U.S. MISSION SPAIN Annual Program Statement (APS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023

Overview

The Public Diplomacy sections of the U.S. Embassy in Madrid and the U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona (referred to collectively as “PD Spain”) announce an open competition for organizations to submit project proposals in response to issuance of this Annual Program Statement (APS). The Annual Program Statement (APS) permits individuals, non-government organizations, think tanks, foundations and academic institutions to seek funding for projects that strengthen ties between the United States and Spain while promoting PD Spain’s main strategic goals.

Program Objectives:  PD Spain welcomes proposals for creative, engaging projects that align with its main strategic objectives:

• Defend shared democratic values and the rules-based international order;
• Support the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• Build support for international and multilateral institutions to promote strong, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, defend democratic governance, and advance solutions to global challenges;
• Recognize the central importance of the NATO Alliance in ensuring transatlantic peace and security;
• Support the new NATO Strategic Concept, guiding the Alliance´s approach towards strategic competitors and transnational threats;
• Reaffirm a commitment to the defense of human rights, especially the rights of women and vulnerable populations, such as people living in poverty, members of racially or ethnically marginalized groups, LGBTQI+ persons, members of religious minority groups, persons with disabilities, refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, older adults, children, gender non-conforming persons, and trafficking victims;
•  Protect and promote human rights throughout the world, particularly with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean where the United States and Spain both have deep and enduring affiliations;
• Fight against terrorism, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and trafficking in persons; raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity to increase national resilience to cyber-attacks, promote responsible state behavior in cyberspace, and counter malicious cyber activity from nation states and criminal actors;
• Collaborate with Spain and/ or Andorran-based organizations to promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) persons including vulnerable LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers; combat hate speech, violence, and stigma against the LGBTQI+ community;
• Increase climate action to ensure that deep reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions are achieved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050;
• Recognize the need to reach the Paris Agreement goals, including to accelerate global efforts to make financial flows consistent with low greenhouse gas emissions;
• Recognize the urgency of addressing methane in line with the Global Methane Pledge, improving adaptation to the impacts of climate change, and promoting a climate resilient development;
• Increase the geographical diversification of energy sources, especially natural gas, to promote renewable energies and develop new vectors such as offshore wind-power and renewable hydrogen, to deploy smart technologies that promote energy efficiency, and to secure supply chains for the critical minerals essential to the energy transition;
• Promote the development of trade and investment, including entrepreneurship, small- and medium-sized businesses, and innovation as the basis for strong, sustainable, inclusive economic growth that creates quality employment and incorporates diverse and excluded groups, while ensuring adequate protection for digital economy workers;
• Defend a digital transformation based on a shared respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and democratic values, on reducing the digital divide, on preventing and addressing the disproportionate effects of online forms of violence and abuse on women, children, and other marginalized groups, and on the implementation of mechanisms to safeguard these principles;
• Promote joint science, space, and innovation initiatives carried out by research organizations, universities, and private companies in all fields of space and science, including through scientific-technological initiatives of the European Union;
• Intensify cultural and educational exchanges between the United States and Spain;
• Increase the number of Spanish students studying in the United States;

All proposals are required to have a clear connection to the United States, either through U.S. organizations, experts, and/or best practices in order to increase the awareness and understanding of U.S. perspectives, policies, and society.  

In addition, all proposals should clearly promote diversity and inclusion.  Geographic diversity (reaching audiences outside of major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona) will also be looked upon favorably when reviewing proposals.

• Academic or scientific research projects will not be funded under this call for proposals.
• Grant activities may take any number of forms, including academic competitions, cross-border exchanges, conferences, workshops, courses, curriculum development, exhibits, hackathons or app development, online projects, mock trials or moot court competitions, simulations and role-playing activities (e.g., Model Congress, Model United Nations), performances, or other activities.

To be eligible for consideration, the applicant organization must be registered to operate in Spain or Andorra, or if this is not the case, they must partner with a local Spanish or Andorran organization registered to operate in Spain or Andorra.