The U.S. The FY 2023 Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellowship Program is looking for proposals from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the Department of State.
YTILI is a two-way exchange programme for young European entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 35 and workers from the United States. The goal of the programme is to improve relations across the Atlantic, build lasting partnerships between U.S. and European innovators, encourage regional integration and cooperation in Europe, and encourage European governments, businesses, and civil society to improve their innovation eco-systems.
About 65 people, including 50 European business and social entrepreneurs and 15 American business workers, will be helped by the FY 2023 programme. The most important part of the YTILI programme is a five-week fellowship in the U.S. for European members, which includes a four-week placement in a relevant U.S. business and mentoring from American peers in those businesses.
The U.S.-based exchange should also give Fellows the chance to get more out of their professional fellowship through events like workshops, learning from each other, and networking.
After the programme in the U.S. is over, participants from the U.S. will go to certain European countries to help YTILI Fellows put business action plans and joint projects into place in their own areas. The YTILI Fellowship Program should also have events to keep alumni involved.
Purpose
The YTILI Fellowship Program started in 2016. It is a two-way exchange programme that aims to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, build lasting partnerships between U.S. and European entrepreneurs and innovators, promote regional integration and cooperation in Europe, and encourage European businesses, governments, and civil society to build their innovation ecosystems. Since the programme began, more than 350 YTILI Fellows and Americans have taken part. The YTILI Fellowship Program helps reach these big goals:
Encourage business and social leaders from Europe and the US to learn about each other and work together in the long term;
Improve the business and leadership skills of YTILI Fellows so they can be successful, grow their businesses in size and effect, and lead positive change in their workplaces, communities, and countries;
Give the YTILI Fellows and American participants chances to work together and share ideas, approaches, and tactics before, during, and after the U.S.-based programme;
Help the YTILI Fellows find new tools, networks, and support for their businesses or organisations; and
Make a transatlantic network of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and innovators that supports entrepreneurial partnerships and ongoing business possibilities between the people of Europe and the United States.
Ideas For Proposal
The following ideas should be included in proposals:
Entrepreneurship,
New ideas, and
Transatlantic links.
These include, but are not limited to, increasing trade and marketing across borders to create synergies and boost U.S. job growth and exports, and strengthening Western government ideals like competition and innovation.
Information about money
- Funds for the fiscal year: $1,050,000 for the base year of FY 2023;
$1,050,000 will be given to the NCC for the first year of FY 2024; - The NCC will get $1,050,000 in funding for year two of FY 2025, if it performs well and money is available.
- Approximate Total Funding: $3,150,000.
- About one award will be given.
- About $1,050,000 is awarded on average.
- Award range tops out at $1,050,000
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Criteria for eligibility
Eligible Applicants: This competition is open to applications from U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons programs, and other non-profit groups that meet the requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). At the time of the filing, the IRS must have given the applicant nonprofit status.
Other Eligibility Requirements: The ECA’s grant rules say that organisations with less than four years of experience in foreign exchanges can only get up to $130,000 from ECA. ECA plans to make one cooperative deal worth more than $130,000 to cover all the costs of running this exchange programme. So, organisations that haven’t been running international exchanges for at least four years can’t apply for this competition.
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All proposals must meet the requirements listed in the NOFO, POGI (if applicable), and the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI); if they don’t, your proposal will be ruled technically ineligible and won’t be looked at any further in the review process.
ECA will only look at one proposal from each organisation. If an applicant has more than one application on grants.gov, ECA will only look at the one that was made closest to the NOFO deadline. This would be the only proposal from that applicant that ECA would look at. Please note that applicant organisations are defined by their formal name and EIN number as written on their completed SF-424 and other supporting documents listed in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document.
Fellows will be business or social entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 35 from the following European countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, In the FY 2023 cooperative agreement, ECA has the right to change the final list of involved countries and the number of participants from each country.
Deadline: 15th May 2023