Deadline: 28-Mar-22
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open solicitation for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that enable citizens to hold the government accountable for local governance and political reform efforts in Thailand using increased access to objective information
Objectives
Proposals should seek to achieve the following objectives:
- Independent media and citizen journalists can safely and more effectively conduct in-depth reporting and lead public engagement on local governance and political reform debates.
- Thai citizens have increased access to objective and quality, localized information on governance issues.
- Thai citizens are more resilient to disinformation and better equipped to engage in public debate on Thailand’s political future.
Funding Information
- Total Funding Floor: $740,740
- Total Funding Ceiling: $740,740
- Anticipated Number of Awards: Approximately 1-2
- Type of Award: Grant or Cooperative Agreement
- Period of Performance: 24 – 36 months
- Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 4 – 7 months
Eligible Activities
A competitive applicant will prioritize working with a variety of civic actors and fostering linkages between civil society advocates in Bangkok and peripheral areas of the country to achieve the above-mentioned objectives. Illustrative activities may include:
- Capacity-building for independent media and citizen journalists in mobile journalism, digital security, and other skills needed to effectively and safely engage audiences online and counter disinformation.
- Increasing thematic understanding among citizen journalists, influencers, and other information providers on Thailand’s political system and opportunities for public participation.
- Providing opportunities for citizen and/or student journalists to receive mentorship from independent media actors.
- Providing capacity-building and/or small grant support to local fact-checking organizations or other efforts that aim to counter disinformation and build media literacy.
- Building partnerships among universities, citizen journalists, fact-checking organizations, and Thai local civil society groups to hold local government accountable.
- Small grant support for in-depth digital storytelling on local governance issues in Thailand, with a focus on regions outside Bangkok, and inclusive of marginalized groups.
- Pairing reporting and digital storytelling with offline creative public engagement campaigns.
- Holding community-level public discussions and debates on local governance issues.
Eligibility Criteria
- DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment 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.
- Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.
- The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337752
