USAID/North Macedonia seeking Applications for YouThink Activity

Deadline: 16 April 2020

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the YouThink Activity.

The goal of YouThink activity is to increase youths’ resilience to disinformation campaigns and political manipulation by enhancing their media literacy and critical thinking skills. Youth often drive the most important social movements of an era. This activity is part of a larger portfolio aiming to build the resilience and self-reliance of youth; the development hypothesis for this portfolio is that IF economic opportunities for youth are strengthened, public initiatives for youth engagement increase, and youth model Western values including media literacy and critical thinking, THEN progress toward youth self-reliance and resilience to malign influence will be energized and accelerated.

Objectives

YouThink’s goal will be achieved through three mutually reinforcing objectives.

Objective 1: Increased Media Literacy Among Youth (40% Level of Effort (LOE))

Objective 1 is the kingpin of this Activity. Its aim is to increase demand by youth for fact-based information, by enhancing youth’s media literacy and equipping them with critical thinking skills and tools; this will enable youth to discern high-quality, fact-based information from that which is biased, poorly researched, false, or malign. The implementing partner will identify potential resource partners, conduct initial assessments of potential resource partnerships, and enter into agreements for local partners to lead and resource joint activities that result in an increased demand for fact-based information by youth.

Expected results:

Increased critical thinking skills among youth.
Training and curricula that enhance media literacy skills are implemented in the formal, nonformal, and informal education systems.

Objective 2: Increased Application of Youth Media Literacy Skills (30% LOE)

Objective 2 will enable youth to apply media literacy skills. Building on the results under Objective 1, the implementing partner will support multiple resource partnerships to empower and provide opportunities for youth to use information to form, present, and defend positions on issues of concern to them. By leveraging a wide range of forums and platforms through which youth can practice and hone media literacy skills, youths’ active and constructive participation will be increased in decision-making processes that affect them. The implementing partner will also facilitate opportunities for youth to apply their skills by training others in their circles of influence, including not only peers and other youth, but also adults and seniors.

Expected results:

Increased youth interaction with decision makers and others with influence on issues of concern to youth.
Increased youth voices through multiple forums and platforms.
Resource partnerships established with youth organizations and the government, the private sector, and civil society stakeholders that provide venues for youth to apply media literacy and critical thinking skills.

Objective 3: Increased Quality and Relevance of Media Content Developed For and By Youth

While Objective 1 will increase media literacy among youth and Objective 2 will provide opportunities for youth to apply these new skills, under Objective 3 the implementing partner will enhance the quality, quantity, and relevance of information targeting youth in the media. This will be achieved, in part, by strengthening training offered to journalists, both through the country’s journalism schools and in outreach to practicing journalists. Training will provide skills in best practices for effectively reaching youth with timely, accurate, and balanced information; training will include how to ascertain topics of interest to youth and strategies for sparking interest among them in topics that affect them. Training will be based on best practices for behavior change communication, with a view to engendering youth to seek fact-based information and act upon it.

Expected results:

Increased youth participation in the creation of media content.
Enhanced training in journalism incorporates best practices for targeting youth.
Increased high-quality and engaging media content developed by youth.
Increased consumption of high-quality and engaging media content developed by youth.
Media increasingly reflects topics of interest and relevance to youth.
Increased demand for fact-based information among youth.

Funding Information

Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide $4,420,003 in total USAID funding over a five year period.
The anticipated period of performance is five years. The estimated start date will be July 30, 2020.

Eligibiltiy Criteria

USAID is interested in working with a number of media and media literacy organizations with the potential to successfully implement the project in North Macedonia to support local efforts to address the challenges discussed above. They are encouraging coalitions and partnerships, as well as applications that aim to leverage USAID resources with other funding sources.
Please note that public/government organizations can be part of a partnership, but are not able to apply for, or be party to, the award as either a prime or sub-awardee. However, programs may not be partisan or political in nature.
Local organizations as defined below are eligible for award. USAID defines a “local entity” as an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:
- When determining if an entity is a “local organization” for the purposes of this RFA, USAID will consider:
  - Whether the entity is legally organized under the laws of North Macedonia.
  - Whether the entity has its principal place of business or operations in North Macedonia.
  - Whether the entity is majority owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of North Macedonia.
  - Whether the entity is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of North Macedonia.
  - Entities which do not meet the above-listed “local organization” criteria will be considered ineligible to participate in the further award process.
While not an exhaustive list and provided for illustrative purposes only, the following types of non-U.S. organizations are encouraged to participate:
- Civic groups
- Colleges and universities
- Cooperatives
- Faith-based organizations
- Foundations
- Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
- Private businesses