Deadline: 29-Apr-22
The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul (Doha) is pleased to announce an open competition for eligible organizations to submit applications to carry out a program that implements activities that support media freedom and freedom of expression in Afghanistan.
Project Goal: By working to alleviate some of the barriers that prevent journalists from reporting safely, informing the public, and earning a living, this project will preserve freedom of expression and the free media in Afghanistan. Additionally, this project will support better information vetting and community building for Afghan journalists.
Objectives
- Identify specific difficulties journalists in Afghanistan are facing related to safety, access to information, financial hardships, and support networks by surveying Afghan journalists.
- Identify 25-40 journalists working in the provinces where the data was collected. These should be active journalists or those who have previously worked in journalism and express a desire to continue working.
- Based on the survey data, work with the journalist to plan and implement individual or collective efforts.
- Make connections between journalists who share similar challenges. Encourage the journalists to interact with existing media-advocacy, media-support, and freespeech organizations outside of Afghanistan.
Areas
PDS seeks proposals for a project that will support media freedom and freedom of expression in a majority of the provinces in Afghanistan by addressing at least two of these areas:
- journalist safety
- lack of access to information and restrictions on information
- underlying conditions that exacerbate economic challenges
- coordination between media-advocacy, media-support, and free speech organizations.
Funding Information
- Anticipated Award Amount:
- Base Period: The floor for the base period is set at $200,000. The ceiling for the base period is set at $500,000.
- Option Period One: The floor for the option period is set at $200,000. The ceiling for the option period is set at $500,000.
- Anticipated Performance Period:
- Base Period: 12 months
- Option Period: 12 months
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility is open to non-profit organizations. Organizations may sub-award/contract with other entities, but only one non-profit entity may be the prime recipient of the award.
- For-profit entities are not eligible to be the prime recipient of an award under this NOFO. When subawarding/contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
- Applicants must submit proof of their non-profit status with their proposal (proof of 501(c)(3) status for U.S. entities, the Afghan NGO license for Afghan entities, equivalent document for non-Afghan and non-U.S. entities).
- Applications that do not include this proof of non-profit status will not be reviewed or considered for an award. Individuals are not eligible for an award under this NOFO.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=338491