IDEAS Grant Competition Now Open for U.S. Colleges and Universities

The U.S. Department of State’s IDEAS Program is pleased to announce the launch of its 2024 IDEAS grant competition, which assists U.S. colleges and universities in creating, diversifying, and/or expanding their study abroad programming in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. The IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning.

U.S. colleges and universities are invited to submit applications for projects to create, expand, and/or diversify outbound study abroad programs and/or resources that align with U.S. foreign policy goals. The 2024 grant competition will award approximately 35 grants of up to $35,000 each to accredited colleges and universities. In support of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, this cycle will include an opportunity for consortia of U.S. colleges and universities to apply for additional funding for collaborative projects focused on building study abroad capacity at community colleges preparing students for careers in STEM, technical, and/or vocational fields. Approximately one IDEAS consortium grant of up to $50,000 will be awarded in this category.

The 2024 Request for Proposals (RFP) process is divided into two phases in order to make the grant competition more accessible and equitable, in particular for lower-resourced institutions whose staff may not have extensive grant-writing experience. In Phase One of the RFP process, U.S. colleges and universities will submit a brief proposal describing the concept and general components of their proposed projects to build, diversify, and/or expand study abroad capacity at their institutions. Successful Phase One applications will describe a high-quality project idea aligned with the eligibility requirements listed within the RFP. The IDEAS Program will then invite approximately 70 semi-finalist applicants to submit full proposals during Phase Two of the competition.

Phase One of this competition will open on October 11, 2023, and close on December 13, 2023, at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time via the IDEAS Grant Competition Application Portal. Should your institution be unable to access and/or submit an online application, please email IDEAS@worldlearning.org to inquire about alternative submission options. Applications submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered.

Grant Competition Timeline

We invite your questions concerning this RFP; please submit them to IDEAS@worldlearning.org with “IDEAS 2024 Grant Application – [Your Institution Name]” in the subject line. A list of frequently asked questions from previous grant competitions is available on the program website. World Learning will host optional but recommended webinars to discuss the grant competition from late October through November 2023. A recording of each webinar will be shared on the program website within one week of the webinar. Please see the RFP for more information and registration links.

For any other questions or information, please email the IDEAS Program at IDEAS@worldlearning.org.  You can also visit the IDEAS Program website, https://www.studyabroadcapacitybuilding.org/, to learn more about the IDEAS Program’s work to increase and diversity American student mobility in support of U.S. foreign policy goals and to sign up for the IDEAS Program email list to receive regular updates about the grant competition and other capacity building initiatives.