American Innovation Hub: AI & Digital Skills for the Creative & Tech Economy

Summary

Indonesia is ASEAN’s largest economy and most populous nation, with a young, fast-growing digital population that is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence and creative-technology tools. The choices this generation makes about which technologies, standards, and platforms to build on will shape Indonesia’s digital economy for decades. Demand for trusted, high-quality AI tools is outpacing access to credible, hands-on training, and U.S. technology providers remain underrepresented in the venues where Indonesian youth, creators, and MSMEs first encounter AI. This program builds demand for full-stack U.S. artificial-intelligence technologies and standards and supports the continued growth of Indonesia’s creative and technology economy. The U.S. Mission to Indonesia’s American Spaces network reaches these audiences directly. The Mission has focused its network on five higher-impact American Corners — American Corner Malang, American Corner Makassar, American Corner Yogyakarta, American Corner Pontianak, and American Corner Ambon. These corners put U.S. programming in front of technology adopters, content creators, MSME operators, future policymakers, and youth influencers. Past American Spaces programming has shown that one-off events generate limited, short-lived engagement, while sustained, skills-based programming tied to tangible participant outputs builds durable relationships and measurable behavioral change. This opportunity builds on those lessons by funding a coherent, network-wide program rather than isolated activities, and by recruiting and professionalizing the teams that operate the corners so that gains are sustained beyond the award period. Through this NOFO, the Public Diplomacy Section seeks a partner to operationalize the American Innovation Hubs program. Success will be defined by five corners visibly transformed into modern innovation spaces; a documented shift in participant preference toward American AI tools and standards; a steady cadence of locally produced digital content; and a trained, capable cadre of corner staff able to sustain the model. Project Audience(s): The program serves several distinct audiences across the five host cities of Pontianak (West Kalimantan), Malang (East Java), Yogyakarta (Central Java), Ambon (Maluku), and Makassar (South Sulawesi): • Indonesian youth and young adults aged 18–35 — technology adopters, content creators, digital entrepreneurs, and startup founders; • MSME owners and operators in the creative and technology sectors seeking to adopt AI tools for content creation and online marketing; • American Corner staff and host-institution counterparts who operate the five corners. Project Goal: Advance U.S. innovation leadership and build sustained Indonesian demand for the American AI technology stack by transforming five American Corners into American Innovation Hubs that equip Indonesia’s youth, creatives, and MSMEs with full-stack American AI and digital skills. Project Objectives: • Objective 1: Reposition and equip all five American Corners as American Innovation Hubs with professional U.S. AI hardware, licensed American AI software, and a unified visual identity, with all five corners meeting applicable American Spaces Standards by the end of the program. • Objective 2: Recruit, hire, and professionalize the local staff who operate the three corners in Malang, Yogyakarta, and Makassar, and build the capacity of at least 25 American Corner staff across five competency tracks — creative-hub operations; strategic programming; ecosystem integration; brand stewardship; and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting — with each corner producing an Annual Programming Plan and a Partner Ecosystem Map of at least 20 active local relationships. • Objective 3: Train at least 1,500 youth, creative professionals, and MSMEs (approximately 300 per corner) in full-stack American AI tools and standards, resulting in a documented increase of at least 25 percent in participant preference for U.S. AI solutions, as measured by pre- and post-program surveys. • Objective 4: Deliver sustained, regular AI-focused programming across all five corners that produces tangible participant outputs, including at least 35 podcast episodes (seven per corner), AI-generated music and visual content, short animated films, and live online marketing campaigns built with American AI tools, culminating in local hackathons and a national Grand Final. 2. Substantial Involvement This award will be issued as a cooperative agreement. Because the program directly implements U.S. foreign policy priorities and operates through the Mission’s American Spaces network, the U.S. Mission to Indonesia will be substantially involved in implementation. The expected roles and responsibilities of the Embassy and the recipient are summarized below. U.S. Embassy Roles and Responsibilities: • Oversee and approve the overall program design, the American Innovation Hub visual identity and branding, and the physical configuration of each corner; • Review and approve the position descriptions and selection of funded corner staff, the Annual Programming Plans, training curricula, and the selection of AI tools and standards featured in programming; • Participate in the selection and approval of major implementing partners and the content of flagship events, hackathons, and speakers; • Coordinate access to Mission resources, including the U.S. Embassy Jakarta American Spaces team, the @america programs team, the U.S. Consulate General Surabaya American Spaces team, EducationUSA, and U.S. government alumni networks; • Review and clear public-facing materials and content for branding and policy compliance; • Approve any significant changes to the scope, schedule, or budget of the project. Recipient Roles and Responsibilities: • Implement the program across all five American Corners (Pontianak, Malang, Yogyakarta, Ambon, and Makassar); • Recruit, hire, onboard, and supervise the nine local staff for the three corners in Malang, Yogyakarta, and Makassar in compliance with Indonesian labor law, and integrate all corner staff into the Capacity-Building Framework; • Procure, ship, install, and maintain the U.S. AI hardware and licensed American AI software, and apply the approved American Innovation Hub visual identity at each corner; • Design and deliver recurring American AI Skills Labs (approximately every two months) and sustained programming that introduces full-stack American AI tools and standards; • Produce tangible participant outputs, including the podcast series, AI-generated content, short films, online marketing campaigns, and hackathons; • Build and steward local partnerships and produce a Partner Ecosystem Map for each corner; • Establish and implement the monitoring and evaluation plan and meet all reporting, branding, and compliance requirements; • Coordinate closely with the U.S. Embassy through regular updates and consultations.

Eligibility

• Other

Funding categories

• Other