FY 2024 Arctic Indigenous Exchange Program | SFOP0010298

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0010298

The FY 2024 Arctic Indigenous Exchange Program (AIEP) is a U.S. Department of State initiative run through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), specifically the Global Leaders Division within the Office of Citizen Exchanges. Through this funding opportunity, ECA is looking for a single U.S. organization to design, manage, and carry out a multi-phase exchange program that brings together roughly 50 Indigenous leaders from across the Arctic. The participating communities are centered in Alaska (United States), Canada, and Greenland (Kingdom of Denmark). The program is meant to create practical, relationship-based collaboration by connecting Indigenous business development professionals, entrepreneurs, and government officials who are working on shared challenges and opportunities across the region.

At its core, AIEP is intended to strengthen people-to-people ties and build longer-term channels for cooperation among Arctic Indigenous populations. The exchange is framed around advancing regional collaboration while also supporting greater commercial and cultural connections between participants in the three countries. Rather than being a single one-off event, the program is expected to be structured as a set of interconnected activities that help participants learn from one another, compare approaches, and identify workable areas where cross-border cooperation can continue after the formal exchange ends.

The announcement anticipates that the cooperative agreement will support about three to six separate exchange projects under the broader AIEP umbrella, collectively serving approximately 50 total participants. The expected mix is around 35 foreign participants and 15 U.S. participants. Programming can be implemented in any of the three participating countries and may include regional workshops, summits, and structured alumni activities, among other formats. The overall design is meant to be flexible enough to accommodate different project sizes and scopes, as long as they remain aligned with the program goals and provide meaningful engagement among the Indigenous leaders involved.

The topical focus areas are issues that are widely viewed as high-priority in Arctic Indigenous communities, with the notice specifically highlighting sustainable economic development, climate and the environment, and health and well-being. In practice, this means applicants should be prepared to build programming that goes beyond general cultural exchange and instead supports applied learning and collaboration, such as sharing strategies for community-led economic initiatives, approaches to environmental resilience and adaptation, and models that improve community health outcomes in Arctic conditions. The program emphasis suggests ECA is looking for exchanges that are grounded in real-world challenges and that help participants leave with relationships, ideas, and potential partnerships they can act on.

Funding is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement (not a standard grant), which typically means substantial involvement and collaboration with the Department of State during planning and implementation. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 19.415, with an award ceiling of $1,500,000 and an expectation of one award total. The original application closing date for this opportunity was May 20, 2024, and the opportunity number is SFOP0010298.

Eligible applicants include U.S. public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (including nonprofits other than higher education institutions). The selected organization will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of the exchange(s), which generally includes program design, participant engagement and support, event logistics across countries as needed, and any follow-on alumni elements that help sustain networks and continued cooperation among Arctic Indigenous leaders after the formal exchange activities conclude.

• The Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2024 Arctic Indigenous Exchange Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.415.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-20. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for SFOP0010298

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