Small Grants Program
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Fiscal Year 2023 – Small Grants Program
- Funding Opportunity Number: PDS-OSL-APS-FY23-0001
- Funding Opportunity Title: U.S. Embassy Oslo Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) SOI/Annual Program Statement
- CFDA Number: 19.040 Public Diplomacy Programs
- Deadline for Submitting a Statement of Interest: June 15, 2023
- Maximum for each Award: USD 1,000-USD 24,000
- Total Amount Available: USD 75,000
This notice is subject to availability of funding.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo supports a variety of projects through its Small Grants Program, which is designed to support eligible organizations and individuals in the implementation of programs advancing U.S.-Norway relations.
PDS Oslo invites Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that will help Norwegians gain a better understanding of the United States through cultural and exchange programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation. This is a two-tier competitive process, where the submission of the SOI is the first step.
An SOI is a concise proposal designed to communicate program ideas and objectives. Upon a merit review of eligible SOIs, selected applications will be invited to submit a full grant application to be considered by the Grants Committee Review Panel.
Priority Program Areas
All programs must include an American cultural 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.
We accept grant proposals on a rolling basis until the submission deadline, and are especially interested in projects and programs that:
- Address global security challenges and increase understanding of the NATO alliance
- Engage Norwegians on Arctic issues, with a priority on youth, entrepreneurship and technology
- Increase co-operation focused on the green transition and tackling climate change
- Partner with Norwegian government, business, media and civil society to counter growing malign influences in the media
- Promote diversity and inclusion, and showcase the diversity of the United States
- Preserve and conserve cultural heritage, especially the heritage of indigenous cultures and/or historically disadvantaged minorities
- Inform Norwegian youth about our shared values
- Promote U.S. higher education
In addition, we welcome grant proposals that include the following:
- Collaboration across borders (for example, speaker tours involving other Nordic countries)
- Cost sharing and partnerships with other organizations
- Projects outside of Oslo
- Projects from alumni of State Department exchange programs
Examples of PAS Small Grants Program programs include, but are not limited to:
- Academic and professional lectures, seminars, and speaker programs
- Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances and exhibitions
- Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs
- Educational and informational public programs
Length of performance period: Proposed projects should be completed in 12 months or less. In exceptional and justified cases, the Embassy will consider extending the project performance period.
ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
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- Not-for-profit organizations/associations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Educational institutions
- Individuals
- Foreign Public Entities (FPE), for example: Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
- Grants cannot be used to fund religious or partisan political activity or for: fundraising campaigns; commercial projects or for-profit ventures; individual academic research projects; construction projects; or projects whose primary objective is an organization’s institutional development or an individual’s personal enrichment or career development.
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization.
APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Step One
Please follow all instructions below carefully. SOIs that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.
Content of Statement of Interest must include:
- A brief project description summarizing goals, objectives outcomes, performance indicators, beneficiaries, and proposed timeline
- A clear statement of the applicant’s organizational capacity to carry out the proposed activity and manage U.S. Government funds
- Documents in English
- A detailed budget including the anticipated total budget amount request (in U.S. dollars)
- Submission Dates and Times:
SOIs are due no later than June 15, 2023, to Oslogrants@state.gov. Please submit at least two months before the start of the program.
You may use the Grant Request – Statement of Interest template or submit your own application letter.
The Grants Committee Review panel meets monthly to discuss grant proposals.
- If a SOI is accepted, you will be asked to complete a full proposal application. The organization must complete the mandatory application forms and obtain a an active SAM.gov registration before submission. As this process can take several weeks, we recommend starting the process as soon as possible. Please note there is no cost associated with UEI or SAM.gov registration. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov.
Step Two
APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
Following the SOI review, successful applicants will be contacted and instructed to submit a full application. A full application will include:
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations) [Instructions] or SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance –individuals) [Instructions]
- SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs) [Instructions]
- Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) registration
Please note that in some cases you might get an error message when you open these PDF forms. We have been informed that this could be circumvented by downloading the PDF and open it in the normal reader (not browser based).
Required Registrations:
In order to apply, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (UEI), as well as a valid registration on https://www.sam.gov. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov.
Questions:
Please contact oslogrants@state.gov if you have any further questions about the application process.