The Partner of Choice: Explaining the Significance of U.S.-India Strategic Partnership | C NOFO 23 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for C NOFO 23 004

The grant opportunity titled "The Partner of Choice: Explaining the Significance of U.S.-India Strategic Partnership" is a U.S. Department of State (U.S. Mission to India) cooperative agreement focused on deepening and spreading informed public understanding of the U.S.-India strategic relationship, especially in defense and security, in the context of today’s geopolitical environment. The central idea is to bring together a cohort of influential Indian strategic analysts and opinion leaders, expose them to structured discussions and expert engagement, help them evaluate both the strengths and the sticking points in the relationship, and then support them in translating that learning into credible, high-visibility media output that reaches broader Indian audiences.

The project is designed around a clear learning-and-dissemination pathway. First, at least 40 Indian participants drawn from key thematic areas and sectors that shape the U.S.-India defense and security partnership are expected to take part in a set of at least four virtual meetings within the first six months. These sessions are meant to help the group map the current scope of the partnership, examine why it matters strategically, and surface realistic prospects and challenges involved in taking cooperation to a higher level. The intent is not just general awareness, but a more nuanced grasp of what the partnership covers, where it is heading, and what constraints or opportunities are likely to define its trajectory.

Second, within eight months, those 40 participants convene in person in a city in Southern India. This convening is structured to promote cross-sectoral collaboration through interactive engagements, networking opportunities, and site visits. A key deliverable coming out of this phase is a media plan that lays out how participants will communicate the significance of the partnership to their target audiences, using platforms that make sense for their roles and reach. In practice, this in-person component functions like a capstone: it turns virtual discussion into relationship-building, creates shared framing across sectors, and sets up coordinated public-facing communication.

Third, within ten months, the grantee is responsible for working with U.S. experts and Indian participants to generate concrete media products. The announcement specifies a minimum of five opinion pieces placed in leading Indian publications, plus at least ten podcasts and/or interviews with prominent Indian media outlets that have meaningful viewership. This requirement makes the grant more than a seminar series; it is meant to shape public discourse through credible messengers who already have access to mainstream and digital audiences.

Finally, within twelve months, the program shifts into follow-through and evaluation. The grantee will organize additional virtual meetings as needed and measure changes in participants’ understanding and behavior using pre- and post-event polls and surveys. Beyond surveys, the evaluation also includes qualitative and quantitative analysis of what participants publish or share over time, across traditional and social media. That includes tracking and analyzing outputs such as articles, interviews, podcasts, and other commissioned content, with the goal of showing whether the program measurably changed how participants interpret the partnership and how they communicate it to wider audiences.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which generally implies closer collaboration and oversight by the funding agency compared with a standard grant. The opportunity is categorized under education and carries CFDA number 19.040. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than universities). The program anticipates a single award with a funding ceiling of $150,000. The funding opportunity number is "C NOFO 23 004," it was created on April 26, 2023, and the original application closing date listed is June 24, 2023.

In plain terms, the program funds an organization to convene a strategically selected group of Indian influencers, guide them through a structured set of engagements about the U.S.-India strategic partnership, and then help them publish and broadcast content that frames the United States as a credible, willing "partner of choice" for India, while also seriously examining the real-world opportunities and friction points that come with advancing the relationship. The required outputs and the built-in monitoring of participant media activity make the program especially oriented toward measurable public communication impact rather than only closed-door capacity building.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to India in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The Partner of Choice: Explaining the Significance of U.S.-India Strategic Partnership" 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 Apr 26, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 24, 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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• 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, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for C NOFO 23 004

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