Deadline: 09-Nov-20
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) has announced a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations for programs that support Internet Freedom.
In support of the U.S. International Strategy for Cyberspace, DRL’s goal is to protect the open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet by promoting fundamental freedoms, human rights, and the free flow of information online through integrated support to civil society for technology, digital safety, policy and advocacy, and applied research programs.
Priority Regions
- SOIs focused globally or focused on any region will be considered. Applications should prioritize work in Internet-repressive environments.
- SOIs regarding technology development should have clear regional human rights use-case and deployment strategies for the target region(s). SOIs focused on digital safety, advocacy, and research should also have region- or population-specific goals and priorities that are informed by clear field knowledge and expertise.
Funding Information
Estimated Total Program Funding:
- Award Ceiling: $3,000,000.
- Award Floor: $500,000.
Funding Themes
- Funding Theme #1: Technology: Uncensored and Secure Access to the Global Internet – Development of and support for desktop and mobile technologies that counter censorship and/or enable secure communications.
- Funding Theme #2: Digital Safety – Support, training, and information resources that contribute to greater digital safety for users in Internet-repressive societies, including civil society, human rights defenders, journalists, and other vulnerable populations.
- Funding Theme #3: Policy and Advocacy – National, regional, and international policy and advocacy efforts that empower civil society to counter restrictive Internet laws and support policies to promote Internet freedom in countries where the government has adopted, or is considering adopting, laws or policies that restrict human rights online.
- Funding Theme #4: Applied Research – Research efforts to inform and benefit Internet freedom globally. Research should address technological and political developments affecting Internet freedom.
Areas of Focus:
- Scalable and sustainable next-generation anti-censorship and secure communication technologies, especially for platforms that generally have less support for anti-censorship and secure communication.
- Next-generation malware detection and mitigation systems.
- Alternative production and sustainability models for anti-censorship tools, such as white label and branded content apps.
- Development and implementation of alternative methods for distributing software applications in closed or repressive Internet contexts.
- Development and implementation of protocols and critical infrastructure to support an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or a public international organization,
- Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education,
- Be a for-profit organization or business (noting there are restrictions on payment of fees and/or profits under grants and cooperative agreements, including those outlined in 48 CFR 30, “Cost Accounting Standards Administration”, and 48 CFR 31, “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures”),
- Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders including private sector partner and NGOs,
- Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=329247