U.S. Colleges and Universities Invited to Apply to Multilateral Research Partnership Grant Competition

The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom launched today the Global Innovation Initiative, a new higher education grant competition created to strengthen higher education research partnerships between the United States, the United Kingdom and four other countries: Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia. This initiative will provide exciting grant opportunities for post-secondary educational partnerships on topics of global significance in the following four science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related areas: energy, climate change, and the environment; agriculture, food security, and water; public health and well being; and urbanization. Accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions are invited to apply for one of approximately ten grants of up to $250,000 each, and must apply together with at least one higher education partner in the UK, and one in Brazil, China, India, and/or Indonesia. For more information about the initiative and how to apply, please visit www.iie.org/GII. Proposals are due by 9:00am EST on December 16, 2013. Grant recipients will be announced in Spring 2014.

The Global Innovation Initiative was announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and formally launched in October 2013 at a reception hosted by Rt Hon. David Willetts MP, UK Minister for Universities and Science. The initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of State, UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and the British Council, which will also serve as the implementing partner in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Institute of International Education will implement the grant program in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Two parallel, but separate grant competitions will be offered in the United States and United Kingdom, and an institution from either country will be required to take the lead on the partnership. Partnership proposals with a U.S. lead institution will apply through the U.S. competition and those with a UK lead institution will apply through the UK competition. More information about eligibility and the application process can be found on the Global Innovation Initiative’s website. 

In launching this joint effort, the United States and United Kingdom aim to raise the bar for international collaboration while developing a new cadre of globally-savvy individuals, enhancing global research capacity, strengthening institutional cooperation, and promoting the exponential benefits of multilateral partnerships. For more information or to download the proposal documents, please visit: www.iie.org/GII or contact:

Morgan Clark

Program Officer, Center for International Partnerships

Institute of International Education

Tel: +1 (212) 984 5405

Email: GII@iie.org