USAID/Mexico TIES University Partnerships, 2005

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USAID/MEXICO

TIES: Training, Internships, Exchanges, and Scholarships

2005 Special Request for Applications
For Phase II, approximately ten (10) applications are expected to be granted awards of up to $500,000 each, for completion by September 2008, in the areas of Rural and Micro-finance, Democracy, Environment, Rural Prosperity for Small-Scale Producers, and Health.
The deadline for receipt of applications is April 15, 2005, 5:00 pm EDT.

TIES is a $50 million, eight-year collaborative program between the U.S. government, U.S. and Mexican educational institutions, and the private sector. TIES is designed to advance the objective of the Partnership for Prosperity, a key initiative of Presidents Bush and Fox. USAID will provide $35 million for TIES with other collaborating partners contributing an additional $15 million.

The TIES initiative facilitates pursuit of a common development agenda between the U.S. and Mexico by enhancing the capacity of higher education institutions of both nations to examine mutual development problems, work in strategic alliances to develop solutions, and create the basis for Mexico’s benefiting more fully from NAFTA and a planned Free Trade Area of the Americas. Training from these institutions will give Mexican participants the skills and the collaborative links necessary for them to respond more effectively to development challenges and opportunities.

TIES has two main components:

University Partnerships:

Establish training, internship, exchange, and scholarship relationships between U.S. and Mexican universities to address common development problems identified by Mexican higher education institutions and their public and private partners. Participation in this component requires significant implementation and financial contributions from all partners and is determined by a competitive proposal process conducted by a peer committee.
Partnerships target graduate-level scholarships and most have a rural sector focus.
Goal of at least 50 partnerships and approximately 550 scholarships.
As of late 2004, 37 partnerships have been established.
The Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) is USAID’s implementing partner for this TIES component. For more information, see http://www.aascu.org/alo/TIES/tieshome.htm

Community College Scholarships:

Provides support for disadvantaged Mexicans living in rural, poor areas to study at the community college level in the U.S. in programs designed to improve their technical skills so that they can better address development problems.
Goal of at least 200 scholarships.
In 2003, 24 high school graduates were selected as scholarship recipients of a 2-year technical program. In 2004, 24 youths were selected for a 2-year program and 20 indigenous teachers for a 1-year program.
Scholarship recipients have been drawn from rural, poor areas of Jalisco, Chiapas, Michoacan, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, and Guerrero.
Georgetown University is USAID’s implementation partner for this TIES component. For more information, see http://www.prodigyweb.net.mx/cassmex