YSEALI Plus: What Comes Next? | PAS USASEAN FY23 03

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS USASEAN FY23 03

The grant opportunity "YSEALI Plus: What Comes Next?" (Funding Opportunity Number PAS USASEAN FY23 03) is a U.S. Department of State, U.S. Mission to ASEAN Public Affairs Section call for proposals to run a YSEALI regional workshop focused on the often-overlooked segment of the YSEALI network: alumni who are now over age 35. Unlike most YSEALI programming, which targets emerging leaders ages 18 to 35, this cooperative agreement is designed to re-engage more experienced alumni across Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste and position them as mentors, connectors, and multipliers who can strengthen civic engagement outcomes regionwide. The project is expected to advance YSEALI's civic engagement theme while also supporting the U.S. Mission to ASEAN strategic aim of delivering results that benefit the combined communities of the United States and Southeast Asia.

Geographically, the priority region covers ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste (with Timor-Leste participation contingent on funding availability). The core activity is an in-person, four-day regional workshop convening up to 50 YSEALI alumni over 35. The workshop is meant to help participants sharpen leadership skills, build stronger professional and cross-border networks, and develop practical plans for "post-YSEALI" engagement, including structured ways to mentor younger YSEALI members and collaborate with U.S. missions and the broader YSEALI community.

A key feature of the opportunity is that it is not just a one-off event. Applicants must propose a blended model that includes virtual programming before and after the in-person workshop. Virtual pre-workshop sessions should begin roughly three months ahead of the in-person convening, and a post-workshop virtual session should follow afterward. Just as important, the proposal must include a follow-on mentorship component built into the monitoring and evaluation approach, so the funder can track whether the workshop leads to sustained engagement rather than ending when participants go home.

The cooperative agreement recipient is expected to create and run a brand-new YSEALI mentorship program that leverages these over-35 alumni as mentors for younger YSEALI alumni under 35. The design is fairly specific: mentors should commit about six or more hours per month for one full year. The implementing organization must build the operational backbone for this, including a sign-up system for mentors and mentees, a matching process, ongoing check-ins, and a reporting mechanism to document progress and participation throughout the year. In addition, after the workshop the recipient should develop a monthly webinar series for YSEALI that features these senior alumni as speakers or facilitators, further extending their visibility and influence across the network.

The workshop itself must incorporate several content priorities: leadership development, the idea of "giving back," and efforts to strengthen a shared Southeast Asian or ASEAN identity grounded in common values and shared regional challenges. The program should also include a site visit during the in-person workshop to an organization that employs one of the participating alumni, giving that alumnus or alumna a platform to showcase real-world accomplishments and lessons learned. Speaker, facilitator, and mentor eligibility is also defined: they should be citizens of the United States, an ASEAN member country, or Timor-Leste.

Applicants are expected to handle not only the convening and programming logistics, but also professional deliverables that support participant learning and public diplomacy impact. This includes developing syllabus or training materials, producing an event program with participant and speaker biographies, and designing printed materials such as banners and backdrops. The recipient must also design a digital engagement strategy for participants and broader social media audiences, potentially including live video or other forms of live online engagement during the workshop. At the same time, there is an explicit restriction: no new event-specific website should be created or launched, and domain/hosting/build costs are not allowable under the award.

Coordination with ASEAN institutions is built into the design. The in-person workshop should include participation from an ASEAN Secretariat representative, and the budget should set aside funds to support that participation if the representative is available. For evaluation, the opportunity requires pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure the workshop's effectiveness and assess changes in participant knowledge related to the workshop topic, alongside the broader mentorship and engagement tracking described above.

In funding and administrative terms, this is a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the U.S. Mission to ASEAN is likely to remain actively involved in shaping or overseeing key elements of implementation rather than operating in a purely hands-off grantmaker role. The award ceiling is $250,000. The opportunity falls under CFDA 19.040 (Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs). The original closing date listed is 2023-07-21, and the opportunity was created on 2023-06-09.

Eligible applicants include a range of educational and nonprofit institutions, both U.S.-based and foreign-based: U.S. public and private educational institutions; U.S. not-for-profit organizations including think tanks; foreign public and private educational institutions; and foreign not-for-profit organizations including think tanks. Overall, the grant is essentially looking for an organization that can convene a high-quality regional leadership workshop for senior YSEALI alumni and then turn that convening into a yearlong pipeline of mentorship and ongoing programming that keeps experienced alumni actively contributing to YSEALI's civic engagement mission across Southeast Asia.

• The U.S. Mission to ASEAN in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "YSEALI Plus: What Comes Next?" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-06-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-07-21. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for PAS USASEAN FY23 03

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