University Research and Entrepreneurial Skills Program | DOS GEO 18 GR 001 042318

Opportunity Information: Apply for DOS GEO 18 GR 001 042318

The University Research and Entrepreneurial Skills Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Mission to Georgia (the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi). It is designed as a one- to two-year project aimed at strengthening how Georgian universities and academic communities turn research and ideas into real-world, marketable outcomes. The core focus is commercialization: helping Georgian professors, scholars, and undergraduate and graduate students build the practical skills and institutional pathways needed to move beyond academic research and into product development, startup creation, and other forms of innovation that can sustain themselves in the marketplace.

The opportunity seeks proposals that actively bridge the gap between research and implementation. In practical terms, that means supporting participants as they take existing or emerging university research and push it through early development steps, such as identifying viable applications, validating demand, and shaping solutions with a customer and market lens. The program is also meant to cultivate a stronger entrepreneurial culture within Georgian higher education by encouraging innovative thinking among faculty and students and by normalizing entrepreneurship as a credible extension of academic work rather than something separate from it.

A major component of the program is training. Proposed projects are expected to provide instruction and hands-on capacity building in areas that directly affect whether research-based ideas can succeed outside the university setting. The solicitation highlights marketing, finance, revenue-raising, and small-business, market-oriented sustainability. This signals that the Embassy is looking for programming that teaches participants how to evaluate markets, communicate value, build basic business models, plan budgets, identify funding sources, and develop strategies that allow initiatives to continue after initial support ends. The emphasis on sustainability suggests that deliverables should not be limited to workshops alone, but should also include systems, tools, or structures that help participants keep applying these skills over time.

Beyond individual skill-building, the grant is intended to improve the broader ecosystem for knowledge transfer among Georgian universities. This includes strengthening the ways universities share know-how, create partnerships, and encourage commercialization pathways across institutions rather than in isolated pockets. The program aims to create an environment where research commercialization is supported by networks, collaboration, and practical mechanisms that help ideas move from campus labs and classrooms into the private sector or into new ventures. In effect, applicants are encouraged to think not just about training individuals, but about building lasting connections and processes that make entrepreneurial activity more common and more feasible across Georgian higher education.

A central structural goal is the creation of a sustainable entrepreneurial skills program built around a Georgian and American university consortium. This implies a collaborative framework in which U.S. and Georgian institutions work together, potentially combining curriculum design, mentorship, exchanges, or joint programming to ensure long-term continuity and credibility. The opportunity also anticipates possible in-kind contributions from private sector entities and/or non-governmental organizations, suggesting that proposals will be stronger if they involve real-world partners who can contribute expertise, mentorship, access to markets, facilities, or other non-cash support that increases practical impact and strengthens the long-run program model.

Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), as well as other applicants as described in the full eligibility guidance. The Embassy explicitly invites U.S. and Georgian universities, educational institutes, nonprofit/non-governmental organizations, and private sector entities to participate, indicating that partnerships and consortium-based proposals are aligned with the program’s intent. The award ceiling is $300,000, with the expectation of a single award, meaning the program is structured to fund one lead project at a meaningful scale rather than multiple smaller pilots.

Administrative details reflect the original 2018 funding cycle. The opportunity number is DOS GEO 18 GR 001 042318, under CFDA 19.900, categorized under education. Applications were required to be submitted electronically by June 15, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. While the date is historical, the substance of the announcement outlines a clear model the Embassy wanted to support: a structured, consortium-driven approach to building entrepreneurial competencies and commercialization pathways in Georgian higher education, with training, ecosystem development, and sustainability built into the design.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Georgia in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "University Research and Entrepreneurial Skills Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.900.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 23, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 2018 All applications must be submitted in electronic form in addition to or instead of the hard copies on or before June 15, 2018, 1159 p.m. Eastern Standard time.. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for DOS GEO 18 GR 001 042318

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