Deadline: 30 April 2020
Through the Institute for War & Peace Reporting’s Cooperative Agreement with the US Department of State, this competition announcement is open to organizations and individuals from the media and civil society interested in submitting proposals for funding via a sub-award agreement for a quick-response project to combat misinformation, disinformation and rumor around COVID-19 in Southeast Asia, and provide communities with increased access to reliable and factual information on COVID-19.
Programs must:
- Be quick to design, test and launch, i.e. within 10 days from acceptance of sub-award;
- Deliver results which are specific, measurable and impactful across mass audiences;
- Can be implemented virtually given the ongoing lockdown/social distancing measures to help contain COVID-19.
Programs could include:
- Fact-checking/verification for journalist & mediaoutlets, public health and governance-related offices and organizations, and/or the general public;
- Computational and other tech-based initiatives (i.e. chat bots, SMS, voice calls) to address current and emerging gaps in COVID-19 response;
- Participatory virtual projects (i.e. virtual COVID-19 hackathons and community- driven documentations);
- Reporting on COVID-19 to promote accurate information and the identification of misinformation and disinformation;
- Radio programs to promote accurate information on COVID-19;
- Virtual newsroom mentoring to improve reportage of COVID-19 from different perspectives (community or specific sector; country; region);
- Knowledge-sharing sessions around COVID-19 and its aftermath.
- They encourage networking and creativity within and across communities, sectors and even countries that maximise and engage audiences for maximum effect.
- Other projects that support the key goals of fighting disinformation, misinformation and rumor around COVID-19 in local communities.
Funding Information
Award ceilings are as follows:
- Individual journalists, media outlets/networks, CSOs, community-based groups, non- government research organizations, social media practitioners, and online community groups can apply for grants ranging between $2,000 to $10,000 per project;
- Individual and organizational IT specialists, tech groups, hackathon experts, and computer programmers can apply for grants ranging between $5,000 to $10,000 per project.
Duration
Length of Project Period: Up to six months.
Project Outputs
The successful project implementers will roll out their respective projects working together with IWPR. Depending on the nature of the project, the implementer should capture all information from the supported project, e.g. social media metrics data; discussions and recommendations from surveys and chat bots; and feedback from published reports.
Eligibility Criteria
IWPR welcomes applications from individual journalists, social media practitioners, and computer programmers; media outlets and media networks; CSOs, community-based organizations, and CSO networks; online communities; and non-government research organizations based in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and East Timor.
Proposals
Should be very tightly written and no more than three pages in length. Proposals should outline submitting individual/organization’s background and expertise to take on the proposed project; project narrative highlighting target outcomes, impacts and overall reach, and budget.
Process and Regulations
- Applications to this limited call that are submitted late, deemed incomplete or are non-responsive will not be considered. Successful individuals and organisations will be responsible for ensuring achievement of the program objectives. Awards will be made to the applicant whose application best meets the requirements of this NOFO. IWPR reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.
- Individual and organizational applicants can submit one application in response to the NOFO.
- Issuance of this NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of IWPR or the U.S. government, nor does it commit IWPR or the U.S. government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. In addition, final award of any resultant grant agreement cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal IWPR and USG procedures. While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.
For more information, visit https://iwpr.net/engage/nofo-strengthening-resilience-building-skills-sea