YSEALI Regional Workshop: Civic Education for Good Governance | 21 PHL NOFO YSEALI2022

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 PHL NOFO YSEALI2022

The YSEALI Regional Workshop: Civic Education for Good Governance is a U.S. Department of State (U.S. Mission to the Philippines) grant opportunity to fund a cooperative agreement for designing and running a six-day regional workshop in Manila, Philippines (planned for the second quarter of 2022, inclusive of travel days). The core purpose is to convene roughly 100 emerging leaders ages 18 to 35 from all ten ASEAN member states plus Timor-Leste, and strengthen their practical skills for creating, improving, and sustaining initiatives that encourage youth civic participation and strengthen good governance, transparency, and accountability. This workshop sits under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), the U.S. government initiative that builds networks and leadership capacity across Southeast Asia through four main themes: civic engagement, education, environmental issues, and economic growth and social entrepreneurship.

The program is designed to advance the YSEALI civic engagement theme while also supporting the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines priority of promoting resilient, accountable democratic institutions that engage civil society at local, regional, and national levels. The workshop content is expected to go beyond basic lectures and include in-depth discussions and experiential learning led by experts from Southeast Asia and the United States. Participants are meant to deepen their understanding of current governance challenges and the broader context that affects them, including socio-economic pressures and environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss, and then translate that understanding into workable civic education approaches and youth-centered engagement strategies.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is practical application and sustained collaboration. The workshop should introduce concrete methods and tools that civil society actors and government counterparts can use to promote youth participation, mobilize stakeholders, and deliver effective projects or campaigns in their home countries. Participants should be actively encouraged to coordinate with government agencies at multiple levels, business development institutions, community organizations, and youth groups, and to build cross-border relationships with peers across the region. The program is also intended to create and maintain a virtual network after the in-person convening to keep participants connected, collaborating, and sharing resources.

The grant-funded implementer is expected to build in follow-on elements, not just run the event. The notice describes possible follow-on activities such as virtual collaborative work, mentorship, and small seed grants that participants may compete for at the end of the workshop to implement projects or campaigns tied to civic participation, transparency, and accountability. The program may also include a later reporting activity where participants share successes and challenges, and potentially co-develop a toolkit of best practices for cross-border collaboration. Monitoring and evaluation is a required component, including pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure changes in knowledge and the overall effectiveness of the training and follow-on support.

The target participants are YSEALI members (or individuals who register as YSEALI members before or during the application process) who are already engaged in civic education or governance-related work. The participant mix is intended to include lawmakers, government officials, educators, civil society leaders, journalists, and representatives of youth organizations, all with demonstrated commitment to implementing or expanding initiatives that promote civic participation and good governance. Eligibility for participation requires citizenship and residency in one of the ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar/Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor-Leste, and all participants must be proficient in spoken and written English.

From an implementation standpoint, the recipient of the cooperative agreement must create an online application process and coordinate closely with the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and other U.S. embassies in the region to recruit and select participants across all eligible countries. The recipient is also responsible for the full range of participant and staff logistics funded under the award, including international and domestic travel, visas, airport transfers, lodging, per diem, meals during the program, and insurance. On top of the program design itself, the implementer must produce syllabus and agenda materials, compile participant and speaker biographies, and design event visuals such as banners and backdrops and other printed materials.

Digital outreach and engagement is also explicitly required. The proposal should include a digital engagement strategy for participants and social media audiences, with options like live video or live online engagement during the program. However, the opportunity clearly states that no new event-specific website should be created; domain registration, hosting, and website build costs will not be covered. Finally, the workshop design is expected to integrate broader leadership values, including giving back to communities and strengthening a shared Southeast Asian/ASEAN identity grounded in common values and shared challenges, and speakers/facilitators/mentors should be citizens of the United States, an ASEAN member country, or Timor-Leste.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument under CFDA 19.040. The opportunity number is 21 PHL NOFO YSEALI2022, created April 5, 2021, with an original closing date of June 4, 2021. The listed award ceiling is $250,000. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), and individuals.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to the Philippines in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "YSEALI Regional Workshop: Civic Education for Good Governance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 05, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 04, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals.

Apply for 21 PHL NOFO YSEALI2022

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: