2019 (Title VIII) Research and Training on Eastern Europe and Eurasia
SFOP0005636
Grants.gov   https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313678
deadline May 10, 2019

The State Department administers the Title VIII Program to attain the following goals in alignment with the legislation:
  a. Develop, support, and deepen American expertise in the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union.
  b. Develop American proficiency in the critical languages of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union.
  c. Bring regional and foreign language expertise to the service of the U.S. government and contribute to U.S. knowledge and national capability.
  d. Advance U.S. foreign policy goals and foster international collaboration and understanding.

Through open, merit-based competitions, the Title VIII Program awards grants to American universities, institutions of higher education, and non-governmental organizations. Project proposals must be national in scope and involve an open, merit-based recruitment of fellowship recipients. All research proposals must explicitly support U.S. foreign policy and should promote analytic outreach and engagement with State Department policymakers and intelligence community analysts.

Critical Language Training:
The National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) is a U.S. government interagency effort to increase significantly the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. In furtherance of the NSLI, Title VIII supports funding for U.S. graduate students to pursue advanced Russian language study and as appropriate, studies of other languages of the independent states of the former Soviet Union.

The Title VIII Program supports research that addresses U.S. policy interests in the region, broadly defined. Research on the following countries is eligible for funding under this NOFO: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. (Travel to certain countries may be subject to restrictions due to unforeseen world events, statutory restrictions, U.S. embassy requirements, or general security concerns.)

The Title VIII review committees will give the highest priority to research programs that focus on current political, economic, security, democratic, or governance challenges relevant to U.S. foreign policy. Historical or cultural research that promotes understanding of current events in the region and makes an explicit connection to policy-relevant issues, broadly defined, may be competitive.