Deadline: 31-Jan-22
The U.S. Embassy in Moldova seeks a qualified implementing organization that will manage the project entitled “Russian-language Television Content Fund”.
The grant recipient will be responsible for overall logistical coordination, management of funds, as well as mentoring for the initiatives within this funding award. Most of the funding should be reserved for sub grants for the development of TV series pilots, and rebroadcasts of Russian-language programming from neighboring countries. Grant recipient will also work with television stations that air the content to implement industry best practices for marketing, scheduling, and monetizing the content.
Objectives
The project aims for the following objectives:
- Facilitate the creation a market for domestic television products.
- Contribute to the creation of Moldovan-made entertainment TV production.
- Support independent media, production and dissemination of alternative content through grants and needs-based technical assistance.
- Support independent voices in the Moldovan media landscape through the development of good quality local production capacity in the Republic of Moldova in the interests of plurality of views and editorial independence.
- Ensure trainings and mentorship assistance to the content creators with the goal to raise the quality and reach of the final product. This would include storyboarding ideas, testing concepts, scriptwriting, finding the best production technique, scheduling production, using industry standard TV production software, applying audience retention techniques, integrating social/Internet TV programming, and editing.
Components
The grant will consist of one major component:
- Russian-language Television Series Pilots: two-year funding for entertainment and fiction programs on Moldovan television, prioritizing co-productions with private-sector and foreign media. The grant recipient must solicit applications from emerging or established Moldovan and/or regional filmmakers, and creative studios based on an open competition, and select participants based on merit, potential and proposed project goals and outcome. Grant recipient will offer mentorship and oversight to the successful applicants through the entire cycle of the project: planning, script writing, and pitching.
- Introduce Russian-language Content from Regional Nations: work to identify, obtain rights to, and air on Moldovan TV Russian-language content from independent producers in the region. Priority will be given to projects that involve collaboration with Russian-language TV production firms in regional countries.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $500,000
- Award amounts: awards may reach a maximum of $500,000 each.
- Length of performance period: 24 months
- Anticipated program start date: March 15, 2022
Participants and Audiences
Projects financed under the auspices of the current finding opportunity will have the general public in the Republic of Moldova that watches televised content as their main intended target audience.
Priority Region: Entire territory of the Republic of Moldova.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility is limited to not-for-profit organizations (NGOs, CSOs, Think-Tanks) and independent mass media (often registered as Limited Liability Companies) that can prove an extensive history of good performance, expertise, and good practices in the project domain. Foreign organizations are eligible to apply for this grant call.
Organizations submitting proposals must meet the following criteria:
- Organizations should have existing, or demonstrate the capacity to develop, active partnerships with in-country entities and relevant stakeholders including the public sector, private sector, and civil society, as relevant to the proposed program objectives.
- Organizations may form consortia and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.
- The Public Diplomacy Section reserves the right to request additional background information on applicants that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards, and these applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336787