Request for Proposals: Serbia English Access Scholarship Program Implementation
February 5, 2026
Program: English Access Scholarship Program
Funding Amount: USD $160,000.00
Opening Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Closing Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026
The Public Diplomacy Section of the Embassy of the United States of America in Belgrade is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the implementation of the English Access Scholarship Program in Serbia.
Below you will find a program description, as well as information on eligibility criteria and basis for award of the program. For program-related questions, please contact us at RELOBelgrade@state.gov or BelgradeEL@state.gov before the application deadline.
BACKGROUND
In order to identify the next generation of leaders around the globe, the U.S. Department of State created the English Access Scholarship Program (Access) in 2004 and since its inception, approximately 200,000 students in more than 85 countries have participated. Access provides youth with a foundation of English language and other global citizenship skills that improve educational and employment prospects, build stronger self-esteem, and provide a deeper multi-cultural understanding. The program serves as a viable educational model for communities with leadership, creative and critical thinking, information technology, and civic outreach components. Participants, ages 13–15 are expected to play active roles in their country’s socio-economic development and have greater opportunities to engage in a dialogue to resolve local and global challenges. In Serbia there are more than 500 Access alumni, many of whom are studying at, or have graduated from, top-tier universities throughout the country.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of the Access Program is to equip bright and talented high school students with a range of skills anchored by the core components of enhanced English language skills, leadership and career development opportunities. Students will build their critical and creative thinking, leadership, information technology, civic outreach, and technological literacy skills.
The English language instruction should move beyond traditional models, offering interactive, learner-centered experiences. Project-based and task-based approaches are encouraged to help students use English to address real-world challenges. Enhancement and off-site immersion activities should help extend language learning beyond the classroom.
Access classrooms should serve as strong educational models for a community. Programs should, where possible, be aimed at sharing new and relevant practices with English teachers in other schools, especially those from which the Access students are chosen. Other members of the community, including interested administrators, content teachers, and future educators studying at nearby universities, can also be included in outreach efforts. The participants’ parents should also be made aware of what and how the students are learning and appraised of what can be done at home to encourage further learning. Civic outreach activities should further cement the connection between the Access program and community.
The various aspects of the Access Program are:
After-School/Weekend Instruction
The Access Program must deliver a minimum of 360 hours of instruction, though a higher quantity of hours is encouraged and can make proposals more competitive. The core component of the time should be in classes meeting at least twice per week, and as often as four times per week. Classes typically last from 1.5 to 3 hours. Programs can begin from September—January of any given year, and finish roughly between 15 and 18 months later. It is the responsibility of the Provider to consider the schedule of the students, especially during the initial recruitment phase, to ensure that Access classes do not interfere with students’ regular school schedule.
Programs must holistically include activities aimed at fostering Serbian-U.S. cross-cultural understanding, as well as at developing other key global citizenship skills throughout the program. These activities should be seen as an opportunity for educators and students to be creative and to extend the learning experience beyond the classroom walls. Trips to museums, workplaces, theaters, etc. are encouraged. Other possibilities include civic outreach activities such as volunteering at a nearby senior citizens home, tutoring primary school students in English, and organizing the cleaning of a nearby park or forest. In-school activity possibilities include filming role plays, hosting a visiting English Language Fellow, Specialist, or English Teaching Assistant, creating a web page, creating a program newspaper or celebrating U.S. holidays. If a Provider is using a centralized approach, the central office could incentivize creativity by allowing Access sites to draft proposals for more elaborate activities.
Guest speakers that can be linked to the curriculum is another option. U.S. English Language Fellows, Specialists or English Teaching Assistants that are visiting or living in or near the city hosting the Access site are excellent options. Taking advantage of other speakers such as Access alumni, Fulbright alumni, key civic leaders, U.S. Embassy visitors, local businesspeople and community leaders, or representatives of certain professions is also possible. Sites should approach the selection of such speakers creatively and carefully.
Off-site Intensive Sessions
At various points during the Access Program, usually during school breaks, intensive sessions lasting between two and five days may be included in the program. The aim of these sessions is to provide students with time to fully experience an English-medium environment outside of the classroom for a sustained period of time. A typical day may consist of a variety of team building, challenge-solving, and creative activities that allow the students to gain confidence in English and to consolidate the global citizenship skills that they have been learning during the entire program.
Community Outreach
The Access Program site should serve as a model classroom. Efforts should be made to reach parents and other English teachers in the community, as well as include teachers of other subject matters, administrators, English Language Fellows, alumni, etc. in the Access experience, where appropriate. While it is understandable that such efforts should not interrupt instructional hours, a plan should be made to reach out several times during the Access program to key groups that stand to gain from being informed about the unique program. Examples include holding a workshop for parents addressing how to support a child learning a foreign language, a workshop for future teachers at a nearby English language teaching department or for current teachers at the schools from which Access students have been recruited, and a meeting for administrators to better understand how to create stronger foreign language programs in their own schools.
BASIS FOR AWARD OF THE PROGRAM
The grantee should be an established non-profit institution or a non-governmental organization (NGO) with at least 3 years of experience in administering educational programs and/or teaching English, preferably to the target age group, with a proven track record of implementing programs successfully in Serbia. The grantee must identify the location(s) and venue(s) that will be used for this program (verified with a document/preliminary agreement) and will be responsible for recruiting students and, in consultation with the Regional English Language Office and Public Diplomacy Section at the U.S. Embassy, developing the curriculum. Organizations with previous experience and the capacity of working with educational institutions on a national level will be given priority.
