RFA #102919-01-05-2026-001 Research Writing and Publishing in English Course Modification 2

Request for Application (RFA)
Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Online Course Development and Delivery:
Research Writing and Publishing in English
RFA #: FY23-102919-01-05-2026-001
Issued on: January 5, 2026
For: Development and delivery of an online, university-level Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC) on Research Writing and Publishing in English
Estimated
Period of
Performance: July 6, 2026 - December 19, 2026
Application
Deadline: March 20, 2026
___________________________________________________________________
FHI 360 Brief Background:
FHI 360 is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes research, resources and relationships so that people
everywhere can access the opportunities they need to lead full, healthy lives. FHI 360 serves more than
50 countries around the world.
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Table of Contents
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Purpose ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Description .................................................................................................................................................... 4
Course Development .................................................................................................................................... 5
Course Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Guidelines and Standards ......................................................................................................................... 7
Course Development Process ................................................................................................................... 7
Intellectual Property ................................................................................................................................. 7
Technical Requirements............................................................................................................................ 8
Course Design ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Course Delivery ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Period of Performance ................................................................................................................................ 10
Statement of Work (SOW) and Deliverables .............................................................................................. 10
Budget ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Instructions to Applicants ........................................................................................................................... 12
Submission Requirements ...................................................................................................................... 12
Cost Application ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Eligibility .................................................................................................................................................. 13
Criteria/Qualifications for Evaluation ..................................................................................................... 14
Terms and Conditions ................................................................................................................................. 15
Attachments ................................................................................................................................................ 17
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Background
The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department
of State with funding from the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. OPEN is a program
of the U.S. Department of State's Office of English Language Programs in the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). OPEN leverages U.S. educational technology to engage
English language teachers, learners and professionals worldwide through free online courses and
learning materials. OPEN's virtual learning resources are developed in partnership with U.S.
institutions and experts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), educational
technology and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) topics that promote workforce development.
Access to these resources provides educational and economic opportunities to learners in their
home countries, enhancing local educational infrastructures, improving teaching capacities, and
building a variety of professional skills.
Note to Applicants
Thank you for your interest in working with the OPEN Program. Please read this RFA and
associated documents and templates carefully to ensure that you understand all application
requirements and submit any requests for clarification by January 16, 2026. You should also
review this best practices document with tips for responding to the RFA requirements.
Applications that do not respond to the specific requirements and submission instructions
included in this RFA and attachments will be disqualified. Please note that organizations must be
based in the United States to be eligible.
Purpose
OPEN offers a variety of online professional development opportunities to non-native English-
speaking teachers and other learners worldwide. FHI 360 is soliciting applications for an
accredited, U.S.-based university or academic institution with expertise and demonstrated
proficiency in TESOL to develop a five-module asynchronous MOOC on the topic of research
writing and publishing in English. Please see the OPEN website for more information about
MOOCs. The MOOC will be open for participation to an unlimited number of non-native English-
speaking participants around the world over a period of twelve weeks with unlimited open
enrollment. The selected applicant will provide facilitation and content support throughout the
twelve weeks the MOOC is open, and FHI 360 will provide technical support.
This project supports the goal and objectives of the FY 23 OPEN Program to offer English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for professionals, giving them the opportunity to engage in a
distance-learning program using the latest educational technology and providing them with
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direct access to U.S. ESP experts with whom they would not normally have the opportunity to
interact. It also supports the U.S. Department of State's public diplomacy goals by leveraging
America's unique convening power to bring together strategic partners to advance U.S. interests,
embracing educational technology as the method of communication. By showcasing American
achievements in English language research writing and publication, this project will reinforce
America's leadership role while building new networks of relationships between U.S. based
experts and international participants. This project will directly benefit U.S. taxpayers through a
competitively selected grant awarded to a U.S. based university or academic institution to
develop and deliver content that advances America First priorities among rising leaders, students
and foreign publics worldwide. Further, this project supports mutual collaboration and resource
sharing between U.S. based experts and participants that:
* Increases cross-cultural competence and global perspectives;
* Increases the impact that participants and alumni have on their home communities /
countries, thereby multiplying the effect of the program;
* Creates markets for American products and ideas;
* Strengthens engagement among participants, alumni, beneficiaries, and institutions;
and
* Strengthens personal, professional, and technical abilities and aptitudes of participants
and beneficiaries.
Description
Through this asynchronous MOOC on research writing and publishing, non-native English-
speaking professors and graduate students at international higher education institutions will
improve their skills related to writing in English for the purpose of publishing in international
research journals. They will learn about key concepts in academic writing and publishing such as
intellectual property rights, fair use, and citation styles. They will also identify appropriate
journals in their fields they can submit work to. They will be introduced to stylistic elements of
English writing specific to academic articles and identify the typical article structure of their
selected journals. The course will also introduce participants to elements of English academic
writing, focusing on writing compelling paragraphs in academic prose that cohere internally and
signal to readers how each paragraph connects to prior and subsequent paragraphs and sections.
