Applications Invited for Indo-Pacific Synergies Through the Lens of the Bay of Bengal

Organization: U.S. Department of State, U.S. Mission to India

Apply By: 07 Apr 2024

Grant Amount: 130000 USD

About the Organization

The mission of the United States Embassy is to advance the interests of the United States, and to serve and protect U.S. citizens in India.

About the Grant  

The U.S. Mission to India announces an open competition to conduct policy dialogues among relevant stakeholders.  These dialogues will generate a better-informed political economy discourse, and allow participants to chart an action agenda that promotes interconnectivity in the Indo-Pacific region, with special focus on India’s Bay of Bengal and Northeastern region (NER).

Priority Region: Northeast India with a focus on Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, and Sikkim.

Background

The United States is an Indo-Pacific nation. The region, stretching from the U.S. Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, is home to more than half of the world’s people, and nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy. The United States is committed to an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient. To support this commitment, at this juncture it becomes even more important for the United States to fortify its historical ties, and strengthen the Indo-Pacific region, alongside its closest allies and partners.

To ensure prosperity and security in the region, the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, among other countries, have advanced the idea of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” The United States will continue to modernize long-standing alliances, strengthen emerging partnerships, and invest in regional organizations to increase the collective capacity that will empower the Indo-Pacific to adapt to the challenges of the 21st century and seize its opportunities.

Thus, this proposal intends to expand substantive policy dialogues between the United States and a new diverse set of stakeholders in the Bay of Bengal region and Northeast Indian states, which are the gateway between India and the rest of the Indo-Pacific. The goal is to increase understanding between the United States and Indo-Pacific countries. 

Project Audience(s):

Primary audience:  State, local, and national government representatives, policy makers, academics, bureaucrats, civil society leaders, think tanks, business chambers, entrepreneurs, artists, and professionals from multiple fields in East and Northeast India.  A special focus will be given to new stakeholders from Northeastern states, who are often overlooked in broader policy discussions on the Indo-Pacific. 

Secondary audience: Youth, primarily university students and academics, media, and social media users.  

Project Goal:

The overall goal is to include new stakeholders from Northeastern states to discuss interconnectivity issues such as infrastructure development, transnational trade, and climate change, leading to sustainable regional development in the larger context of the Indo-Pacific.  

Outcomes:

U.S. Consulate General Kolkata expects to see at least three direct outcomes in terms of regional partnerships/policy implementation in the Bay of Bengal region. These include: 

• Post-facilitated policy dialogues in Bay of Bengal and Northeastern states of India and New Delhi to engage with emerging voices, established opinion leaders and policy makers from northeastern Indian states to be part of the Indo-Pacific policy discussions. These discussions will include Mission India contacts to advance the Indo-Pacific dialogue among various stakeholders and partners.

• The identification and inclusion of Northeast Indian think tanks, civil society, and other relevant players in activities that shape the Indo-Pacific vision and highlight India’s role in the region.   These players should be able to provide specific policy recommendations to increase economic and logistical interconnectivity and address climate change in the Bay of Bengal region.

• Demonstrate in international policy realms and to critical audiences an increased understanding of the strategic importance of the Bay of Bengal region as a multisectoral gateway to the Indo Pacific, including cultivating support and recognition for an active U.S. role in the region.

Project Objectives:

The objective is to include new stakeholders from northeastern states of India and build on the window of opportunity in which U.S. focus could catalyze infrastructure development, transnational trade and connectivity leading to sustainable regional development in the larger context of the Indo-Pacific strategy.   

Specific sub-objectives:

• The project will discuss ways to conserve, restore, and sustain the shared rivers/inland water systems, and the linked ecosystem entities in the Bay of Bengal and the larger Indo-Pacific region, with particular emphasis on plastic pollution and addressing climate change.
• Greater inclusion of think tanks, civil society, and cultural experts in shaping and promoting the Indo-Pacific integration, with a special focus on populations with no prior engagement.
• The program will require regional conclaves which will facilitate discussions on ways to strengthen and sustain the trade logistics in Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, and Sikkim, with particular emphasis on sectors that leverage historical and ecological advantages.

Expected Project Deliverables: 

The project will include 200 new and relevant stakeholders from the northeast and raise awareness about the strategic importance of the Bay of Bengal and Northeast regions, help articulate the U.S. vision and policies on the Indo Pacific and create a network of U.S. and Indian policy makers and academics. The project aims to explore ways to reinvigorate and strengthen the maritime connect among the Indo-Pacific countries, in the context of current geopolitics and historical connections. It will engage and touch upon issues of infrastructure, regional initiatives, and other strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.

A series of stakeholder policy dialogues, across key cities of the Indian northeastern states must be organized to identify complexities, challenges, and opportunities followed by two outcome-based national level dialogues based on an intersectional format of policy and strategic cultural programs.  

U.S. Consulate General Kolkata and the selected grantee will ensure at least 50 percent participation of women leaders throughout the campaign to ensure representation and decision making that supports inclusive growth and gender-sensitive Indo-Pacific policies.  

Pre- and post-surveys at the regional consultations, multiple media articles, think tank publications, social media engagement, and number of partnerships or outcome-based discussions at the national level conclaves which will directly influence Indo-Pacific policy.  

Measured increases in contact base in the northeast for Mission India and measured increase in Indian audiences who understand the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy.

Eligibility

The following organizations are eligible to apply: 

• Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
• Public and private educational institutions
• Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions

How to Apply

Deadline for Applications: April 07, 2024 [11:59 pm midnight Washington DC]

Application forms required below are available at www.grants.gov

• Submission Method A: Submitting all application materials through Grants.gov.  For those opting to apply through Grants.gov, thorough instructions on the application process are available at http://www.grants.gov. For questions relating to Grants.gov, please call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or go to https://www.grants.gov/support.html. Please note that KolkataPDgrants@state.gov is unable to assist with technical questions or problems applicants experience with Grants.gov.
• Submission Method B:  Submitting all application materials directly to the following email address: KolkataPDgrants@state.gov  

Applicants opting to submit applications via email to must include the Funding Opportunity Title and Funding Opportunity Number in the subject line of the email. 

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