Bold Academic Fellowship Program – Bosnia and Herzegovina

PDS invites proposal submissions from U.S. public and private non-profit organizations and accredited U.S. postsecondary educational institutions (community colleges, liberal arts colleges, public and private universities) meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) to design and implement the BOLD (Balkanski Omladinski Lideri, Balkan Young Leaders) Academic Fellowship for BiH Student Leaders on Economic Development, pending the availability of Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) funds.

Mandatory Components

• The Academic Fellowship Program for Balkan Student Leaders on Economic Development (“the fellowship program”) should be organized for at least 10 undergraduate students, aged 18-25, from communities in BiH to reflect the country’s diversity and administrative divisions.
• The fellowship program should be approximately five weeks in duration, including an academic residency at an academic institution and a significant component of experiential learning in the community or in another location. Ideally, the fellowship program should incorporate a homestay experience as part of the program.
• The academic program in the U.S. should include group discussions, experiential learning activities, and exercises that focus on the theme and include aspects of leadership, teambuilding, collective problem-solving skills, effective communication, appreciation of diversity, and management skills. Therefore, participants should gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
• The experiential learning component should include substantive and participatory activities in a community that pertains directly to the theme of the fellowship program and bolster the skills and experience for students to implement their follow-on projects. Particular focus should be given to the integration of not-for-profit organizations and businesses in the community and their impact.
• The fellowship program should ensure a balance of speakers and perspectives throughout the program schedule, representing diverse U.S. political viewpoints, as well as other aspects of diversity. The fellowship program should foster PDS’s mission to promote mutual understanding between citizens of other countries and citizens of the United States. Thus, the program should include robust opportunities for participants to meet Americans from a variety of backgrounds, to interact with their U.S. peers, and to speak to appropriate student and civic groups about their experiences and life in their home countries.
• The fellowship program should include requirements for continued follow-on engagement and project implementation that build on the five-week engagement once participants return home.
• In addition to developing participants’ leadership skills, the fellowship program should provide participants with an in-depth examination of the theme outlined.

Fellowship Program Theme

• The fellowship program’s theme is Entrepreneurship, Youth Employment, and Economic Development. It should provide participants with an overview of entrepreneurial approaches by introducing challenges and successes of U.S. entrepreneurial models, including social enterprises, business leadership, and women’s economic empowerment. An understanding of the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem should be accompanied by a strong focus on how to apply lessons learned in the BiH context.
• Topics may include, but are not limited to, organizational development and management, the basics of starting and running a small business, market research and risk analysis, innovation, strategic business planning, and corporate social responsibility.
• In addition to the community-based experiential learning component, academic sessions should be complemented with hands-on sessions or workshops designed to build skills in the topics mentioned above.
• The fellowship program should require participants to develop their entrepreneurial ideas in the form of a business plan and a pitch, and a concrete action plan to implement toward starting a business, building upon the BOLD network to disseminate their plans and actions.

Funding Information

• Total Available Funding: USD 140,000
• Award Amounts: Award may be up to USD 140,000
• Length of Performance Period: 16 months
• Number of Awards Anticipated: 1
• Anticipated Award Date: August 2024

Detailed Outline of Award Recipient’s Responsibilities: 

• Preparation 
  • In cooperation with PDS, contact participants before the program to provide them with program information, pre-departure materials, and to gather information about their specific interests.
  • Enroll participants in the Bureau’s Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE) health benefits plan for the duration of the exchange and assist with claims as necessary.
  • Hire and train staff, as needed, to accompany participants during the exchange period. Criminal background checks, including a search of the Department of Justice’s National Sex Offender Public Registry, must be conducted for all program staff and for new staff prior to hiring.
• Fellowship (Exchange) Activities
  • Design, plan, and implement a five-week exchange program on the stated themes. Exchange activities must promote program goals. Activities should include academic coursework as well as weekly leadership development sessions and opportunities for interaction with American peers that showcase balanced views of the diversity of demographics, institutions, and perspectives within the United States.
  • Provide opportunities for the participants to work with their peers and other professionals, volunteers, and youth advocates with whom they can discuss the support of youth leadership in the relevant theme of the fellowship program.
  • Provide day-to-day monitoring of the participants’ well-being, preventing and dealing with any misunderstandings or adjustment issues that may arise in a timely manner. Inform PDS about any significant health or safety issues affecting program participants.
• Follow-on Activities 
  • In cooperation with PDS, provide guidance and instruction on how to design and implement follow-on projects that reinforce values and skills imparted during the exchange program and help them apply what they have learned to serve in their local communities.
  • Present creative and effective ways to address project themes, for both program participants and their peers, to amplify program impact.
  • In addition to follow-on projects, support alumni in making presentations or preparing articles to share their experiences in other ways once they return home.
• Design and implement an evaluation plan that assesses the impact of the program.
• Work in consultation with PDS in the implementation of the program, provide timely reporting of progress, and comply with financial and program reporting requirements.
• Manage all financial aspects of the cooperative agreement, including management of sub-award relationships with partner organizations.
• Award Recipients must adhere to the requirements on the creation of program branding and attribution, websites, social media, and press.

Detailed Outline of PDS’s Responsibilities

• Provide advice and assistance in the execution of all program components.
• Manage recruitment and selection of the participants.
• Arrange international travel of the participants to the United States.
• Facilitate interaction within the Department of State, to include ECA, the regional bureaus, and overseas post.
• Approve host family applications, publicity materials, and the calendar of exchange activities.

Eligibility Criteria

• U.S. public and private non-profit organizations and accredited postsecondary U.S. higher education institutions (community colleges, liberal arts colleges, public and private universities) meeting the eligibility requirements outlined in this section are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to work in all parts of BiH, whether independently or in cooperation with a partner organization.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.