Arctic Indigenous Cultural Heritage Initiative (AICHI) | PDS OSL NOR FY22 AICHI 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for PDS OSL NOR FY22 AICHI 01

The Arctic Indigenous Cultural Heritage Initiative (AICHI) is a U.S. Department of State program, launched in 2021 by the Cultural Heritage Center (CHC) within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), working alongside the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA). Its central purpose is to support Arctic Indigenous communities in protecting, preserving, and perpetuating both tangible cultural heritage (for example, artifacts, collections, historic objects, and physical cultural sites) and intangible cultural heritage (such as language, oral traditions, knowledge systems, practices, and cultural expressions). The initiative is run through participating U.S. embassies, which solicit and manage proposals for projects in their host countries.

For this specific announcement, the U.S. Embassy in Oslo is inviting proposals in Norway for cultural heritage protection, preservation, and perpetuation projects. Beyond the heritage outcomes themselves, the Embassy frames the program as a public diplomacy effort meant to strengthen people-to-people ties and advance cooperation between the United States and Arctic Indigenous communities across related issue areas, including education, culture, and the environment. While the broader initiative names priority countries as Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Sweden, and Finland, this posting is administered by U.S. Mission Norway and is oriented toward applicants and activities connected to Norway.

The intended participants and audiences are Arctic Indigenous communities and the institutions that work with or serve them, including museums, governmental institutions, NGOs, and other Indigenous-focused organizations. Funding for this opportunity comes from FY22 ECA resources (CFDA 19.036), and the Department of State cites the Smith-Mundt Act and the Fulbright-Hays Act as the underlying authorities. Awards are expected to be relatively small and project-focused, ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 50,000, with a performance period that can be as short as 1 month and must be completed within 12 months or less. The Embassy notes that the number of awards may vary depending on the application pool, and that all awards remain subject to the availability of funds. Funding instruments may take the form of a grant, cooperative agreement, or fixed amount award. The Embassy also indicates it may consider continuation funding beyond the initial budget period on a non-competitive basis if funds remain available, performance is satisfactory, and continued support aligns with U.S. Department of State interests.

Eligibility is focused on organizations in Norway, and the Public Diplomacy Section explicitly encourages applications from registered nonprofit organizations (including think tanks and civil society/NGOs with relevant programming experience), nonprofit or governmental educational institutions, and governmental institutions. For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible. Cost sharing or matching funds are not required, which lowers the barrier for organizations that may not have additional funding sources. A key rule is that each organization may submit only one proposal; submitting more than one will result in all submissions from that organization being deemed ineligible.

The application process is structured as a three-tier competition that begins with a Statement of Interest (SOI). The SOI serves as a brief concept document to communicate the project idea and objectives without requiring a full proposal at the outset. After a merit review of eligible SOIs, selected applicants are invited to submit a full grant application for review by the Embassy Grants Committee. Proposals that remain competitive at that stage are then forwarded to the Cultural Heritage Center at ECA for final selection. The source posting lists the opportunity as discretionary, issued by the Department of State, U.S. Mission to Norway, with an opportunity number of PDS OSL NOR FY22 AICHI 01, created May 27, 2022, and an original closing date of June 15, 2022, with an award ceiling of USD 50,000 and an expected award count of 1 noted in the listing (while also stating the number of awards may vary).

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Norway in the community development, education, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Arctic Indigenous Cultural Heritage Initiative (AICHI)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.036.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 27, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 2022. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for PDS OSL NOR FY22 AICHI 01

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