South Asia Regional Connectivity Program | SCA SCAAQM 17 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for SCA SCAAQM 17 001

The South Asia Regional Connectivity Program is a discretionary U.S. government grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of State through the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA). It was published under Funding Opportunity Number SCA SCAAQM 17 001 and uses a Cooperative Agreement as the funding instrument, meaning the Department of State expects to remain substantially involved in the project during implementation rather than simply providing funds and stepping back. The overall purpose is to support and strengthen regional connectivity across South Asia by combining technical assistance with efforts that encourage practical cooperation among countries and institutions in the region.

At its core, the program is designed to make cross-border and regional systems work better in ways that produce long-term development gains. The opportunity emphasizes that U.S. assistance should help create sustainable, broad-based, and participatory outcomes, which signals an interest in projects that reach beyond narrow or short-lived benefits and instead improve how economies and institutions function over time. The description highlights three major focus areas: economic growth and trade facilitation, security, and environmental resource management. In practice, this could include work that reduces barriers to trade and transit, improves coordination and standards that affect regional commerce, strengthens the capacity of relevant agencies or stakeholders to manage security-related risks that impact connectivity, and supports cooperative approaches to shared environmental challenges and natural resources that cross borders.

The eligible activity scope is intentionally broad, reflected in the listed funding activity categories that span agriculture, business and commerce, community development, education, employment and workforce development, energy, environment, food and nutrition, health, natural resources, regional development, and transportation. This breadth suggests the program is open to a wide range of project models as long as they credibly tie back to the central objective of regional connectivity and cooperation in South Asia. The award is associated with CFDA number 19.700, which is commonly used for State Department public diplomacy and related assistance programming.

Applicants may include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as well as other eligible entities as permitted by the solicitation. The notice also references foreign public entities in the program description, indicating that certain governmental or quasi-governmental organizations outside the United States may be relevant or potentially able to participate, depending on the specific terms and requirements of the funding announcement. The funding opportunity anticipated a maximum award (ceiling) of $685,000. The posting indicates an original closing date of June 9, 2017, and a creation date of April 26, 2017.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at organizations that can deliver hands-on technical support, convene or coordinate regional stakeholders, and advance cooperation that improves how South Asian countries connect through trade, infrastructure-relevant policies, shared environmental management, and related security considerations. The program’s emphasis on long-term, participatory development points toward proposals that incorporate local and regional stakeholder engagement, strengthen institutional capacity, and produce measurable improvements in regional coordination rather than isolated, single-country interventions.

• The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the agriculture, business and commerce, community development, education, employment, labor and training, energy, environment, food and nutrition, health, natural resources, regional development, transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "South Asia Regional Connectivity Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.700.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-04-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-06-09. (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 $685,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for SCA SCAAQM 17 001

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