U.S. Mission to India: Empowering Media Savvy Youth

Deadline: 03-Jun-24

The U.S. Department of State’s Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) in India is pleased to announce an open competition for a cooperative agreement to support the “Empowering Media Savvy Youth” project in FY2024.

Project Goal

• Strategically enhance regional security and bolster the bilateral partnership between India and the United States, by fostering digital literacy and resilience within diverse Indian communities.

SMART Objective

• The program’s success will be determined by a significant 20% enhancement in participants’ knowledge levels, measured through pre- and post-surveys, in addition to monitoring social media interactions and metrics.
  • By the conclusion of the program, 160 Learn to Discern India Academy (L2D-IA) graduates from Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai will attain expertise as Youth Master Trainers (YMTs) after targeted training.
  • Leveraging their skills, they will conduct 320 impactful sessions on information analysis and digital resilience, benefiting a minimum of 32,000 participants.
  • Among these participants (32,000), a subgroup of 60 will receive additional training to become social media influencers to create content and run campaigns specializing in countering disinformation across various subjects, aiming to engage at least 36,000 youth.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: $200,000
• Award Ceiling: $200,000
• Award Floor: $150,000
• Length of performance period: 12 to 18 months
• Number of awards anticipated: $200,000 awards (dependent on amounts)
• Anticipated program start date:  September 1, 2024

Expected Activities

• Phase 1: Youth Trainer Development and Deployment 
  • Tailoring Training Materials: The recipient will adapt existing Learn 2 Discern (L2D) content and will modify to develop a comprehensive Youth Trainer Handbook, enriched with course materials, worksheets, and trainer guidelines catering to various training formats.
  • Localization: The grant recipient will commission the translation of the handbook into the five predominant local languages spoken in the target Indian cities—Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali. Any relevant adjustments will be made to ensure alignment with the linguistic and cultural nuances of the respective communities.
  • YMT Recruitment and Training:   From the available participants list of L2D-IA graduates, the grant recipient will enlist and coach 32 L2D-IA graduates from each city to assume the role of Young Master Trainers (YMTs). Through a competitive selection process, these candidates will be chosen and subsequently undergo an extensive Training of Trainers (ToT) program. This initiative will provide them with vital skills, including facilitating discussions and assessing progress, ensuring their effectiveness in their designated roles.
  • Facilitating YMT-Led Events: With grantee’s support YMTs will organize and conduct 320 youth-led training activities, each YMT leading two sessions including a group of 50 participants per session reaching at least 32,000 individuals. Grantee will collaborate with local universities, colleges, schools, and NGOs. The events will be promoted through American Spaces’ social media platforms in each city.
  • Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing: The grant recipient will organize monthly meetings at American Spaces for its Master Trainers to mentor YMTs. These sessions will serve as platforms for reflection, problem-solving, and improving local training activities.
  • Cross-City Collaboration: To foster long-term sustainability, ten media literacy events involving YMTs and youth participants from multiple cities will be arranged. The recipient will encourage synchronization of local training activities among YMTs across all five cities to ensure broader outreach and impact.
• Phase 2: L2D Content Creation and Social Media Outreach
  • During phase 2, the grant recipient will select 60 youths through a competitive process—12 from each of the cities: Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai—from among the participants of YMT sessions. The grant recipient will conduct training sessions to prepare them as L2D content creators. These training sessions, overseen by the grant recipient, will include workshops led by YMTs in collaboration with social media influencers, chosen for their substantial following of at least 100k, to further enhance participants’ skills. The trained individuals will collaborate to develop synchronized social media campaigns aimed at promoting media literacy and critical thinking across Indian society. Grant recipient will be responsible for the following activities in phase two:
    • In phase 2, the grant recipient will recruit 60 youth (12 each from Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai) selected from those who underwent the YMT sessions, and will train them as L2D content creators.
      • Team Formation: Selecting at least two YMTs from each city to identify at least one social media influencer to serve as content creation mentors, forming teams with 12 youth participants who graduated from a previous YMT-led program from each city.
      • Audience and Platform Identification: Identifying target youth audiences and preferred social media platforms to tailor content accordingly.
      • Virtual Training: Delivering at least three virtual training sessions in each city, hosted by American Spaces, covering L2D competencies and customized social media content production and messaging.
      • Establishing an Online Community: Creating an online community based on the Civic Signals framework to serve as a platform for campaign dissemination and moderated discussions on media literacy topics.
      • Designing and Disseminating Campaigns: Each team will design and produce locally relevant content disseminated through identified social media platforms, ensuring integration of L2D curricular content and adherence to a Do No (More) Harm approach. An advertising budget will be allocated to amplify campaigns, aiming to reach 36,000 youth across all five cities.
      • Exhibit: The recipient will curate content, develop, design, and organize physical and digital forms of exhibit based on the content generated at respective American Spaces.
    • The recipient will seek approvals from the POCs at the American Spaces and finally from the REPS office.
  • Additionally,
    • The Youth Trainer Handbook will feature a dedicated segment on U.S. education and American Spaces in India.
    • Translated materials will include educational resources about studying in the U.S. and American Spaces in India, ensuring accessibility for diverse individuals.
    • USIEF/EducationUSA representatives will conduct sessions on Education USA and American Spaces representatives will promote services and activities of American Spaces during YMT recruitment and training, offering valuable insights for prospective students.
    • YMT-led training events at American Spaces will include educational advising sessions, highlighting scholarships and academic pathways in the U.S.
    • Cross-city events and conferences will feature workshops led by EducationUSA representatives and briefing sessions about American Spaces programs and activities by American Spaces representatives, fostering networking, and encouraging exploration of international academic opportunities.

