Deadline: 30 September 2020

The Public Affairs Office in the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Port of Spain of the U.S. Department of State (hereafter referred to as “PAS POS”) has announced an open competition for assistance awards through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The purpose of funding projects under this NOFO is to further contributions to economic growth and the development of human and government capacity in Trinidad and Tobago, while developing people-to-people, institutional, and economic ties between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago. They also aim to increase understanding of and support for U.S.-Trinidad and Tobago relations and American values and policy among the Trinidadian and Tobagonian public.

PAS POS’s Program Areas in Trinidad and Tobago:

• Strengthen local institutions to build long-term, self-sustaining relationships and institutional linkages between U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago organizations, including capacity building support for organizations working in the areas below.
• Enhance community engagement through positive messages and tolerant perspectives that confront drivers leading to recruitment into violence and violent extremism.
• Empower civil society and media to strengthen diversity, rule of law, transparency, and minority rights.
• Contribute to economic growth, opportunity, and good governance.
• Build critical thinking skills throughout Trinidad and Tobago society.
• Expand Media’s ability to confront disinformation, non-transparency and corruption by building investigative journalism capacity and other skills.
• Increasing tech skills in photography, filmmaking, app creation, and makerspace initiatives.
• Demonstrate shared values between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, to build respect and trust, and increase effective communication, especially concerning disaster response.

Project Objectives

Programming funded under this NOFO will help to strengthen ties between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago through programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. To that end, all programs must include an American element or connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Proposals must include a clear plan to measure and evaluate the impact of the program; proposals that fail to include a monitoring and evaluation plan will not be considered. Preference will be given to proposals that include target audiences outside the urban centers of Port of Spain.

Award Information

• Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $20,000.
• Total available funding: $200,000
• Length of performance period: up to 12 months
• Anticipated program start date: November 15, 2019

Participants and Audiences

In deciding which projects to support, the Embassy will consider the full range and diversity of Trinidadian, Tobagonian and U.S. organizations. The Public Affairs Section will also seek to target geographically and demographically diverse audiences throughout both islands.

American, Trinidadian and Tobagonian individuals and institutions with a proven track record of executing superior cultural and educational events and programs will receive preference. New grantees will generally be given priority over previous grantees. Preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate the long-term sustainability of the project and that include some form of cost-sharing with the partner institution(s) and private-sector engagement that will allow the programs to become sustainable in future iterations. Strong proposals will include impact assessment, in addition to results/evaluation, at the conclusion of the grant period.

All proposals should:

• Describe involvement of American participants, expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s.
• Explain how programs and activities will be monitored and evaluated, including developing performance indicators. Indicators should include baselines, targets, descriptions of data collection instruments, such as surveys of participants, and information on when results will be reported to the Public Affairs Section. Monitoring should be conducted at various points throughout the life of the program and after its completion to allow for course correction and measuring long-term impact.
• Enumerate specific outputs and outcomes to be achieved by the end of the grant period.
• Address how the project will contribute to one or more of the project objectives listed above.
• Clearly specify the audiences to be reached and the geographic locations of program activities. Programs proposed in multiple locations should explain how that will be accomplished. Grantee must demonstrate capacity to implement activities in locations and with audiences proposed.
• Describe how elements of the project will have a multiplier effect or be sustainable beyond the life of the grant.
• Include a traditional and/or social media plan for marketing or advertising program activities and outcomes.
• Demonstrate competency to manage all financial and oversight aspects of the project, including participant costs and transparent arrangements of sub-grant relationships with partner organizations, if applicable.

Eligible Applicants

• Proposals from non-profits and/or NGOs, academic institutions, and social enterprises with offices headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago will be given preference. Please note, the embassy will also accept applications from U.S.-based institutions, but they must show that they have already obtained on-the-ground support from a local organization.
• For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit https://tt.usembassy.gov/education-culture/request-grant-proposals/