activities Access students should also be involved in community service activities to increase their awareness of issues facing their respective communities while also gaining an understanding of the ways they can positively contribute to civil society. Alumni Programming The program seeks to encourage alumni networking, professional development, and civic involvement by supporting alumni-initiated projects that support civil society involvement in Ukraine’s reform efforts, encourage tolerance and integration of marginalized or displaced populations, and celebrate the strong links between the people of the United States and the people of Ukraine. In-Country Educational Service Provider: Roles and Responsibilities Proposal Eligibility Requirements: Proposals may be submitted by Ukrainian or U.S. based not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations. Basis for award of the grant: 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. The grantee must identify the location(s) and venue(s) that will be used for this program (verified with a document/preliminary agreement) and will be responsible for recruiting students, and in consultation with the Regional English Language Office at the U.S. Embassy, developing the curriculum. Organizations with previous experience and a capacity of working with educational institutions on a national level will be given priority. Project implementation location: The project implementation location should include the following oblast towns throughout Ukraine: Bakhmut, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Slovyansk, and Starobilsk. Regional projects should be coordinated with local oblast educational authorities. (Applicants should take note of the Department of State’s Ukraine Travel Warning and programming should not take place in areas where grant monitoring is not possible due to security considerations). Design requirements: The classes should be planned during the after-school hours not to conflict with students’ regular class hours. The participants must be bright, economically disadvantaged 13-20-year-old students. Classes should be organized both by age groups (within a couple years age difference) and language proficiency levels, with 20-25 students per class. The grantee should clearly define its criteria of “economically disadvantaged youth.” The general guideline is to target young students whose families will not be able to afford private English classes. Estimated project duration: Two (2) academic years with minimum 180 hours of instruction per year (360 hours for the two-year period). Intensive sessions should be included in the 180 hours of instruction required per year. Technical and infrastructure requirements: The provider must specify the location(s) of the Access program and space that will be used for the classes and activities. The provider must either provide verification that the space belongs to the grantee or a written agreement with the holder of the space. The space must have seating for at least 20 students; it must have a blackboard/whiteboard, power outlet, heating (for the winter months), and minimal sanitary requisites. The space should also have a computer class with internet capability (or the grantee should consider providing for this separately). Functional requirements: a) The provider is responsible for setting criteria for and identifying “economically disadvantaged youth” to be enrolled in the program. The provider is required to produce midterm and final performance reports. The provider should monitor students’ attendance and performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, applying organizations should assume a virtual format for most or all programming components. b) The provider is responsible for creating a highly effective and innovative method for recruiting new Access teachers. This outreach would include, but not be limited to contacting local state education offices, private language schools and use of social media. c) Run the Access Ukraine Facebook page. This duty will include posting news, contest information, updates on intensive sessions, visits from American diplomats and teacher training information. d) Develop an up to date program website. e) Provide monthly highlight reports with pictures on Access activities. f) Connect the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program to Access with the goal of having one FLEX student attached to every Access group in Ukraine. g) The provider is responsible for maintaining a database of Access alumni. Assumptions and agreements: The provider should reach between 100-110 students in five locations during this program. The budget per student should be under $1,190 and should not exceed a total of $120,000. Proposals that are cost-effective and include significant cost-share will be given priority. B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION This notice is subject to availability of funding. Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that bureau/embassy staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation. For instance, the U.S. Embassy may suggest local or international partners, assist with participant selection, opening and closing ceremonies, approve teachers or mentors, co-coordinate events, and monitor participants’ progress. C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION 1. Eligible Applicants The following organizations are eligible to apply: • Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental Organizations. Note: For-profit and commercial entities are ineligible. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is strongly recommended and will be considered favorably during the review process. The Grants Review Committee will assign more points to applicants who offer cost sharing. This solicitation requires applying organizations to demonstrate that they already have or have the capacity to establish partnerships with public and private sector organizations other than the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Department of State in implementing this program. 3. Other Eligibility Requirements In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (Data Universal Numbering System/DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet), as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for information on how to obtain these registrations. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov. Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding. D. (click on link below for this information and full text of grant opportunity)