USG’s Responsibilities

• The Public Diplomacy Sections at U.S. Mission India will be substantially involved in planning the program, as well as in providing final approvals for program materials and participants.  For this cooperative agreement, the USG’s responsibilities include:
  • Provide venue for the facilitated sessions at American Spaces at each of five U.S. Mission India posts: New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.
  • Provide coordination support in scheduling Education USA advising sessions, speaker sessions with U.S. Exchange Alumni, and American Spaces briefing sessions.
  • Approve the selection of YMTs.
  • Approve the selection of participants and agenda for YMT led sessions.
  • Approve the agendas for each of the Cross-city events and conferences.

Grantees Responsibilities

• The grant recipient is responsible for all aspects of the program specifics section (6) mentioned above.
  • Program promotion/advertising/audience recruitment
    • The recipient will be responsible to create a digital/offline engagement strategy for promoting the program and the sessions to social media audiences, influencers as well as potential audiences in schools and colleges. To ensure that the program’s objectives are met, recipients will be responsible to reach out to potential stakeholders such as local government agencies, private sectors, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India.
    • The recipient will also be responsible to prepare a social media plan, including proposed hashtags for visitors and participants to promote the program.
  • Monitoring and evaluation plan
    • The recipient will be responsible for submitting a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan for all components of the project.  The recipient will brief the PDS periodically on the qualitative and quantitative progress of the project implementation.  It is the responsibility of the recipient to form a plan for evaluating program efficacy, such as a pre- and post-program survey to measure the overall effectiveness of the program as well as any changes in participants’/visitors’ knowledge of the program themes/topics, should be included in the program proposal.
    • Throughout the period of performance, it’s the responsibility of the recipient to devise a system for regular, transparent communication with the Grants Officer, Grants Officer Representative, and the American Spaces Directors via email, phone, and video conference calls, as well as face-to-face meetings (as appropriate), which are critical to the success of this cooperative agreement.
• Upon project completion, the recipient must deliver all project materials, including files, photos, video recordings, handbooks, and login credentials for any social media accounts and the platform hosting the course content
  • Coordination with the PD and American Spaces: The recipient will also coordinate with the POCs of the select five American Spaces and the GOR and the PD officers for the sessions held at the American Spaces, for sessions involving U.S. Exchange Alumni and EducationUSA sessions.
  • The recipient will provide comprehensive training to American Spaces staff at each of the five locations, enabling them to proficiently manage and independently run similar programs using the curated curriculum.  Furthermore, they will ensure the long-term accessibility and sustainability of the courses by integrating open-source options, ensuring continued program operations beyond the grant period.
  • Copyright provisions
    • Unless otherwise provided, all Materials produced under this Grant and the social media accounts and other platforms hosting the study materials shall be considered “works for hire” as defined by the U.S. Copyright Act and shall be owned by the US Embassy.  The US Embassy shall be considered the author of such Materials. In the event the Materials are not considered “works for hire” under the U.S. Copyright laws, the Grantee hereby irrevocably assigns all right, title, and interest in all Materials, including all intellectual property rights, moral rights, and rights of publicity to the US Embassy effective from the moment of creation of such Materials. “Materials” means all items in any format and includes, but is not limited to, data, reports, documents, pamphlets, advertisements, books, magazines, surveys, studies, computer programs, films, and video files etc. “Ownership” includes the right to copyright, patent, register and the ability to transfer these rights.

Project Audience(s)

• The project aims to engage emerging voices and Indian youth, particularly Youth Graduates from Learn to Discern India Academy (L2D-IA) and university students, alongside media producers/social media influencers. This strategic approach focuses on fostering critical thinking skills among the youth, harnessing the influence of master trainers, and utilizing social media platforms for impactful awareness campaigns. By targeting these segments, the project endeavors to actively combat misinformation and shape narratives effectively to address the root causes of disinformation.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • Not-for-profit organizations
  • For-profit organizations (remember non-PD money only)
  • Civil society/non-governmental organizations
  • Think tanks
  • Public and private educational institutions
  • Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
• For-profit entities, even those that may fall into the categories listed above, are not eligible to apply for this NOFO.  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.
• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.