Deadline: 23-Jan-23
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announce a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations interested in submitting Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that support the policy objective to increase the free flow of objective, independent information into, out of, and within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
Categories
- This solicitation includes two (2) categories under which applicants may submit SOIs. Each organization may submit a maximum of two (2) SOIs, one per category. Organizations must clearly identify the category to which the SOI is responding. If a SOI does not explicitly identify one of the below categories on the first page of the SOI, it may be deemed technically ineligible and may not be forwarded to the review panel for consideration.
- Supporting Freedom Of Information: The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have improved understanding of democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, including increased awareness of how their individual rights and freedoms are inhibited by the DPRK government.
- Diversifying Mechanisms For Information Access: The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have a greater diversity of proven context-specific and secure mechanisms through which they can safely and reliably access objective, independent information.
Funding Information
- Primary organizations can submit two (2) SOIs in response to the RSOI, one per category. If an applicant chooses to submit multiple applications to this RSOI, it is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate the competitiveness and uniqueness of each SOI. SOIs that request less than $100,000 or more than $1,500,000 may be deemed technically ineligible.
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; or
- Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; or
- 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; and,
- Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
- Applicants may form consortia and submit a combined SOI. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant with the other members as sub-award partners.
- DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited. Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.
- DRL is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. DRL welcomes SOI submissions irrespective of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, veteran’s status, or other status. DRL requires all programs to be non-discriminatory and expects implementers to include strategies for nondiscrimination of individuals/organizations/beneficiaries.
Ineligible
- Activities that are not typically considered competitive include, but are not limited, to:
- The provision of large amounts of humanitarian assistance;
- Purely academic exchanges or fellowships;
- External exchanges or fellowships lasting longer than six months;
- Theoretical explorations of human rights or democracy issues, including projects aimed primarily at research and evaluation that do not incorporate training or capacity-building for local civil society;
- Micro-loans or similar small business development initiatives.
For more information, visit DRL.