Participants will also be introduced to educational technology tools (examples may include a free
bibliographic tool or organizational tool) that can help them draft and edit their articles. As a
culminating project, participants will outline a research article for publication structured for their
selected journal, including identifying an appropriate citation style.
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Course Development
Please note that FHI 360 will provide an orientation module for learners that will precede this
course's content modules. The orientation module introduces the OPEN Program, how to use
the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), strategies for successful online learning,
American academic culture, and how to get support during the course. Applicants should not
propose developing orientation content.
Course Objectives
The selected applicant will be responsible for developing module objectives that support the
following overall course objectives. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
* Identify American higher education/cultural values in relation to research, intellectual
property, fair use, etc.
* Identify appropriate journals in their field to which they can submit research articles and
identify a range of possible types of articles within their field.
* Identify stylistic elements and typical structure of their selected journal articles.
* Recognize elements of academic prose and methods for signaling to readers how each
paragraph connects to prior and subsequent paragraphs and sections.
* Identify appropriate nested section and sub-section headings according to the style of
their selected journal.
* Use educational technology tools at a basic level to draft, edit, and improve their drafts.
* Plan and outline a research article for publication structured appropriately according to
their selected journal, using available relevant online tools. Participants will identify the
appropriate citation style to use for their article based on their discipline.
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OPEN Learner Profile
PARTICIPANT
REQUIRED DESIGN APPROACHES
CHARACTERISTICS
Audience A global audience of university Basic pedagogical and andragogical strategies that
professors and graduate are effective for an asynchronous audience of adult
students learners
Language CEFR B1 Provide extension materials/activities for higher
Level May be higher or lower level participants
Language level is not verified Scaffold instruction to reach lower-level
by the OPEN Program participants
Educational Most participants will be Do not assume prerequisite knowledge
Background academics at the master's or Gauge participants' background knowledge and
Ph.D. level experience using diagnostic assessments
Degrees may be in any field
May not have formal training
in English academic writing /
research writing
Technical Low bandwidth constraints The course should be designed for asynchronous
may limit the reliability and delivery; participants should not be required to log
Environment
frequency of Internet access in daily
for many participants Downloadable packets of course materials must be
Low resource constraints may provided
limit access to online tools or Per instructional design guidelines, video segments
applications should be short, and transcripts must be provided
Learning * Global audience with varied Outcomes should reflect an EFL focus and use
educational contexts and participants' experience as a springboard for
Environment
goals activities
* Significant work / family The combination of presentation
commitments may impact and required interaction (reviewing course
ability to devote time to instruction, reading course
coursework materials, participating in course activities, and
* Asynchronous completing productive activities) should not
exceed 5 hours per module (+/-3 hours of
presentation, +/-2 hours of activities)
While assignment due dates are expected,
participants cannot be required to be online on a
specific date or at a specific time
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Guidelines and Standards
Program-specific and ECA-approved guidelines and standards will be included as part of the
subaward and must be used throughout the period of performance to ensure that the course and
corresponding resources meet the requirements of the funder. These guidelines include:
Instructional Design and Online Learning (IDOL) Guidelines
Creative Commons Guidelines
Creative Commons Licensing Manual
MOOC Guidelines
OPEN Video Production Tips
It is strongly recommended that applicants review these guidelines prior to submitting an
application. Interested applicants can review examples of courses developed for the program
using these guidelines by visiting the Canvas Commons learning object repository and searching
for "Online Professional English Network."
Course Development Process
Upon award and following a kickoff call to review the scope of work, clarify roles and
responsibilities, and finalize the project timeline, FHI 360 will provide access to course
development tools including a Canvas course shell, a deliverables tracker and a file storage site.
After submission of a draft syllabus, FHI 360 will provide feedback to the grantee, at which point
the grantee can begin building out the first module. After reviewing the first module, FHI 360 will
provide detailed, guideline-based feedback and requests for changes to ensure that the content
and design of the module meet program expectations and the objectives of the project.
Remaining modules will be submitted and reviewed in a similar fashion. The grantee should
expect requests for modifications to be substantial and extensive throughout the course
development process, but particularly after submission of the first module. The feedback
provided by FHI 360 is intended to build the grantee's capacity to use program guidelines
effectively to develop a course that is usable and accessible to the program's unique audience.
Applicants should budget appropriately for robust communication throughout the development
process, and time to review and make the requested changes, in addition to time for initial
module development.
Intellectual Property
OPEN represents an investment in the next generation of open educational resources (OER) by
requiring that all new intellectual property, including all digital content, be openly licensed for
free use, adaptation, and improvement by others. OER are teaching, learning, and research
materials in any medium that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open
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license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. "Educational materials" can be
but are not limited to the following: courses, course materials or modules, textbooks, handouts,
videos, assessments, multimedia applications, audio, games, lesson plans, curriculum maps,
teaching guides, training and certification materials, and any other explanatory materials used to
support access to knowledge.