In-Country Educational Service Provider: Roles and Responsibilities
Proposal Eligibility Requirements:
Proposals may be submitted by Serbian and/or U.S. based organizations with a proven track record of implementing programs in Serbia. Organizations must have not-for-profit status.
Number of providers:
The U.S. Embassy reserves the right to split the project between two or more providers.
Program Implementation Location:
The Embassy prefers that the Provider oversee multiple implementation locations. The proposal should cover the sites where the Provider is confident it can provide a safe space, with a qualified administrative and teaching staff, over the duration of the program. Each site could have one to four classes of up to 25 students per class. The provision of clean and safe premises for high school aged students is a non-negotiable requirement.
The Provider should consider the Embassy’s goal of extending the Access program to communities outside of Belgrade.
Program Calendar:
The start date of the program will depend largely on the length of the negotiation, contract finalization, and student selection phases. The program could begin as early as fall 2026 or as late as early spring 2027. The program is to last no longer than 24 months but should run for a minimum of 18 months. All programs must conclude by February 28, 2029. Providers must prepare themselves to be as flexible as possible with regard to start dates due to issues that may occur before an agreement is signed and during student recruitment.
Technical and infrastructure requirements:
The provider must specify the location(s) of the Access program and space that will be used for the classes and activities. The provider must either provide verification that the space belongs to the grantee or a written agreement with the holder of the space. The space must have seating for at least 25 students; it must have a blackboard/whiteboard, power outlet, heating and minimal sanitary requisites. Providers are also encouraged to share any other unique learning spaces on the premises that are accessible to the program and that add to the overall experience (theater, garden, sports facility, etc.).
Functional requirements:
The provideris responsible forsetting criteria for and identifying youth to be enrolled in the program in consultation with the U.S. Embassy.
The provideris responsible forcreating a highly effective and innovative method for identifying and recruiting highly competent Access teachers. Final selection of Access teaches should be done in consultation with the U.S. Embassy.
The provideris required toproduce frequent reports (usually twice a year) and a substantial final performance report. The provider should monitor students’ attendance and performance. The provider should be able to provide receipts for financial outlays upon request.
The provider willsubmitmonthly 1-3 paragraph highlights, with photos, based on criteria to be provided at a later date, for an internal U.S. Department of State audience.
Maintain records on graduates that will be added to the U.S. Embassy’s Alumni databasein order toinclude in follow-on programming.
Assumptions and agreements:
The Provider should craft a proposal that can serve a group of 25 students. The budget per student should be no higher than USD $2100. The Embassy recommends that the interested Provider find creative ways of extending the quality and quantity of the students’ learning experience for this amount as opposed to competing based on a lower cost per student. The total of the proposal should not exceed $160,000. All possible costs for parents – including tuition (overhead, teachers’ salaries, administration), materials, activities outside of the classroom, off-site immersion sessions and, where relevant, transportation for the students – should be covered.
The Provider’s instructors for this program should have a minimum of three years teaching full-time in any institution, though preferably at a K-12 level. The instructors should be comfortable and fluent in English, with at least a C1 (CEFR) level, and have some cross-cultural experience, preferably with U.S. culture (familiarity with the culture is stressed over actually having visited the U.S.). The instructors should have modern views about methodology, employing learning-centered approaches that focus on tasks and projects that lead to interactive classes. The instructors should be adept at integrating modern technology into the classroom, and at creating a linguistic risk-taking atmosphere that allows students to learn in a comfortable and fostering environment. The U.S. Embassy must approve all selected instructors before the program begins and reserves the right to refuse employment to teachers recommended by the Provider.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
The proposals should be submitted to the Public Diplomacy Section, U.S. Embassy Belgrade electronically to RELOBelgrade@state.gov and BelgradeEL@state.gov. The deadline for submission is March 3, 2026, at 23:59 local (Serbia) time.
FORMAT OF THE PROPOSAL
(A) Narrative:
A narrative document, no longer than five pages, that describes the program in detail is required. This document should include a description of: 1) the grantee organization, including relevant resumes and previous experience; 2) the afterschool/weekend classes, activities outside of the classroom, off-site immersion sessions, and community outreach plan; 3) student recruitment plan; 4) student retention plan; 5) materials to be used; 6) monitoring plan; 7) professional development plan for teachers; 8) teacher profile; 9) branding plan, and 10) Access Program location(s).
(B) Budget:
The budget spreadsheet should include all program costs. Categories include a breakdown of costs for the two-year program (e.g. instruction, books/materials, transportation, administration, and enhancement activities), the total number of students to be enrolled, the start and end dates for instruction, the number of hours of instruction students will receive per week and year, and the type of program (e.g. after-school, weekend, full-time, or English language intensive sessions). Salary should be included for up to two hours of professional development per month for each instructor, to facilitate the use of the Access Community of Practice. Off-site immersion sessions must be listed as a separate row of the Budget Spreadsheet, with a complete cost breakdown. Applicants are welcome to use the provided budgeting tool spreadsheet (link), or a template of their own preference. A breakdown of any cost-sharing by the grantee should be submitted in a separate spreadsheet.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
For additional information or clarification, please contact the Regional English Language Office or Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy, at RELOBelgrade@state.gov or BelgradeEL@state.gov .