University Support Grants Program

U.S. Embassy Pristina’s Public Affairs Section will award a series of small grants to enhance curriculum development, research and library resources, and the professional expertise of faculty of Kosovo’s universities. 

Grants will help the universities to establish linkages with U.S. institutions in order to encourage development of program planning and curriculum revisions.  Additionally, resources will be devoted to library collections and other research tools. The University Support Program grants are awarded on a competitive basis.  The closing date for this round of proposals is April 26, 2013 at 17:00. This round of the University Support Program proposals should focus on the following topics

• Improving library resources and obtaining more teaching materials.
• Organizing seminars/workshops on essay writing and public speaking.
• Organizing study visits to U.S. educational institutions.
• Establishing cooperation with universities in the region, learning from their practices, enhancing engagement of younger teachers within department and creating an opportunity for them to network with colleagues from the region.
• Publishing journals aiming at linking U.S. scholars with academics from Kosovo.

The University Support Program does NOT fund projects as follows:

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

PLEASE NOTE: U.S. organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants under this program.

Evaluation Process:

A review committee composed of representatives from different U.S. government agencies at the U.S. Embassy Pristina will review all complete proposals.  The review process may take as long as two months and applicants may be contacted with questions during this time.

Evaluation Criteria:

Proposals for the University Support Program will be assessed by the following criteria:

• 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 without using excessive generalizations.
• 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 idea and approach is innovative, yet proposed project activities are concrete and detailed and supported by a reasonable work plan.
• The project’s budget is well-organized, detailed and reasonable, and demonstrates that the organization has devoted time to plan for and assess actual expenses associated with the project instead of providing rough estimates.  Please note that budget lines labeled “miscellaneous expenses,” as well as for entertainment and alcoholic beverage expenses are not allowable line items for this funding. 
• 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.
• The organization/project proposal shows successful past performance, to include U.S. Government-funded grants or grants from other donors.

Specific Guidelines:

• 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 first project funded by other grants offered by the U.S. Embassy in Pristina or the U.S. Government.
• U.S. organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants under the program.

• The application must include a detailed description of the activity for which grant funds are being requested and a detailed budget proposal broken down by expenditure category must be included.  Proposals without these two requirements will not be considered.

How to Apply?

Applicants must complete the standard application form in English.  The forms are available for download here: Application form (Ms Word 111 Kb).

A complete proposal includes all of the items below:

• Completed electronic version of the application using format provided on the U.S. Embassy Website (mandatory)
•  Institution registration letter (for NGOs only) or documentation that proves that the University is accredited by the Kosovo Agency of Accreditation – (mandatory)
• List of organization founders and board members (mandatory)
• CVs of the implementation team members, one page max. (mandatory)
• Detailed work-plan (mandatory)

Proposals are also encouraged to submit option letters of support

Proposals must be submitted electronically via e-mail to: PristinaGrants@state.gov 

Subject: APPLICATION + University Name

Late proposals will not be accepted.  The submission deadline is April 26, 2013 at 17:00. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.