FY 2026 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals and Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Staff Exchange
Funds a cooperative agreement to run the U.S.-German youth exchange and parliamentary staff exchange programs, including participant placement, language training, study, work experience, host family support, and travel/administrative support for the U.S. staff delegation.
⚑ Cooperative agreement; applicant eligibility not specified in the synopsis—see full NOFO/POGI. · Program includes both youth exchange administration and outbound travel/administrative support for congressional/parliamentary staff exchange.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 32 weak | outside portfolio topics; signature methods: community engaged; social/behavioral work is minor; funds training education, not research (capped); eligibility unclear — verify in the NOFO |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 10 none | technical depth: minor; funds training education (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposals for cooperative agreements to implement the FY 2026 (Academic Year 2027-2028) Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program and outbound Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Staff Exchange (CBBSX) travel component. The CBYX for Young Professionals and CBBSX programs advance America’s national interests by building lasting personal and institutional relationships that promote prosperity and security between the United States and Germany.
Key Activities:
CBYX for Young Professionals:
· Approximately 65 American and approximately 65 German participants, ages 18.5-24, engage in year-long academic and professional exchanges.
· American participants complete two months of in-country German language training, study for one semester at a German university, technical, or professional school, and gain practical work experience.
· German participants study for one semester at a U.S. university, college, technical, or professional school and gain practical work experience.
· Both American and German participants live with host families throughout the program year.
CBBSX:
· Ten U.S. Congressional and 10 German parliamentary staffers participate in a short-term reciprocal exchange with each other’s legislatures.
· The U.S. recipient organization provides travel and administrative support for the outbound CBBSX exchange by coordinating round-trip airfare for the U.S. delegation.
Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity and POGI for additional information.
Eligibility
Please see full announcement.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs <BehAC@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.