Deadline: 10-Apr-2024
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects to strengthen the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms online through an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.
Objectives
- Competitive proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following objectives:
- Organizational Capacity: Increased digital security capacity of local and regional Ukraine and Moldova-based independent media and civil society organizations that enables them to effectively identify, prepare for, prevent, and mitigate sustained, evolving, and emergency digital threats and attacks;
- Access and Awareness: Beneficiaries among civil society, including independent media and human rights defenders, and members of marginalized or vulnerable populations who need digital security services know they are available and are able to obtain them;
- Provider Capacity: Increased skills and ability of digital security providers supporting the target beneficiary communities, including networks of individuals and organizations, to identify relevant digital threats and attacks, develop and deploy relevant skills to mitigate those threats and attacks, and to support information sharing with other trainers and providers as well as beneficiary organizations and networks;
- Provider Scale: Increased capacity of local and regional networks of digital security providers to provide digital security services that are sustainable and responsive to the needs of the targeted communities.
- Diversity: Increased diversity of relevant local and regional networks of digital security providers who are members of the beneficiary communities they support;
- Resilience and Sustainability: Improved resilience and sustainability of networks of digital security providers, including through increased connections and information sharing, opportunities for networking and skill development, robust psychosocial care and relief, and diverse and alternative funding models to support sustained operations beyond project-based funding.
Funding Information
- Total Funding Floor: $1,628,020
- Total Funding Ceiling: $1,628,020
- Anticipated Number of Awards: 1-2
- Period of Performance: 24-36 months/years
- Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 6-7 months
Possible Activities
- Possible activities may include:
- Training locally or regionally based digital security providers;
- Supporting the provision of emergency response assistance through existing local or regional organizations and networks;
- Developing and deploying sustainable civil-society-focused training materials in relevant local languages (including Ukrainian, Romanian, and Russian);
- Supporting digital security assessments, remediation, and support to improve the capacity, policies, and practices of civil society organizations; and
- Developing or strengthening mechanisms for supporting and sustaining networks of digital security providers in identifying, developing, and utilizing expertise and networks necessary to respond to emergent threats.
Key Program Considerations
- This list of considerations is provided as a guide to help applicants develop responsive, robust program strategies
- Competitive programs must
- Be led by or have strong support from and/or active participation by local and/or community-focused digital security trainers and providers in Ukraine and Moldova. Proposals should allocate $986,680 in program funds for activities in Ukraine and $641,341 in program funds for activities in Moldova. These separate allocations should be delineated in two separate subsidiary budgets.
- Include a robust sustainability plan that clearly articulates what actions the implementer will undertake during this project to ensure that resources and networks developed under this project will be available and beneficial far beyond the end of the project
- Preference will be given to projects which:
- Substantively partner with small digital security providers who are members of at-risk or vulnerable populations and/or explicitly focus on digital threats against those communities. At-risk populations may include women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals, members of religious and ethnic minority groups, members of discriminated castes, and people with disabilities.
- Substantively partner with local and regional independent media and civil society organizations, including human rights advocacy groups and defenders, to strengthen organizational and network digital security providers
- Competitive programs must
Eligibility Criteria
- DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. 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.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.