Tomorrow’s Leaders Undergraduate Study Abroad Oversight, Monitoring and Support | SFOP0009277

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0009277

The Tomorrow's Leaders Undergraduate Study Abroad Oversight, Monitoring and Support opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0009277) is a U.S. Department of State grant run through the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination, under the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). It supports the Tomorrow's Leaders (TL) Program, which is designed to develop emerging leaders from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by expanding access to American-style higher education and structured leadership development. The broader TL scholarship model focuses on academically strong, civic-minded students who lack the financial means to pay for an American-style education on their own, and it pairs academic study with leadership and community action experiences aimed at preparing students to become community and national leaders in the MENA region after graduation.

Within that larger TL framework, the Tomorrow's Leaders Undergraduate (TLU) Program includes a study abroad component that places roughly 60 qualified undergraduate students each academic year into U.S. universities for a single semester, with cohorts typically traveling in both the fall and spring terms. This particular solicitation is not primarily about funding the students' degrees in the region; it is specifically aimed at strengthening the U.S. semester abroad piece by putting a dedicated implementing partner in place to manage the practical and programmatic backbone that makes the exchange work well and safely for students.

The funded project is expected to deliver five main functions. First, it must provide direct oversight, monitoring, and ongoing support to TLU students while they are studying in the United States, which generally implies student advising, well-being checks, problem-solving with host campuses, and responsive support when academic, administrative, or personal issues arise. Second, it must provide financial support and travel coordination tied to the exchange, meaning the grantee would handle key logistics and payments associated with getting students to and from the United States and ensuring their semester abroad is operationally covered in line with program rules. Third, the implementing partner must analyze and assess how the study abroad component is performing and produce recommendations to improve it over time, which could include identifying recurring student challenges, strengthening pre-departure preparation, improving host campus coordination, and refining policies that affect student outcomes. Fourth, the project requires active liaison work with both MENA-based universities (where students are enrolled in their degree programs) and U.S. host universities (where they study for the semester abroad), ensuring alignment on academic credit, student services, timelines, and expectations. Fifth, the awardee is responsible for recruiting and selecting additional qualified U.S. host universities, expanding and maintaining a network of campuses willing and able to host TLU students and provide an appropriate academic and student support environment.

Administratively, the award is a discretionary cooperative agreement, which typically means the Department of State anticipates substantial involvement during implementation compared to a standard grant, often through coordination on program decisions, oversight expectations, and performance monitoring. The funding activity category is Education, with CFDA (now commonly referenced as Assistance Listing) number 19.500. The posted award ceiling is $6,250,000. The opportunity was originally posted December 16, 2022, with an original closing date of February 17, 2023. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with further details expected in the opportunity's eligibility section, signaling that nontraditional applicants beyond state or local governments (often nonprofits, educational organizations, or similar entities) may be considered depending on the full notice requirements.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as an operational and quality-assurance award for a study abroad pipeline that already exists: the U.S. Government is seeking a partner to run the student-facing support structure, manage travel and related funding mechanics, strengthen coordination between sending and receiving institutions, evaluate what is and is not working in the exchange design, and expand the network of U.S. universities able to host these MENA undergraduate scholars for a semester.

• The Department of State, Assistance Coordination in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tomorrow’s Leaders Undergraduate Study Abroad Oversight, Monitoring and Support" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.500.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 16, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 17, 2023. (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 $6,250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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