Creating a Digital Platform for U.S.-Ukraine Cultural and Civic Actor Collaboration | PAS UKRAINE 2021 015

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS UKRAINE 2021 015

The U.S. Embassy Kyiv Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) is offering a cooperative agreement to support the creation of a free, digital collaboration platform that reconnects Ukrainian and American cultural and civic actors whose partnerships and peer-to-peer engagement were disrupted during the COVID-19 period. The central goal is to rebuild and expand practical networks across Ukraine and between Ukraine and the United States by giving individuals and organizations a single online place to propose joint projects, find partners, and move from an idea to an actual collaboration. Along the way, the program is meant to expose Ukrainian participants to American institutions, values, and proven practices that they can adapt in their own cultural and civic work.

The opportunity is structured around three main work areas with a total award ceiling of $100,000 and an expectation of one award. Part 1 funds the design and launch of the portal (up to $30,000). The platform must be free to access and built around a project-posting and matchmaking concept: registered users (individuals or organizations) propose collaboration ideas, and other registered users can discover them and request to join. The solicitation gives concrete examples of the type of exchange envisioned, such as a Ukrainian music group seeking an American songwriter to help craft English-language lyrics, or an American NGO inviting a Ukrainian anti-corruption activist to contribute to a conference on accountable governance. Projects can be short-term or long-term, but the system needs to support planning and partner selection in a structured, transparent way.

Functionally, the portal is expected to include several specific features. Users must register before posting project ideas. There must be a search tool that lets users find projects aligned with their sector or interests, and there must be limits on how many active project ideas any one user can have at a time so the platform stays manageable and current. The site must be accessible in Ukrainian and English, with Russian presented as an additional option if the budget allows; however, while navigation and instructions should be in both main languages, project summaries are required to be posted in English only so non-Ukrainian speakers can understand what is being proposed. Each project listing must collect consistent information, including a short project description, a clear statement of what the poster is requesting or looking for, preferred dates, estimated costs, and a plan for covering those costs. When someone wants to join a project, they must complete a brief form explaining their qualifications and why they are a good fit, and the portal must allow users to message and connect inside the platform without forcing them to share direct contact details unless they choose to. The posting party should be able to accept or decline contact based on what the interested party submits. The platform also must include moderation and monitoring mechanisms to address inappropriate, illegal, or otherwise ineligible content, plus processes that keep listings up to date rather than leaving stale opportunities online.

Beyond matchmaking, the platform is also expected to help collaborations become real by enabling fundraising. Even though the grant itself includes a dedicated subgrant pool (described below), applicants must describe how they will encourage and solicit additional project funding from other sources in Ukraine, the United States, or elsewhere. The site should support fundraising mechanisms so users can seek support for their initiatives. Finally, the portal should include a success-story gallery where participants can share outcomes after projects conclude, reinforcing momentum and demonstrating impact to future users and potential supporters.

The platform is intended to serve a wide range of cultural and civic activity areas. Eligible project fields explicitly include visual arts, performing arts, museum and gallery projects, art residencies, music, film, literature, creative industries, civic activism, education, youth, sports, urban design, environmental protection, and business and economics. This broad list signals that the Embassy is not limiting the platform to traditional arts programming; it is also meant to support civic problem-solving and community-focused initiatives that overlap with governance, social development, and economic modernization.

Part 2 supports maintaining and operating the portal (up to $30,000) for at least one year from the start of the project performance period. This is not a simple hosting requirement. The recipient must have a plan to keep all features functioning, recruit both U.S. and Ukrainian users to register and post project ideas, and actively help facilitate connections so that the platform does not become a static directory. Proposals are expected to show how the organization will drive participation, build a steady flow of opportunities, and provide user support while ensuring the portal remains safe, current, and useful.

Part 3 requires that at least $40,000 of the overall budget be reserved for subgrants to registered individuals and organizations that successfully match with partners through the platform and want to carry out their collaborative projects. These subgrants are intended to move promising matches into implementation, turning online introductions into concrete exchanges, productions, programs, or civic initiatives. Importantly, projects funded with U.S. Embassy resources under this solicitation must clearly align with one or more Embassy strategic priorities: strengthening U.S.-Ukraine educational, scientific, business, or cultural ties; advancing democratic reforms (including anti-corruption efforts, rule of law, and civil society development); deepening Ukrainians understanding of American culture and values; and advancing economic reforms (including corporate governance, business development, and energy security). While the grantee would administer the subgrants, PDS Kyiv retains final decision-making authority over any subgrant awards paid for with funds from this solicitation to ensure alignment with those priorities. For projects supported with non-U.S. government funding raised through the platform, PDS Kyiv would not necessarily make final decisions unless a proposed activity appeared inappropriate, illegal, or otherwise ineligible.

Eligibility is limited to nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations with U.S. 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The funding opportunity is issued by the Department of State, U.S. Mission to Ukraine, under opportunity number PAS UKRAINE 2021 015, categorized as a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement instrument. The original posting dates indicate it was created May 20, 2021 with an original closing date of July 5, 2021, and it sits within activity areas tied to arts, humanities, and science and technology/research and development classifications (CFDA 19.040). Across all three parts, the solicitation emphasizes that the platform and all related activities must comply with applicable U.S. and Ukrainian laws, and the grantee is responsible and liable for ensuring that legal compliance in the platform design, moderation, operations, and subgranting.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Ukraine in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Creating a Digital Platform for U.S.-Ukraine Cultural and Civic Actor Collaboration" 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 May 20, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 05, 2021. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for PAS UKRAINE 2021 015

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