Annual ECA Alumni Project Competition Announced - FY2012 Call for Proposals

Deadline: February 1, 2012

 

The Office of Alumni Affairs invites posts to submit proposals for the FY2012 ECA Alumni Project Competition. This annual competition, now in its ninth year, is designed to assist posts with programming activities that involve exchange program alumni. Budget requests cannot exceed USD 20,000 per post.. Best of luck!

 

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DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL FEEDBACK
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Alumni project proposals should submit their draft proposal and budget forms before and no later than February 1, 2012, to the attention of Patricia Elena Aguilar Javier, Outreach and Alumni Coordinator at aguilarpe@state.gov

 

ALL projects proposals must be written in English.  Proposals written in Spanish will not be accepted.
 

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PROJECT PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
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 Projects should also support one or more of the following additional ECA Alumni Program goals:

 

1.      To foster alumni implementation and sharing of concepts they explored during their exchange programs;

2.      To provide training that will improve ability of alumni to implement ideas;

3.      To involve alumni in recruiting exchange participants, and/or promoting their exchange program, especially among non-traditional audiences; and,

4.      To enable alumni to work collectively to share the benefits of their exchange experience with home country audiences and to "give back" to the program in which they participated.

 

In short, projects should aim to foster a relationship between ECA alumni and the U.S. mission (or U.S. mission staff) to develop clear and actionable programming goals within a local community, country, or region.

 

Posts are encouraged to develop projects that encourage alumni to network with each other, extend their exchange experience and share the fruits of their exchange with the broader community through social media, including the State Alumni website,
https://alumni.state.gov.

 

Project proposals should be detailed, demonstrating:

1)      Clear goals,

2)      Reliable partner institutions,

3)      A detailed evaluation,

4)       Valid post justification,

5)      Realistic timeline and project steps, and

6)      A reporting plan covering the entire project timeline.

 

Project proposals must include a detailed budget, demonstrating:

1)  Reasonable costs,
2)  Featured cost-sharing, and
3)  A sustainability plan for the post-funding period.

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FUNDING GUIDELINES
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Budget requests cannot exceed USD 20,000, per post. All proposals/budgets must be submitted using the form provided.

 

A. Cost sharing and/or in-kind support is mandatory. Posts and partner organizations should fund items that cannot be covered by Alumni Program funds. Cost sharing can include resources available through PAS, such as:

1.      Existing or donated space for events (for examble: Binational Center, American Science Corner).

2.      Use of American Fulbrighters, English Language Fellows, or other American visitors in the region to serve as speakers.

3.      Use of RELO for teacher training programs that involve alumni.

4.      Use of alumni volunteers to assist in project mission (i.e. recruiting new exchange participants, mentoring youth).

 

B.  In preparing a detailed budget, keep in mind that Alumni Program funds CANNOT be used:

1.      To cover representational costs.

2.      To fund alumni websites (instead: use State Alumni).

3.      To support individual research projects of alumni.

4.      To publish books.

5.      To pay salaries or administrative overhead for anyone working on the alumni project.

6.      To pay for international travel outside post's region, including travel to/from the U.S.

7.      Speakers traveling from the U.S.

 

C. To elaborate further, Alumni Program funds CAN be used:

1.      To cover the reasonable cost of food if it is an integral part of the program.

2.      To pay for regional travel within post's region.

3.      For regional or in-country speakers.

 

D. Reasonable requests for equipment should be discussed with the Office of Alumni Affairs prior to submission.

 

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SUSTAINABILITY AND STRATEGY BUILDING
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Project proposals focused on the areas below will be deemed more competitive:

 

·         English language;

·         Youth leadership;

·         Public/private partnerships;

·         Democracy and human rights;

·         Economic opportunity, prosperity, and entrepreneurship;

·         Women's empowerment;

·         Promoting a better environment;

·         Food security;

·         Global health; and,

·         Outreach to marginalized communities.

 

Sustainable Project Ideas:

ECA welcomes the opportunity to work with the PAS team to craft competitive and sustainable project proposals.  Support for alumni associations, database development, connecting alumni with NGO partners, utilizing alumni to engage youth, and alumni mentoring programs are just a
few examples of competitive and sustainable project ideas. More ideas can be found in:
 

1)      The news section of State Alumni's Global Community, https://alumni.state.gov/news2.

2)      The Alumni Association Resources Section on State Alumni, at https://alumni.state.gov/associations.

3)      Conversations with Alumni Coordinator to learn about best practices.

 

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REVIEW AND SELECTION
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All project proposals submitted will be reviewed and ranked by the Mission’s Public Affairs Section, then ranked proposals will be submitted to ECA/P/A, and finalists will be reviewed and approved by regional bureau public diplomacy representatives.
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DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS
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Pending availability of funds, selected projects will be announced in April 2012.  ECA will provide fiscal data to posts as soon as possible after the announcement to allow sufficient time to initiate projects before the end of FY2012.

All projects need to be initiated before the end of FY2012. ECA expects the approved alumni projects to be completed within one year or less from receipt of funds.
 

 

Atentamente,

 

 

Patricia E. Aguilar Javier

Coordinator for Outreach and Alumni Relations

Public Affairs

U.S. Embassy San Salvador

E-mail: AguilarPE@state.gov

Phone: (503) 2501-2589

Web: http://sansalvador.usembassy.gov/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/embajadaamericanaelsalvador

S T A T E   A L U M N I

https://alumni.state.gov