Deadline: 26-Jan-24
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations interested in submitting Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that support the policy objective to increase the free flow of objective, independent information into, out of, and within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
Categories
- This solicitation includes two (2) categories under which applicants may submit SOIs.
- Supporting Freedom of Information
- The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have improved understanding of democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, including increased awareness of how their individual rights and freedoms are inhibited by the DPRK government. Illustrative activities of projects proposed under this category include:
- Creating or curating content on concepts or themes of democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms; analysis of domestic and international developments; and/or highlighting the comparative lack of rights and freedoms in the DPRK through the experiences and stories of North Korean defectors living in democratic societies.
- Supporting timely, fact-based, and independent local reporting on political and social developments, including human rights abuses, in the DPRK. Applicants must clearly articulate their ability to carry out activities safely and effectively.
- Increasing access to objective, independent information among North Korean audiences through safe, secure, and proven approaches, such as radio broadcast transmissions or other tested methods. Applicants must clearly demonstrate existing capacity and experience to carry out activities safely and effectively.
- Cultivating a new generation of content creators, particularly among the North Korean defector community, by strengthening their technical content creation skills and operational sustainability. Such efforts must include small grants to individuals or nascent content creation organizations.
- The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have improved understanding of democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, including increased awareness of how their individual rights and freedoms are inhibited by the DPRK government. Illustrative activities of projects proposed under this category include:
- Diversifying Mechanisms for Information Access
- The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have a greater diversity of proven context-specific and secure mechanisms through which they can safely and reliably access and/or share objective, independent information. Illustrative activities of projects proposed under this category include:
- Identifying existing tactics or technologies used by the DPRK government to inhibit access to information and supporting efforts to circumvent such tactics or technologies. Applicants may propose ways to leverage, improve, and/or amplify hardware and/or software solutions that are new or already used by North Koreans for circumvention; however, any proposed technologies, programs, and/or applications must have been identified or verified as still active and/or effective in the DPRK context within the last two years.
- Scaling up or improving tailored, proven technologies to facilitate the free flow of information into, out of, and within North Korea. This may include technologies to securely communicate, share, or consume information and/or external media content. Applicants must clearly justify the proposed technical approach and claims; articulate whether the proposed technology is demand-driven and applicable within the DPRK’s information control environment; and demonstrate existing capacity and experience to carry out the project safely.
- The objective of projects under this category is that North Koreans have a greater diversity of proven context-specific and secure mechanisms through which they can safely and reliably access and/or share objective, independent information. Illustrative activities of projects proposed under this category include:
- Supporting Freedom of Information
Funding Information
- SOIs that request less than $100,000 or more than $1,500,000 may be deemed technically ineligible.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or a public international organization; or
- Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; or
- Be a for-profit organization or business (noting there are restrictions on payment of fees and/or profits under grants and cooperative agreements, including those outlined in 48 CFR 30, “Cost Accounting Standards Administration”, and 48 CFR 31, “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures”);
- Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders including private sector partner and NGOs; and,
- Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
For more information, visit DRL.