FY 2026 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellows Program

This NOFO has been amended. Please see the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for all changes, which are highlighted in yellow.

The Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), invites proposal submissions for one cooperative agreement to design, administer, and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program (YSEALI AFP).  

YSEALI AFP will include approximately 16 institutes—eight in spring 2027 and eight in fall 2027—for approximately 285 undergraduate and recent graduates from Southeast Asia.  Each institute will be on one of four themes: Economic Prosperity, Liberty and Freedom, Natural Resources, and Peace and Security. 

The award recipient will plan, implement, and oversee the 16 institutes under the YSEALI themes. Each institute will host approximately 17-18 Fellows from Southeast Asia.  Each institute will be approximately five weeks long and will include an approximately four-week academic residency at a U.S. college or university campus. Institutes will also include an approximately one-week integrated academic field experience (that includes time in Washington, DC) at the conclusion of the institute. The award recipient will coordinate with ECA to organize up to two YSEALI Fellows Forums, one in the spring and one in the fall, in Washington, DC, for all Fellows.

Applicants can administer YSEALI AFP fully through subawards or may propose to directly implement up to two institutes (one in spring, one in fall) and administer subawards for the remaining 14 institutes. No academic institution will be allowed to implement more than two institutes in one calendar year. ECA welcomes applications from U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, including community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and public and private universities, and other not-for-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) (see section B. Eligibility). Applicants may submit only one proposal under this competition. If multiple proposals are received from the same applicant, all submissions will be declared ineligible and receive no further consideration in the review process.  

It is ECA’s intent to award a cooperative agreement for one base year.  Pending satisfactory implementation of this program and the availability of funds in subsequent fiscal years, it is ECA's intent to renew this award for two additional, consecutive fiscal years, before openly competing it again.

This Amendment to the NOFO makes the following changes to the original NOFO:

·      Increases the total estimated funding from $4,300,000 to $6,500,000;

·      Increases the total number of Fellows from approximately 185 to approximately 285;

·      Increases the total number of U.S. citizen Reciprocal Exchange participants from up to 25 to up to 35;

·      Increases the number of FY 2026 YSEALI AFP institutes from eight to 16;

·      Extends the deadline for applications so proposals are now due May 29, 2026, due to the nature of these changes.