Collaborative Research Opportunities Program in Agricultural STEM (Venezuela)

This program will focus on building collaborative research opportunities at Venezuelan universities and establishing research methods that adhere to international standards; building or expanding research capacity; connecting Venezuelan researchers with their U.S. counterparts and catalyzing university partnerships.

This program supports the VAU’s higher education engagement goals to galvanize efforts to expand partnerships between U.S. and Venezuelan higher education institutions. This approach acknowledges that fortifying existing links and promoting new partnerships at the university level will strengthen Venezuela’s educational institutions as instruments of national development.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: approximately US$ 200,000.

Duration

• Length of performance period: up to 18 months.

Key Deliverables

• The 18-month CROP grant seeks to accomplish the program’s goals through the completion of the following deliverables:
  • Online Capacity-Building sessions on research methodologies, grant applications and compliance for Venezuelan university faculty and staff (approximately 25), living and working in Venezuela. Additional topics could include (but not limited to) market-based research, private-sector integrations, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, important characteristics of a productive research environment and building up under-graduate student research capacities.
  • Proposals should include a wide range of topics that focus on how to foster a culture of research, including:
    • Value and importance of a culture of research, including leadership support for a campus-wide strategic vision;
    • Main characteristics of a productive research environment, including professional development prioritization;
    • Critical policy components and successful steps for implementing a culture of research;
    • Case studies of successful university research development programs and initiatives that lead to achieving international standards in research methods and administrative support;
    • Structured Networking sessions with multiple U.S. HEI counterparts to build professional connections and catalyze; and
    • Other key areas that support this effort.
  • Professional Networking Activities that support new academic collaborations and university partnership opportunities in the Agricultural STEM.
  • U.S. Study Tour of multiple U.S. HEIs for up to ten Venezuelan university academics and administrators from the 25 selected for Online Capacity-Building sessions participants. These interactions should address potential research priority areas and focus on building academic research partnerships and other potential international programs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Applicants: The following organizations are eligible to apply: U.S. Public and private higher education institutions (consortia applications are eligible) with academic programs in Agricultural STEM fields.
• Note: Proposals that include Spanish-speaking staff and the ability to conduct sessions in Spanish will be prioritized.
• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Venezuela.