The Embassy of the United States of America in Kosovo is announcing the 2018 University Support Grants Program.  U.S. Embassy Pristina’s Public Affairs Section will award a series of small grants to support higher education institutions to better address social and economic development challenges through research, development, and extension services.  Programs include, but are not limited to, applied research, community outreach, and service delivery.  The University Support Program grants are awarded on a competitive basis.  The closing date for applications is June 29, 2018.

The University Support Program will be dedicated to projects targeted at topics such as:

• Improving resources that support teaching and research in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
• Improving resources to prevent plagiarism and protect copyright and intellectual property
• Training of trainers (ToT) through activities such as: academic writing, public speaking, critical thinking, and problem solving
• Organizing study visits for U.S. experts to Kosovo, and in limited circumstances visits to U.S. educational institutions
• Establishing cooperation with universities in the region, sharing best practices, enhancing engagement of younger professors within departments and creating opportunities for them to network with colleagues from the region and/or initiate networking and collaboration through academic staff and students representatives from student councils
• Other activities that promote the development and advancement of the higher education sector in Kosovo

The University Support Program does NOT fund projects as follows:

• Fund-raising campaigns
• Humanitarian assistance projects
• Projects that take more than a year to implement
• Projects that duplicate existing projects being implemented by another organization
• Projects submitted by commercial organizations
• Projects that aim to support partisan political activity
• Conferences and individual trips abroad
• Trade activities

Evaluation Process:

A review committee will be composed of representatives from different U.S. government agencies at the U.S. Embassy Pristina.  It will take the committee up to two months after the application deadline to complete its review process.  Applicants may be contacted with questions during this review process.

Evaluation Criteria:

The University Support Program committee will assess the following when evaluating grant proposals:

• The project proposal demonstrates that the organization/institution has sufficient expertise, skills and human resources to implement the project.
• The organization demonstrates that it has a clear understanding of the underlying issue that the project is aiming to address and is able to articulate it with specificity and clarity.
• The organization has consulted relevant resources, experts and potential partner organizations during the project’s design phase.
• The organization has identified appropriate beneficiaries or target groups in a way that maximizes project outputs and outcomes and the project has a clear focus and manageable scope.
• The project’s idea and approach are innovative, yet capable of being completed with the program period. Proposed project activities must be concrete, detailed, and supported by a reasonable work plan.
• The project’s budget is well-organized, detailed and reasonable.  There are no budget lines labeled “miscellaneous expenses.”  Entertainment and alcoholic beverage expenses are not included in the budget.  The budget demonstrates that the organization has devoted time to plan for and assess actual expenses associated with the project instead of providing rough estimates.
• The organization has clearly articulated how it will assess and measure its own performance throughout the project implementation phase using concrete quantitative and qualitative assessment tools.
• The project proposal describes clearly the approach that will be used to ensure maximum sustainability of the project’s results after its completion.
• Past performance, including U.S. government funded grants, indicates reliability, responsible use of resources, and an ability to follow through with project aims.

Specific Guidelines:

• The maximum grant amount is USD 24,000
• Higher education institutions and/or NGOs working on education programs are eligible for grants under this program.
• The application requires a detailed description of the activity for which grant funds are being requested and a detailed budget proposal broken down by expenditure category; otherwise it will not be considered.
• Grants are made on a one-time basis.  A successful applicant may re-apply for a second grant, but the second proposal must be for a distinctly different project than the project(s) funded by other grants from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina or the U.S. Government.

How to Apply?

Applicants must complete the standard application form in English and send it in Word or PDF format. The forms are available for download on the website. No applications will be accepted in WinZIP or WinRAR.

Applicants must submit the following items:

• Instructions(read instructions to fill out the application form)
• Completed electronic version of the applicationusing format provided on the website (to be signed) – mandatory
• SF424– Instructions (read instructions to fill out the SF424 forms) – mandatory
• SF424– Application for federal Assistance (to be signed) – mandatory
• SF424B– Assurances (to be signed) – mandatory
• SF424A– Budget information – mandatory 
• Documentation that proves that the institution of higher educationisaccredited by the Kosovo Agency of Accreditation – mandatory
• List of Board members – mandatory
• CVs of the implementation team members, one page maximum – mandatory
• Detailed work-plan – mandatory
• Letters of support – optional

An electronic version of the application should be e-mailed to the following e-mail address:
To: [email protected]
Subject: APPLICATION + University/Organization Name
Applications submitted after the deadline will be disqualified

Linku i shpalljes: https://xk.usembassy.gov/universitysupport/