Deadline: 9-Oct-22
The U.S. Mission in India seeks to further strengthen and advance its strategic partnership with India, improve people-to-people relationships that plant the seed for greater appreciation of both India and U.S. cultures, and highlight the importance of food and the blending of Indian fusion cuisines through the secondary objective of promoting U.S. food product sales
Using Mission India’s broad social media reach, this activity proposes to engage in a two-way conversation with the Indian consumer, focusing on the significance of the U.S.-India relationship, and the importance of food for both country’s multicultural national identity, to promote growth, prosperity, and trade. The activity will build from previous U.S. food demonstrations that various Mission India representatives have participated in, including Consuls General and Chief of Mission authorities.
Through this funding opportunity, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, and U.S. Consulates in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad will commemorate the 75th anniversary of U.S.-India relations through food diplomacy. To achieve this, Mission India will produce video recordings at various major metropolitan areas to showcase traditional Indian dishes/cuisines and demonstrate where “fusion” U.S.-origin ingredients are being incorporated. Content will include at least one video recording in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad featuring a high-level representative of the U.S. Embassy and each Consul General, who will participate in a cooking demonstration filmed on location with renowned local chefs and take part in a “foodie walk” in each city.
Goals
Through this activity, they seek to further strengthen the U.S.-India strategic partnership, celebrate 75 years of U.S.-India relations, and improve people-to-people relationship that plant the seed for greater appreciation of both India and U.S. cultures.
Objectives
To highlight Indian fusion cuisines, promote U.S. food product sales, and foster economic development, tourism, and cross-cultural exchange in the form of culinary diplomacy through social media.
For all deliverables and content, the USG will maintain the right to clear any drafts and final content by email – this will include representatives from PD and FAS. Additionally, the USG representatives maintain the right to request additional edits, determine the social media platforms to be used for content dissemination, and clear any additional accounts or partners in the dissemination efforts of the content.
- Deliverable 1: Coordinate the logistics to bring an American chef to multiple cities in India.
- Grantee Responsibilities: The grantee would be responsible for identifying a list of potential American chefs that can participate in this series, is able to travel and would fit the needs of the project. The grantee would create a list of these potential American chefs that will be sent to the USG representatives for editing, feedback and clearing. Once this list is cleared the grantee will be responsible for arranging all the necessary logistical needs for the American chef to participate, including but not limited to international roundtrip travel to India and domestic travel within India.
- USG Responsibilities: The U.S. Government representatives are responsible for making the final selection of the American chef, as well as the arrangements for participation.
- Deliverable 2: Produce five (5) episodes in the video series, each to cover one consulate district and New Delhi. Each of the main episodes would be approximately 10 minutes in length. To accompany the episode, the grantee will produce a teaser video covering all formats for all platforms.
- Grantee Responsibilities: The grantee would be responsible for the pre-production, production, and post-production of the content. The grantee will allow access to USG representatives to all graphics at every stage of the process – including but not limited to pre-release creatives, thumbnails, episode overview, etc. The grantee will send drafts of the content to the USG for suggested edits and ultimately final clearance of the content in all stages of production. The grantee is responsible for finishing all, fully cleared content within a prescribed time period mutually agreed to by both the grantee and US Government.
- USG Responsibilities: The US Government representatives would be responsible for advising and final clearance of the content in all stages of production. The USG representatives will provide detailed feedback on any edits needed for all products in a timely manner.
- Deliverable 3: Coordinate logistics, identify and work with a food social media influencer, and produce the cooking demonstrations, and “foodie walk” in each consulate region and New Delhi.
- Grantee Responsibilities: The grantee will provide details on the planned logistics for each of the features and identify potential influencers in an organized document for review, options for filming locations, and conceptualize the various food recipes that use American ingredients.
- USG Responsibilities: USG representatives, including FAS New Delhi, will be coordinating clearances, advise and consult the grantee on what aspects of the details work best for the project. USG representatives will review the documents provided with options and provide a final decision on which is determined to be the best fit for each episode.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $60,000
- Award Ceiling: $75,000
- Award Floor: $50,000
- Length of Project Period: Four months.
Audience(s)
- The primary, target audience for this activity is the Indian consumer active on social media. Secondary audience includes social media influencers, digital media outlets, and the Indian hotel/restaurant sector.
- They are looking to engage India’s, young, middle-class consumers who are motivated, price conscious, and interested in new products and have some familiarity with the United States or an affinity for Western cultures. The targeted individuals are tech-familiarand avid users of social media, including Instagram and Twitter.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Think Tanks
- Public and private educational institutions
- Individuals
- Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions.
- Organizations may sub-contract with other entities, but only one, non-profit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient of the award. When sub-contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343414