U.S. Mission Public Diplomacy Grants Program

U.S. Mission Public Diplomacy Grants Program – Cook Islands & Niue

PDS-NEWZEALAND-2026-02 · U.S. Mission to New Zealand

international affairs economic development water resources environment Business and Commerce Disaster Prevention and Relief Education Energy Infrastructure and Critical Mineral and Materials (EICMM) Humanities Natural Resources Regional Development Science & Technology R&D

Closes: 2026-07-15 · 8 d
Award ceiling: $50,000
Award floor: $10,000
Program funding: $350,000
Expected awards: 5
Cost sharing: No
Posted: 2026-04-22
Instrument: Cooperative Agreement, Grant

Characterization · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-07

U.S. Mission New Zealand will fund projects for Cook Islands and Niue that build local capacity and U.S.-Pacific ties through economic, natural resource, safety, and related public diplomacy activities.

Funds: technical assistance
University: direct
social behavioral: substantial
physical sciences: minor
engineering: minor
life biomedical: minor
computational data: minor
humanities arts: substantial

⚑ Public diplomacy grant/cooperative agreement; activities should be capacity-building and relationship-building rather than research. · Geographic scope limited to Cook Islands and Niue. · Award ceiling is $50,000.

Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules

IPPRA	54 partial	portfolio topics: water_resources, environment; signature methods: community engaged, policy analysis; social/behavioral work is substantial; funds technical assistance, not research (capped); capped at 54 (non-research funding)
Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo)	25 weak	technical depth: minor; funds technical assistance (capped)
Tom Love Innovation Hub	5 none	no commercialization signal

Description

The U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Mission New Zealand announces an open competition to implement a program to advance U.S.-Cook Islands and U.S.-Niue maritime cooperation, economic and cultural ties. The program is intended to support local solutions and build local capacity to:

1. Increase economic linkages with the United States

2. Promote long-term economic prosperity through natural resource management

3. Reduce threats against the United States and the Pacific region.

Projects are encouraged to include a plan to build capacity and technical expertise among local communities and organizations.

Projects may address one or more of the following areas, but are not strictly limited to the following topics:

· Increasing economic linkages with the United States through exchange, education, work, and trade promotion programs;

· Promoting long-term prosperity by incorporating best practices for natural resource management;

· Advancing U.S.-Cook Islands and U.S.-Niue cooperation to enhance safety, especially in digital media, information technology, emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence, maritime, health, and other related sectors.

Projects may propose activities targeted through this solicitation in the following countries: Cook Islands and Niue.

Apply

View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Tracey Zemanek Grantor <publicaffairsusnz@state.gov>

Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →

A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.

Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →

Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.