All materials and resources built or revised with grant funds must be openly licensed and made
publicly available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (CC BY). The purpose of
the CC BY licensing requirement is to extend the reach of the Online Professional English
Network. CC BY licensing allows participants to retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute
course materials within their professional community. For more information about Creative
Commons licensing, please visit https://creativecommons.org/ and review the Creative
Commons Guidelines and Licensing Manual linked in the Guidelines and Standards section.
When possible and appropriate, the OPEN Program requests that course developers incorporate
English Teaching Forum content and/or American English social media, materials, graphics, or
videos created for the U.S. Department of State's Office of English Language Programs. Licensing
requirements and guidelines for these components may differ slightly from the CC BY licensing
referenced above. FHI 360's course development team will work with the selected institution to
clarify guidelines, correctly mark, and publish this content, if included.
Technical Requirements
The course will be developed using OPEN's Canvas platform, which is a self-hosted instance of
the open-source Canvas LMS, administered by FHI 360 with support from a technology services
provider. The selected applicant should be aware that some features available in a licensed
Canvas LMS may not be available in OPEN's Canvas LMS. Applicants must demonstrate flexibility
to work within the constraints of the self-hosted version of Canvas, which allows us to make
courses accessible worldwide. Course content must be fully downloadable, accessible to users
with limited bandwidth, universally adaptable and transferable between various platforms and
learning management systems, compliant with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and
accessible at all times to FHI 360 and the Department of State.
Short video clips can be used effectively to engage different learning modalities in an online
course, along with other types of content presentation. Please see the OPEN Video Production
Tips and consider the following video expectations:
Video will be dynamic and engaging, and will utilize modern design principles;
Adequate lighting will be used to highlight speakers and produce crisp images;
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Noise-reducing microphones will be used to eliminate background noise;
Presenters/speakers will model natural speech patterns and avoid monotone
delivery by using an animated style;
Presenters/speakers will appear on camera as much as possible (not just narrate a
presentation).
You can view a sample OPEN course video that demonstrates these expectations.
Course Design
The course design must be responsive to the requirements outlined in this RFA, including the
learner profile, and reflect basic pedagogical and andragogical strategies that are effective for an
asynchronous audience of adult learners, as well as account for specific characteristics of the
target audience.
OPEN Curriculum Design Component Requirements
Pre- and post-course Ungraded diagnostic and post-course assessments must be included
assessment and aligned to learning objectives.
American culture and Provide participants with relevant information about the American
values education system and highlight pertinent American Culture
resources available on the American English website.
Independent learning Course content and activities should encourage analysis, synthesis
strategies and critical and and evaluation of a variety of input.
creative thinking skills
Course Delivery
Over the twelve weeks of the MOOC, participants will be able to enroll and complete the five
content modules at their own pace. Allowing twelve weeks for participation also gives U.S.
embassies and posts the opportunity to organize cohorts with face-to-face or virtual support for
completing the MOOC, to achieve specific audience engagement and U.S. foreign policy
objectives.
The potential for a large number of participants, progressing through the modules at different
paces, naturally limits the opportunities for intense facilitation. However, OPEN has successfully
delivered over 100 MOOCs using this model:
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* Steering participants to ask questions in a Content Support Discussion board, where other
participants often jump in to answer questions, instead of through the Canvas inbox;
* Using periodic announcements to motivate and engage participants to complete the
course;
* Engaging selectively with module discussions.
The suggested hours in the delivery budget template reflect our experience using this approach
and consistently achieving higher-than-average MOOC completion rates (10% - 40% of enrolled
learners, 50-80% of active learners). Applicants should propose several U.S. based experts to be
involved in facilitation of the MOOC to maximize the voices and experiences from which
international participants can benefit.
Monitoring and Evaluation
FHI 360 will measure progress toward the goals and objectives of this program by evaluating the
development of the curriculum against program guidelines and standards.
Period of Performance
The Estimated Period of Performance for the course development component of this project is
July 6 - December 19, 2026. Pending funding availability, we anticipate negotiating a separate
fixed price subcontract for pilot course delivery over a period of twelve weeks, starting in January
2027, after the award for course development is signed. We anticipate pilot delivery will occur
between January 4 - March 29, 2027.
Statement of Work (SOW) and Deliverables
The course development agreement negotiated for this project will be issued as a standard cost-
reimbursable grant. A detailed scope including milestones and reporting requirements will be
provided in the subaward, including the following activities:
* Designate a Principal Investigator (PI) to be the main point-of-contact for the project,
monitor technical staff (curriculum developers, subject matter experts, instructors, etc.),
verify that deliverables are complete and submitted according to the agreed
upon schedule, submit required performance reporting in a timely manner, liaise with
contracts and grants management staff to ensure that financial reports are submitted in
a timely manner, and ensure that all work is completed according to the terms of
the grant;
* Participate in a project kickoff call and guidelines trainings;
* Develop a draft syllabus;
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